How Did the Chicken Cross the Sea?
Chickens reach the New World by canoe

Following the Birds that Follow the Ants
DNA analysis sheds light on evolution of this unique behavior

View from Sapsucker Woods
Letter from the Director of the Lab

Borg 77EDII Telescope for Birding Photography
Review of Borg 77EDII Telescope for Birding Photography

Tundra Trek
On the road along Alaska's famed Dalton Highway

Unsafe Haven?
Some of the most vital bird habitat on Alaska's North Slope is threatened

Scope Quest 2008
Scanning the horizon for the world's best birding optics

Border Traffic
The challenge of saving Mexico's vanishing Thick-billed Parrots

The Galapagos of the North
Photographing seabirds in the spectacular Pribilofs

Merlin Encounter
At a hawk watch, conversation is just what happens between hawks

Naturalist's Notebook
A Northern Harrier takes aim at some songbirds

Watercolors from Eden
Julie Zickefoose's artwork

Ten Times and Counting
The continuing appeal of southeastern Arizona

Jamaica Bay, New York
Birding at Jamaica Bay, New York

Why Sing the Wrong Song?
The puzzle of bilingual chickadees

Naturalist's Notebook
A Red-tailed Hawk hideout

Ancient Hummingbirds in Surprising Places
A fossil hummingbird from Europe?

A Hummingbird-Inspired Flying Machine
Toward a hovering robot

The Mysterious Squeak of the Anna's Hummingbird
How'd he make that sound?

How to Destroy Your Binoculars
Six avenues to really, really needing a new pair

Book Review: A Summer of Birds
Book Review: A Summer of Birds. Book by Danny Heitman (Louisiana State University Press: 2008)

Book Review: Good Birders Don't Wear White
Book edited by Lisa White (Houghton Mifflin: 2007)

Fifty Places to Go Birding Before You Die
Book by Chris Santella (Stewart, Tabori, and Chang: 2007)

Birding the Northern Route
Searching for rarities in the highlands of Peru

Spirit of the North
An intimate portrait of the Common Loon

Of Oystercatchers and Kayakers
Measuring the impact of humans in Kenai Fjords National Park

Zeiss Digital Camera Adaptor
Review of Zeiss Digital Camera Adaptor

Vanishing Vultures
A veterinary drug throws Asian vultures into a crisis

Sapsucker Cairn
Andy Goldsworthy builds a cairn in Sapsucker Woods

Presque Isle, Pennsylvania
Birding at Presque Isle, Pennsylvania

Naturalist's Notebook
Memories of scrub-jays

A Bird Photographer's Playground
The view from Bosque del Apache

Dietary Surprises of Western Sandpipers
Western Sandpipers feast on an unsuspected food

How Salmon Help Songbirds
Swimming upstream with a load of nutrients

Gannets Addicted to Junk Food
Are gannets giving up honest fishing?

The Oil Palm Dilemma
Slipping toward extinction, one potato chip at a time

The Things I Would Have Done Differently
Pete Dunne reminisces

Steiner Peregrine XP 8x44 Binoculars


A Birding Legend
Roger Tory Peterson turns 100

The Tree Swallow Farmer
A two-decade fascination with Tree Swallows

Birding California's Central Coast
Brian Sullivan guides you through his backyard

The Prairie Hens of Illinois
Mark Twain's favorite bird...to eat

Falcon Fever


Cerulean Warbler Conservation Award
The Cerulean Warbler Technical Group receives a Wings Across America grant for its El Grupo Ceruleo project

Preserving Wild Parrot Populations
The plight of a parrot that talks too well

Live from the AOU Meeting
A dozen stories from the 2008 scientific sessions

A Pop-Up Bird Book?
The bird book to give in the 2008 holiday season

Straight No Chaser
It's time to reconsider traveling just to add a checkmark to a list

Wakodahatchee Wetlands, Florida


The Accidental Phenologists
All birders becomes students of the seasons, without even trying

