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Bird Science

With a lab coat and gloves on Maria Ortega inspects multiple trays of nest materials in her lab.
Scientists Are Now Finding Microplastics in Backyard Birds
December 17, 2025 — The tiny particles are widespread in waterbirds around the world. New research is finding them in neighborhood songbirds, too.
A person's hands sort through small bones and bits of fur with a toothpick on a white surface.
Where Do Owl Pellets Actually Come From? Inside the Unusual Business of Bird Barf
December 02, 2025 — From roost to retail, a network of field scouts and suppliers collect and process the regurgitated balls of bones that students dissect in science classrooms across the country.
Flock of seabirds in water
When Ships Meet Seabirds: Mapping Risk in Alaska’s Waters
October 08, 2025 — Alaska’s seas are becoming increasingly busy highways for vessels, posing growing risks for seabirds during one of their most vulnerable times—fall migration.
ALASKA Coasts and Oceans
A mother Wild Turkey hen perches on a sturdy branch with her wings spread, protecting her small chicks.
The Wild Turkey Is a Comeback Bird We Can’t Take for Granted
September 19, 2025 — From bustling towns to rural woodlands, turkeys seem to be everywhere these days. But despite being an undeniable conservation success, questions still loom about the fate of this beloved yet confounding bird.
Feature Stories
Two researchers, with equipment and notebooks splayed across a boardwalk in a forest, sit cross-legged while they record data.
Scientists Can Now Track How High Songbirds Fly Over the Ocean—a Potential Lifesaver
September 19, 2025 — Researchers are gathering new insights that improve migration science and may help make offshore wind energy more friendly to small birds with big treks.
Bird Migration
A Common Myna stands on a railing with its beak open, vocalizing.
Sleepy Birds Are Lousy Singers, Study Finds
August 21, 2025 — Just like people, songbirds are groggy and quiet after a rough night’s sleep—a sign that urban noise and light may leave them less fit for reproduction and survival.
A Streaked Shearwater pooping while flying.
Poop-Cam Footage Shows These Seabirds Fertilize the Ocean With Their Body Weight Per Day in Guano
August 18, 2025 — Recording Streaked Shearwaters gave scientists a new window into the role seabirds play in fueling marine food webs—and possibly spreading avian flu—far from land.
A light gray seabird hovers on a wave with its beak open at the surface.
How Do Seabirds Drink Salt Water?
August 07, 2025 — Albatrosses, petrels, and other ocean-dwellers can stay hydrated without fresh water. The key? Little glands above their eyes.
Bird Questions and Facts
Juvenile bird resting on egg
Silver Lining for Shorebirds: New Study Shows Arctic Nesting Species Are Cued into Climate Change
July 28, 2025 — Attentive long-distance migrants are following environmental cues better than expected, showing some shorebirds to be surprisingly adaptable.
ALASKA
A collage of two taxidermied bird specimens, a cloacascope, a book, and two documents on a black background.
‘Feather Detective’ Roxie Laybourne’s Career in Six Objects
July 22, 2025 — From a gynandromorphic grosbeak to feathers collected at a murder investigation in Florida, biographer Chris Sweeney shares six unusual artifacts he found while researching his new book about the world’s first forensic ornithologist.
Books