What Is the Essence of Iridescence? Ask a Hummingbird
Microscopic secrets subconscious yonder in hummingbird feathers manipulate light to requite these tiny birds—the most colorful birds on Earth—the power to dazzle on command.
By Marc Devokaitis-
After the Fire: How A Sustainable Ranch Survived a Natural Wildfire
In April 2022, a wildfire scorched the 15,000-acre May Ranch in southeastern Colorado—testing the sustainability of a ranching model that blends conservation, climate-change mitigation, and making a living off the land by raising cattle.
By Michael Booth -
How to Photograph Fidgety Warblers
Bright and cheery warblers are unconfined photo subjects, if only they would sit still for a second. The trick is to put yourself in the right place, at the right time, with the right camera settings.
Story and photos by Melissa Groo -
The “Purple Passion” of North America’s Purple Martin Landlords
The sight of a hundred thousand Purple Martins swirling wideness a South Carolina sky points up the rememberable request of these gorgeous dive-bombing swallows.
By Mark Hendricks -
Gut Check: Incubation Shapes the Microbiomes of Warblers
Probiotic products like yogurt and kombucha aim to modernize our well-being by cultivating the right microbes. But new research on warblers suggests that, at least in birds, “gut flora” may owe increasingly to incubation than to ingestion.
By Rebecca Heisman
Columns & Departments
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View from Sapsucker Woods: What Does the Ivory-billed Woodpecker Mean for Bird Conservation?By Ian Owens
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In A Climate-Change Shift, Dairy Farmers In Washington State Welcome EaglesBy Pat Leonard
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Primaries: Merlin Goes Global; eBird Goes to Parliament; Big Red Turns 20
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Birdword: An Illustrated Guide to Some Tongue-Twisting Ornithological Terms
By Living Bird staff writers -
Gallery: Belted Queenfisher Artwork by Liz Clayton Fuller