Naturalist's Notebook
Two California Thrashers face off

Dividing Via Migration
One species, two wintering ranges

Relaxing in the Tropics
The physiology of living near the equator

Opposable Chums


The Backyard Birdsong Guide


The Deal of the Century?
A controversial agreement is the best hope for this California wildnerness

Scrubland Survivors
The precarious existence of the Florida Scrub-Jay

Remembering Tom Vezo
Celebrating the life and artistry of one of America's most gifted photographers

A Supremely Bad Idea


Return to Warden's Grove


They Burn Birders, Don't They?
Pete Dunne wonders how safe being a birder really is these days

Naturalist's Notebook
A Peregrine Falcon goes bat-hunting

A Birder Placement Test
Test your knowledge of birding and culture

Okavango Safari
For sheer beauty and wildlife, Botswana's Okavango Delta has no peer

Mark Catesby's "Little Sparrow"
Can you identify this mystery bird from America's colonial era?

Dr. Orbell's Unlikely Quest
How a New Zealand physician's boyhood dream led to the rediscovery of a lost species

Snowbird Season
As the cold blast of winter descends on the Northeast, some welcome visitors start arriving

Frequent Flyers
Keeping common birds common is an investment in our quality of life

Birds in the 'Burbs
The paradox of the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve

Goldsmith-Schiffman Wildlife Sanctuary


In the Presence of Absence
The six-foot tall bronze sculptures of Todd McGrain's Lost Bird Project

An Online Art Gallery
Visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Online Gallery of Bird and Wildlife Art

West Nile Virus Fells Magpies
A fast-spreading disease has cut populations of California's native magpie nearly in half

The Snake That Ate Guam
For decades, brown tree snakes have eaten their way through Guam's native birds. Plants are next

Superdove: How the Pigeon Took Manhattan... and the World


Peregrine Quest: From a Naturalist's Field Sketchbook


The Stork's Nest: Life and Love in the Russian Countryside


Borg 77ED II Telescope for Bird Photography


Birding for Science
Birding for science benefits both the bird and the birder. Find out how you can get even more enjoyment out of your favorite activity

Top Ten Tips for Birding on a Budget
Ten ways to keep advancing your birding without breaking the bank

Citizen Science Rocks!
Data collected by citizen-science birders plays a pivotal role in the creation of the first-ever State of the Birds report

Great Backyard Bird Count Makes History


Optics on a Budget
When you can't afford the very best

White-winged Crossbills
Invasion of the cone snatchers

May 2009 Featured Photographer


Birding Festivals for Everyone
Rewarding experiences for birders of all levels

Brown Creeper
A brief encounter with a hard-to-find nest

Extreme Birding
Tips from Team Sapsucker

Four Keys to Bird ID
Bird identification can be tricky when you're starting out

June 2009 Featured Photographer


July 2009 Featured Photographer


Golden Eagles and Us
Reflections on a most remarkable raptor

The Allure of the Ivory Gull
How will global climate change affect this rare snow-white beauty of the far north?

Birding in the Bahamas
Exploring Great Abaco Island

Starting Over
A crosstown move brings an end to 12 years of backyard birding

An Enigma, Wrapped in a Riddle, Inside a Pine Cone?
What are Red Crossbills anyway?

Free as a Bird
Act now for this exclusive offer! Supplies are unlimited!

Naturalist's Notebook
"Claim-jumping" sapsuckers scuffle in a California campground

Winter Wren Wraparound
A species stretches around the world, and doesn't recognize itself at the other end

Humans, Nature, and Birds


Egg and Nest


August 2009 Featured Photographer


Fencing the Border and Its Birds
Is there room for science in the border fence debate?

