Microscopic secrets hidden away in hummingbird feathers manipulate light to give these tiny birds—the most colorful birds on Earth—the power to dazzle on command.| All About Birds
Originally published April 2022. Updated through July 2025 to reflect further developments in the outbreak. Many people are concerned about the outbreak of avian influenza, or bird flu, that began... Read more »| All About Birds
Updated July 2025; originally published July 2014. By midsummer many young-of-the-year songbirds have fledged from their nests. Almost overnight, the fields and forests seem to fill up with nondescript, unfamiliar-looking... Read more »| All About Birds
Black Birders Week 2025 featured online webinars and panel discussions. There were also dozens of in-person events around the United States like this one in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, led by Indigo Goodson-Fields (second from left). Image by Nicholas St. Fleur. On Sunday morning, May 25, about a do| All About Birds
It was as plain as the beak on a bird’s face. Cornell Lab ornithologist and crow expert Kevin McGowan recalls the day in the late 90s when he first saw stuffed specimens of the New Caledonian Crow. “I remember saying to a student, ‘I don’t know what this bird does, but it does something differe| All About Birds
Alaska’s Colville River is internationally recognized for its extraordinary raptor populations. The river drains much of the North Slope of Alaska as it winds more than 400 miles to the... Read more »| All About Birds
Watch as a pair of Rough-legged Hawks work together to raise their chicks in this excerpt from our documentary on the raptors of the Colville River Special Area, Alaska. Cornell... Read more »| All About Birds
Featured Articles Columns & Departments| All About Birds
From the Summer 2025 issue of Living Bird magazine. Subscribe now. If you haven’t already, I urge you to read the 2025 State of the Birds report for the United... Read more »| All About Birds
From the Summer 2025 issue of Living Bird magazine. Subscribe now. Birds in the Paradisaeidae family—more than 40 species collectively called the birds-of-paradise—are famous for their spectacular mating dances. In... Read more »| All About Birds
From the Summer 2025 issue of Living Bird magazine. Subscribe now. Lesser Goldfinch, the diminutive cousin of the familiar American Goldfinch, is found throughout the American Southwest from Texas to... Read more »| All About Birds
From the Summer 2025 issue of Living Bird magazine. Subscribe now. In January, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Instagram account hosted Bird Art Week 2025—with a different guest artist featured... Read more »| All About Birds
In 1954, a nine-day hike organized by Justice William Douglas saved the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal from becoming a highway. Today it provides a glorious green respite for residents of Washington D.C. and beyond.| All About Birds
A Hooded Merganser duckling makes its first brave leap from its nest. Photo by Steve Furcich / Macaulay Library. As spring turns to summer, one of the delights of birding is happening upon young birds. Sometimes we're lucky enough to watch busy adults bringing food to hungry chicks still in the n| All About Birds
Originally published April 2009; updated December 2023. Birds only nest during spring and summer—their breeding season. But during the rest of the year, cavity-nesting birds often use these same boxes for shelter at night, particularly in winter. Sometimes more than a dozen birds will pile into a s| All About Birds
A Blue Jay takes advantage of a peanut feeder—an artful variation on the classic tube feeder design. Peanut feeders can draw larger birds, leaving more room for smaller birds at other feeders in a yard. Photo by Melissa Rowell / Project Feederwatch. Originally published April 2009; most recent up| All About Birds
Cleaning your bird feeders regularly helps keep your backyard birds healthy. Cleaning seed feeders Moldy or decomposing seeds and hulls that accumulate on feeder trays can make birds sick. Bird droppings and other contaminants may also spread infectious bird diseases. Clean your feeders about| All About Birds
We reviewed more than two dozen pairs of 8x42 binoculars—a popular, versatile choice for most kinds of birdwatching. Here's what we learned.| All About Birds
Try out as many as you can in person, and ask yourself these questions as you do.| All About Birds
These binoculars are so small they're almost not there, and some models deliver serious optical quality| All About Birds
Thanks to ever-improving optics and a new crop of compact designs, it's now possible to find small, comfortable, bright binoculars for less than $500.| All About Birds
These attractive binoculars feature a sharp image with an odd sepia cast and very limited close focus. We rated them in the Middle Ground.| All About Birds
Premium glass and a clever asymmetric design make these binoculars a near-perfect combination of brilliant, tiny, and comfortable to use. We rate them a Top Pick.| All About Birds
Lightweight, low-priced binoculars with an acceptable image, best suited to viewing at close ranges. We rate these in the Middle Ground.| All About Birds
Offering a good image and a comfortable feel at a lower price point, these binoculars are a Solid Choice.| All About Birds
Very bright, sharp image and great ergonomics create great performance at a low price. This is one of our Top Picks| All About Birds
Birds migrate in many ways and for a number of reasons. Here's a guide to the ways birds migrate, how they navigate, the hazards they face, and more.| All About Birds
Photo by Susan Spear/Cornell Lab. For birds, glass windows are worse than invisible. By reflecting foliage or sky, they look like inviting places to fly into. And because the sheer number of windows is so great, their toll on birds is huge. Up to about 1 billion birds die from window strikes in t| All About Birds
Allen's Hummingbird by Bob Gunderson/Birdshare. Once you've got feeders set up, perhaps the best way to make your backyard more attractive to birds is to just add water. Birds need a dependable supply of fresh, clean water for drinking and bathing. Putting a birdbath in your yard may attract| All About Birds