Now that we’re in April, the time has come to wrap up all the bird (and non-bird) competitions the month of March is famous for. Over the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Facebook page, Pileated Woodpecker and Snowy Owl are locked in a figurative death match… obviously, the owl would win a literal one, but won’t [...]

This odd weekend began with the end of March, which didn’t exactly go out like a lamb, and ended with the beginning of April. Only January commences with more fanfare and merriment than April. Did you enjoy any particularly amusing April Fools jokes? We’re especially interested in ones involving birds and nature. My best birds [...]

This is almost too thrilling to believe. I bet Carrie will be so excited…

Take a look at the fascinating photo below. Process the undoubtedly complex emotions it inspires, then try to imagine the story behind it. Then click through to Pharyngula to learn the tentacled truth. PZ Myers is enjoying this just a little too much…

The long-awaited reissue of Division 18: The Union of Novelty Costumed Performers Vol. 1 has finally arrived. The bird connection here is admittedly tenuous, though one character does dress as a duck. What’s important is that Division 18 is written by my talented brother. Isn’t that worth a look?

Like you, I’ve seen a lot of ducks in my life, but it wasn’t until 2006 that I first beheld the the wondrous waterfowl that I’d come to regard as my favorite duck, bar none – the White-cheeked Pintail. The White cheeked Pintail (Anas bahamensis), also known as the Bahama Pintail, is a dabbling duck that [...]

The month may be winding down, but March Madness is reaching a fever pitch. Sure, college basketball is a big deal, but I’m thinking about the burgeoning spring. Think your coworkers would be up for an office pool to pick the next early migrant to arrive? Perhaps you don’t work in that kind of environment, [...]

Jason Kessler is back with the funniest birding movie of the year. Sh*t Birders Say delivers more laughs in 3 minutes than… well, actual birding! Even the credits are amusing. Take the test: if you laugh at least twice, you are definitely a birder.

Now that late winter has eased into early spring, it seems owls are in the air. I’m hearing all kinds of owl howls, from Saw-whets at (where else?) Owl Woods and Short-eared Owls from New York to the Galapagos Islands. One birder known to many of us even had her life Barn Owl turn up [...]

As a native New Yorker, I’ve seen my share of squirrels. Our standard Sciuridae is the Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) and while most of these rambunctious rodents are indeed gray, they sometimes come in other flavors. The Bronx was beset by hordes of Black Squirrels, melanistic members of this common species. So black squirrels [...]

March Madness has such a grip on the United States that even birders are thinking in terms of seeded tournaments.  The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has been running a fierce competition pitting one beloved North American species against another. Their March Migration Madness has reached the Airborne 8 Bracket and all you have to do [...]

Scientists have wondered why the outstandingly adaptable Ethiopian Bush-crow (Zavattariornis stresemanni) refused to expand outside of its postage stamp-sized range. Apparently, these quasi-corvids are too cool for school and like it that way.

Maybe the proposition isn’t that simple, but you can vote to allocate $40,000 from National Geographic Germany to Fundación ProAves to support conservation of the practically extinct Fuertes’s Parrot. Yes, rhinos, red pandas, chamois, and other charismatic creatures also deserve help, but this is a birding site so you know which way we’re voting!

Ah, spring is here (at least on my side of the world.) Rather than wax with my usual eloquence on vernal splendors, I’d like to share a silly song that always comes to mind this time of year. My kids just loved the movie Lost in the Woods by Sisbro Studios. Laura and Robert Sams [...]

Facebook has turned out to be a fertile platform for engagement, interaction, and even in some cases amusement (you know who you are) among the world’s birders.  Gunnar Engblom just made it easier to join the conversation with the new World Birding & Conservation Facebook list. Want to follow many of the biggest birding and bird [...]

Residents of the Americas may find this hard to believe, but the ubiquitous, adaptable House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) is declining in its native lands. We should all be concerned about this, if not out of love for this prosaic passerine then because the sparrow may very well be a signal species for more encompassing environmental [...]

Faith and Begorrah, I’ve made it through another St. Patty’s Day without ingesting corned beef, cabbage, or green beer! My liver lingers on in the same (sorry) state in which it entered the weekend. Can you say the same? My weekend was devoted to a seemingly endless celebration of my son’s 8th birthday, which meant [...]

Our buddy Kirk Mona AKA The Twin Cities Naturalist delivers a truly compelling time lapse video of a Common Raven stripping fur from a dead coyote.  Kirk even explains with his characteristic perspicacity what the corpse-robbing corvid is up to. Learn something cool today and check out this post!

Friends, birders, countrymen (and women)– lend me your ears. I come not to praise winter, but to bury it. Those of us occupying the boreal half of the planet can give Old Man Winter an exuberant sendoff this weekend, while you on the austral side can say so long to summer. How will you be observing the [...]

There’s something about a toucan, isn’t there? Toucans tell you that you aren’t in Kansas anymore. They affirm that the tropics are true, not just myths manufactured to make those of us with winter jealous. Thanks to a childhood steeped in sugary cereal, I’ve always had a soft spot for Toucan Sam and his ilk. [...]