September 2009 Featured Photographer


Channel Islands Odyssey
Birding by kayak in California's spectacular Channel Islands National Park

Darwin's Other Birds
The humble pigeon, in all its splendid variety, may have influenced Darwin's thinking more than his finches did

A Canyon of Their Own
The fate of Mexico's Tufted Jay may depend on the success of ecotourism

Masters of the Wind and Sea
Large-scale fishing has endangered the world's albatrosses, but small changes to equipment could stem the losses

An Acoustic Anniversary
Recording a dawn chorus in Ithaca, 80 years ago

Radnor Lake State Natural Area, Nashville, Tennessee
Just 20 minutes south of Nashville lies the birding crown jewel of Music City, USA

Nikon EDG 10x42 Binoculars
Nikon cracks the top echelon of birding optics

The Snoring Bird: My Family's Journey Through a Century of Biology


Birdwatcher: The Life of Roger Tory Peterson


Birding Gets Catty
For these veterans, a good morning of migration birding is the cat's meow

Naturalist's Notebook
In the morning sun, a pond boils over with swallows

View from Sapsucker Woods
Aerial photos show the reforestation of rural New York, including the Cornell Lab's home turf

With the Sapsuckers and Redheads
Cornell Lab teams fared well at the 2009 World Series of Birding

October Featured Artists
Vibrant portraits of remarkable birds, by middle-school students at Tualatin Valley Junior Academy, Oregon

November 2009 Featured Photographer
Matt Shellenberg trains his lens on warblers and waterbirds.

At Home With Adélies
December Featured Photographer Chris Linder gets up close with 500,000 penguins

Energy


Top Ten Ways to Conserve Energy While Birding


Reducing the Lab's Footprint


Birding by Bicycle


Innovative Air Conditioning


Energy Matters
Conserving energy, conserving wildlife

Hidden Costs of Energy
Lab's Elephant Listening Project searches for sound solutions

Acoustic Smog and Whales
We're working with partners to reduce the din beneath the waves

An Answer Is Blowing in the Wind
Workshop sets research agenda for wind power and migratory birds

Wind Power Affects Non-Migratory Birds, Too
Not all birds fly past wind turbines; some live underneath them

Cerulean Warbler
Partnerships working to reverse declines

How Green are Green Buildings?
Windows need to be more than energy efficient

Birding Festivals
Saving gas while enjoying new birds

Strike a Pose
January featured photographer Steve Byland has a knack for finding birds in odd places

Letters
Readers sound off on our article about Ivory Gulls and climate change

The View from Sapsucker Woods
Duck Stamps are a great buy for conservationists and hunters alike

Naturalist's Notebook
Two varieties of scrub-jays vie for an artist's attention

Wind Power and Wildlife
Broad-based efforts are under way to make wind power safe

Winged Pirates
Ahoy, ye scurvy flockmates!

Leica Televid APO 82 mm Scope
Leica makes a scope for the top shelf

Lars Jonsson's Birds: Paintings from a Near Horizon


Prairie Spring: A Journey Into the Heart of a Season


Get the Lead Out
Lead bullet fragments can poison wildlife—and people

Saying It With Flowers
The color-coordinated courtship of Australia's Golden Bowerbird

Flight of the Kuaka
In the air for eight days and seven thousand miles

Ecology Beyond Cub Scouts
Investigating berries and birds

Global Goals
Which birds would take you halfway around the world?

Couch Birding
I'm afraid you have a psychological affliction known as birding. Can you teach me?

Digiscoping Evolves
You can get great photos with a cell phone and a telescope. Featured photographer Charles Eldermire shows you how.

Coordinated Cooperation
Adult Taiwan Yuhinas coordinate feeding bouts to reduce nestling competition

Magical Realism
Paper and ink take wing under the pen of featured artist Catherine Hamilton

Photography in Oz
Featured photographer Jeff Robinson finds he's not in Kansas anymore. Good thing he brought his camera.

Sapsucker Woods Centennial


View from Sapsucker Woods
A lucky double encounter with Golden Eagles

Migration Destinations: Western Mexico's Thorn Forests
Do some northern birds take a second crack at breeding on their way south?

