A Blue Jay looks blue for the same reason a Northern Cardinal looks red, or so it seems. The cardinal’s red comes from pigment it picks up in its diet and stores in its feathers. Blue, you would guess, works the same way: some blue pigment tucked...

An Osprey folds its wings, drops feet-first into open water, and vanishes in a burst of spray. A second later it hauls itself back into the air, a fish gripped in its talons and turned to face forward, nose-first, like cargo lashed down for the flight home. It...

Listen closely on a morning hike through the mist-shrouded mountain forests of southern Brazil, and you might hear what sounds like a tiny croaking frog high up in the trees. Look closer through your binoculars, and you won't find an amphibian, you'll spot a flash of scarlet and...

If you ever find yourself looking out across the vast, sun-drenched wetlands of northern or eastern Australia, you might witness one of the most mesmerizing spectacles in the natural world: a pair of tall, silver-gray birds stepping gracefully in sync, tossing their heads, leaping into the air,...

Here’s a secret that will make you sound like an expert next time you’re at the beach: there is no such bird as a “seagull.” Not one. Open any bird guide in the world and you won’t find the word. There are Herring Gulls and Ivory Gulls...

With hundreds of woodpecker species drumming on tree trunks across the globe, today we're featuring a bird that holds a special title: the Downy Woodpecker is North America's smallest woodpecker! No bigger than a house sparrow, and a good bit lighter than one at that, these energetic little birds...