birds

The popular pastime of birdwatching has many healthy benefits for people and the planet, including immersion in nature — which has been shown to be beneficial for mental health — breathing fresh air, exercise, exposure to natural vitamin D, socializing and building togetherness through birdwatching communities and increased appreciation for nature. There were approximately 15.23 […]

When Kirsty Ramadan of the Bohollow Wildlife Shelter was called out to Barmah, near the border of Victoria and New South Wales in Australia, to help a sick bird, she was confronted with much more than she bargained for.  The report she heeded told her that there were five dead birds near the ailing long-billed […]

Despite being banned since the 1970s, DDT and PCBs are still affecting wildlife today, particularly the California condor, a critically endangered species. The condors feed on dead marine life along the California coast that often contain higher amounts of contaminants compared to marine life elsewhere. Scientists at San Diego State University (SDSU) and San Diego […]

Oftentimes, where there are trees, there are birds, whether the landscape is woodland, forest, an urban park or rural farmland. In Australia, farmland is being revegetated to attract woodland bird species, a team of researchers wrote in The Conversation. Trees bordering paddocks are being planted, and stands of trees and shrubs that run beside creeks […]

For the first time in more than a century, endangered California condors soared over the redwood forests along the state’s northern coast.  The two birds, both males, were released from a pen in Redwood National Park on Tuesday morning, AP News reported.   “That was just as exciting as I thought it was going to be,” […]

A highly infectious bird flu that has led to the deaths of millions of birds has been found in a U.S. human for the first time.  A Colorado man who worked at a farm where poultry had been infected tested positive for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or the H5N1 flu, the Colorado Department of Public […]

If you’ve ever visited a tropical place, you may have noticed that the feathers of the birds looked brighter than those in other parts of the world. It turns out that the color of a bird’s plumage varies depending on latitude. During the 1800s, three scientists from Europe who went on expeditions to the tropics […]

With a call that has been described as that of a “tin trumpet” and making a double tap sound with its long bill, the ivory-billed woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) is the third largest woodpecker in the world and the largest north of Mexico, according to All About Birds. The elusive woodpecker had apparently last been seen […]