With the Tribes in Montana
Manning Lakes Wetlands Tribal Reserve is a critical stopover for migrating birds

Chasing Rainbows


The Burrowing Owls of the Salton Sea
Maintaining an ecological balance in an artificial landscape

Meopta Meostar B1 32 Series 8x32 Binocular
Clarity in a compact package

Puget Sound Through an Artist's Eye


The Bird Catcher


Pawnee National Grasslands, Colorado


A Naturalist's Notebook
A young raven learns to fly

The Young and the Restless
Watching your neighborhood crows

Cooperative Squeakers
The Pygmy Nuthatches of Santa Cruz

The Importance of Family for Western Bluebirds
An occasional cooperative breeder sticks close to home

Shared Dynasties
Free love and family conflict in cooperative Acorn Woodpeckers

2010 Upcoming Birding Events and Festivals


Sons vs. Daughters
One cooperatively breeding species can produce more or fewer "helpers" as needed

When Females Dress Up
How cooperative breeding can brighten female plumage

Coordinated Cooperation
Taiwan Yuhinas coordinate feeding bouts to reduce nestling competition

How do Birds Cooperate?
An illustrated sampler of the ways birds pitch in to get ahead

A Bibliography of Cooperative Breeding
A species-by-species list of further reading, with links

A Gulf Coast Gallery
A tribute to birds of an exuberant coastline, from members of our Birdshare Flickr group

A Painted Landscape
In dry West Texas, featured photographer Peter Parker finds color everywhere he looks

At Loggerheads Over a Shrike
An endangered bird versus a Navy bombing range

Olivia Bouler, July Featured Artist
One girl's personal quest to heal the Gulf with art

Marsh Madness
Rare looks at some of the usual suspects in a California wetland

Interpreting Red-Winged Blackbird Behavior


Tracking an Invasion
FeederWatchers track the spread of Eurasian Collared-Doves

Top Ten Birding-for-Science Projects


Funky Nests
A contest turns up bird nests in unlikely places

From the Editor


eBird's Win-Win
How both scientists and birders benefit from eBird

Birding in the Space-Time Continuum
Tips from eBirders to enhance your eBird experience for fun and for science

The Power of the Crowd
FeederWatch data yield insights on bird trends, invasive species, and disease

Plumbing for Data
Science Pipes tap into an ocean of information

Take Note!
Keeping a field notebook sharpens your powers of observation—and preserves them

Listen Up!
Taking birding to the next level

Capturing Natural Sounds
How to record birds for fun and science

Arthur A. Allen Award Honors Linda Macaulay


Macaulay Library Celebrates Milestone


Upcoming Birding Events and Festivals
Sponsored listings

Investigating Behavior: Courtship and Rivalry
Online course shows how to interpret behavior

Don't Touch That Field Guide!
A Cornell class learns to observe first and open the field guide later

For Fun and Science
Better Birding through Monitoring

Black and White and UV all over
The hidden, stunning colors of chickadees

View from Sapsucker Woods
Even in financial hard times, spending money on land conservation makes sense

From the Editor


Live from the AOU Meeting
The next wave of leading ornithologists is on its way

Linda Macaulay, 2010 Recipient of the Arthur Allen Award


Sarett Nature Center, Benton Harbor, Michigan


A Naturalist's Notebook
A Ferruginous Hawk pirates prey from a Greater Roadrunner

First Look at an Ancient Field Guide
Full-color, feathered dinosaurs seen through molecular analysis

Vortex Razor 20–60x85HD Spotting Scope


Life List: A Woman's Quest for the World's Most Amazing Birds


The Bird: A Natural History of Who Birds Are, Where They Came From, and How They Live


A Feathered Tempest
The improbable life and sudden death of the Passenger Pigeon

Stretching the Canvas
A trek across the Peruvian wilderness turns up something spectacular

Kayak Birding at Kodiak Island
This remote Alaskan isle offers a fabulous array of birds and stunning scenery for adventurous birders

Note Imperfect
The ways we learn and remember bird song are as diverse as the singers themselves

Mementos of a Grouse Long Gone
Can you miss a bird that you have never seen?

Birding in the Garden of Good and Not So Good
Honest, sometimes thoughtless, we are a group of discourteous saints

See It, Sketch It, Learn It
Featured artist Maria Coryell-Martin goes birding one brushstroke at a time