Animals
Quail
These plump, ground-dwelling birds can sprint at 12 mph, take dust baths in loose soil, and sound like they're saying…
Animals
Animals
Hoopoe
The hoopoe is a genus of ground-foraging birds with a massive head crest and unusual color scheme. The hoopoe bird…
Animals
Cockatoo
The cockatoo is a smart and talkative bird with a brilliant crest of plumage on its head. Loyal, caring, and…
Animals
Ibis
The Ibis was venerated by Ancient Egyptians as sacred, but no species of the bird currently inhabits modern Egypt. With…
Animals
Macaroni Penguin
Its flashy orange crest got it named after an 18th-century fashion trend, but the story behind this Antarctic bird goes…
Animals
Penguin
Few animals spark as much universal delight as these tuxedoed birds, yet almost everything most people believe about them turns…
Animals
Hawaiian Crow
The raucous cries of the Hawaiian crow once filled the forests of Hawaii. Now the imperiled species is extinct in…
Animals
Moorhen
This globally widespread marsh bird carries some surprising contradictions: it swims without webbed feet, flies without much skill, and raises…
Animals
Crane
They survived 20 million years of evolution, conquered five continents, and mastered a dance so elaborate it can secure a…
Animals
Grouse
Millions of these camouflaged birds vanish into forests and prairies across the Northern Hemisphere each year, yet most people would…
Animals
Common Loon
Few birds live such a contradictory life as this waterfowl that masters the deep ocean yet stumbles helplessly on dry…
Animals
Chinstrap Penguin
One remote volcanic island smells so foul it has landmarks named Stench Point and Noxious Bluff, yet more than a…
Animals
Avocet
The avocet is a genus of wading birds that reside close to freshwater and saltwater bodies all over the world.…
Animals
Green Bee-Eater
The green bee-eater, or little green bee-eater, is one of the smallest birds in the bee-eater family. It is known…
Animals
Vulture
Feared, misunderstood, and increasingly endangered, these scavenging birds perform a vital service that keeps deadly diseases from spreading through ecosystems…
Animals
Booby
Spanish sailors named this seabird after a word meaning foolish or clownish, yet the creature capable of diving from 80…
Animals
Macaw
From cracking Brazil nuts with their powerful beaks to camouflaging their vivid plumage in dense rainforest canopies, these long-lived birds…
Animals
Heron
Patient, solitary, and armed with a spear-like bill, herons have mastered the art of the ambush across nearly every wetland…
Animals
Crested Penguin
Hidden off the coast of New Zealand on a single remote island, this boldly colored penguin fights fiercely for mates,…
Animals
Humboldt Penguin
This torpedo-shaped bird rockets through the ocean at speeds that would shame most fish, yet faces a future shadowed by…
Animals
Cassowary
Though it’s true these birds will attack humans, they seem to only do so when they’re provoked, frightened, defending eggs…
Animals
Frigatebird
There are five species of frigatebirds found along tropical and subtropical coasts worldwide. These birds can fly for hours, days,…
Animals
Bird
From dinosaur descendants that mastered the skies to flightless swimmers navigating icy seas, the world's 11,000-plus bird species reveal just…
Animals
Dodo
History remembered it as a bumbling fool, but the bird that roamed Mauritius for millions of years was anything but.…
Animals
Long-Eared Owl
This medium-sized owl hides in plain sight by stretching flat against tree bark, refuses to build its own home, and…
Animals
Kiwi
New Zealand's national bird looks and behaves more like a mammal than a bird, and its survival story is stranger…
Animals
Royal Penguin
Scientists still cannot pinpoint where these golden-crowned penguins vanish for half the year, and that mystery is just the beginning…
Animals
Magellanic Penguin
Named after a controversial explorer and armed with countershading, anti-salt glands, and an ability to recognize a partner by voice…
Animals
Tropicbird
Tropicbirds is the common name given to one of three species of seagoing birds that are part of the Phaethontidae…
Animals
Magpie
Bold enough to ride the backs of deer and clever enough to recognize their own reflection, these black-and-white birds live…
Animals
Gentoo Penguin
Tuxedo-clad and deceptively fast, these penguins hide some truly bizarre survival secrets beneath their charming exterior, from courtship rituals that…
Animals
Keel-Billed Toucan
Keel-billed toucans are also known as “rainbow” toucans due to their large, colorful bills. They are also called “sulfur-breasted toucans”…
Animals
Turkey
These birds share a common ancestor with the Velociraptor, have been shaped by 20 million years of North American evolution,…
Animals
Bird of Paradise
Male birds of paradise spend years growing flamboyant plumes and rehearsing spectacular dances just to earn a single glance from…
Animals
Common Buzzard
This widespread bird of prey stomps the ground to lure worms, gets mistaken for eagles by tourists across Europe, and…
Animals
Yellow-Eyed Penguin
One of the rarest penguins on Earth carries a Māori name meaning "noise shouter" and faces threats so severe its…
Animals
Little Penguin
Bright blue feathers, nightly beach parades, and a surprising connection to the Linux mascot make these pint-sized Antipodean birds far…
Animals
Pelican
Few birds carry as much biological strangeness as this ancient fisher, whose anatomy seems almost too extreme to function. From…
Animals
Toucan
Its oversized beak looks like a liability, yet this canopy bird has turned an unlikely set of traits into surprisingly…
Animals
Emu
Australia's second-largest bird can outrun most predators, survive brutal droughts, and deliver a kick powerful enough to kill a dingo,…
Animals
Eagle
Nicknamed the king of all birds, this apex predator carries a grip ten times stronger than a human hand and…
Animals
Duck
These common waterfowl hide some genuinely strange traits beneath those familiar feathers, from feet that stay warm in icy water…
Animals
Tawny Owl
A species of wood owl, tawny owls are highly territorial and about the size of a wood pigeon. These medium-sized…
Animals
Snowy Owl
The snowy owl, whose scientific name is Bubo scandiacus, is a large, majestic owl with striking white plumage and luminous…
Animals
Goose
Notorious for chasing joggers and terrorizing park visitors, this ancient bird has survived ice ages and crossed continents, hiding a…
Animals
Chicken
With over 23 billion alive at any given moment and more than 50 billion processed every year, the humble backyard…
Animals
Swan
Elegant and serene on the surface, swans hide a surprisingly fierce and complex side, from lifelong partnerships that occasionally involve…
Animals
Puffin
Puffins are distinctive seabirds belonging to the auk family, with an evolutionary history that traces back tens of millions of…
Animals
Uguisu
Japan's most celebrated songbird has inspired centuries of poetry and heralded the arrival of spring, but its most surprising contribution…
Animals
Golden Oriole
The people living in the northern parts of Europe are known to be able to predict the start of spring…