Birds
Avian ecologist and Georgetown University Ph.D. student Emily Williams examines a robin's feet and claws, Wednesday, April 28, 2021, in Cheverly, Md. This spring and summer, her research project tracking the annual migration of American robins has gotten a boost from the enthusiasm of homeowners in the greater Washington area, who’ve let her and a research assistant set up makeshift research stations in their backyards before dawn — and sometimes contributed their own notes and observations. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
For love of birds: Backyard sleuths boost scientists' work

By Christina Larson Jun. 11, 2021 09:04 AM EDT

A pair of macaws perch on a rope inside an enclosure at BioParque, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Macaw gender is near impossible to determine by sight, and requires either genetic testing of feathers or blood, or laparoscopy of the gonads. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
Last wild macaw in Rio is lonely and looking for love

By David Biller May. 07, 2021 11:59 PM EDT

Editorial Roundup: Nebraska

By The Associated Press Apr. 26, 2021 10:00 AM EDT
Omaha World-Herald. April 24, 2021. Editorial: A National Heritage Area in rural Nebraska is an opportunity, not a threat ...

A lab assistant points at a picture of a cluster of Covid-19 RNA molecules on a computer screen at the Wellcome Sanger Institute that is operated by Genome Research in Cambridge, Thursday, March 4, 2021. Cambridge University microbiologist Sharon Peacock understood that genomic sequencing would be crucial in tracking the coronavirus, controlling outbreaks and developing vaccines, so she began working with colleagues around the country to put together a plan when there were just 84 confirmed cases in the country. The initiative helped make Britain a world leader in rapidly analyzing the genetic material from large numbers of COVID-19 infections, generating more than 40% of the genomic sequences identified to date.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
UK variant hunters lead global race to stay ahead of COVID

By Danica Kirka Mar. 28, 2021 02:25 AM EDT

FILE - In this Dec. 5, 2018 file photo, people try to get a look at and pictures of a Mandarin duck in Central Park in New York. The pandemic, which shut so many people inside their homes, has led to an increased appreciation of nature in general, and of outdoor activities like hiking, gardening and birding. Folks who have been bird-watching in Central Park for years say they see lots of newcomers to the hobby. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
More birders sighted in Central Park this spring migration

By Joseph B. Frederick Mar. 25, 2021 02:57 PM EDT

This Monday, Feb. 8, 2021 photo provided by Liz Smith of the International Crane Foundation, shows a whooping crane at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. The coronavirus pandemic has canceled this year’s flights to count the only natural flock of whooping cranes — the first time in 71 years that crews in Texas couldn't make an aerial survey of the world’s rarest cranes. Liz Smith said she photographed the same crane several years ago, and it is probably at least 38 years old. (Liz Smith/International Crane Foundation via AP)
Virus outbreak cancels whooping crane count in Texas

By Janet Mcconnaughey Feb. 11, 2021 01:58 PM EST

Leonor Pardo fills a hummingbird feeder in her garden in San Francisco de Sales, Colombia, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020. What began as a bird-feeding fountain in her garden 35 years ago has become a tourist attraction on the edges of San Francisco de Sales, a town about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Colombia's capital. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Pandemic puts a pause to hummingbird visits in Colombia

Dec. 11, 2020 01:55 PM EST

Owner Angela Wilson breaks down a whole chicken at Avedano's Meats in San Francisco, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and restrictions on large gatherings, the traditional Thanksgiving feast is being downsized. Fewer people at Thanksgiving tables means many families will buy smaller turkeys, or none at all. On her Thanksgiving orders, Wilson said "we don't want as many big birds and we think we'll sell smaller birds or different things like porcheta or guinea fowl, quails, fresh game hen." (AP Photo/Haven Daley)
Scaled-back Thanksgiving plans leave turkey farmers in limbo

By Dee-Ann Durbin Oct. 30, 2020 01:00 AM EDT

Carmen Borges a reiki therapist, feeds a banana to a macaw as she sits on the rooftop of her apartment building, in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Sept. 11, 2020. The confinement of millions of people in their homes for more than six months due to the quarantine imposed to help curb the spread of the new coronavirus, has allowed many wild animals to regain part of the spaces that humans had invaded, but it has also exposed them to colliding with electric poles, getting entangled in power lines or stray in urban areas, say environmentalists and rescuers. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Venezuelans care for animals injured during pandemic

By Fabiola Sánchez Sep. 22, 2020 12:37 PM EDT

In this Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020 photo provided by Salins de Camargue, flamingo experts walk in the waters, in Aigues-Mortes, the Camargue region, southern France, to gather and put bands on baby birds so scientists can track their migration. The numbers of pink flamingos may be the highest since experts began keeping records 45 years ago, said Thierry Marmol, guardian of the lands. France's two months of strict confinement may well be the reason. (Fabrice Pavanello, Salins de Camargue via AP)
Eye candy: More than 50,000 pink flamingos mass in France

By Elaine Ganley Aug. 07, 2020 01:09 PM EDT

FILE - In this March 23, 2018 file photo, a whooping crane, a critically endangered species, flies away from its nest with eggs, in a crawfish pond in St. Landry Parish, La. The sentence given Thursday, July 30, 2020 to Kaenon Constantin of Rayne is the toughest ever in Louisiana for a crime involving one of the endangered birds, the International Crane Foundation said in a news release. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
Judge orders man to pay $85K in deaths of 2 whooping cranes

Jul. 31, 2020 06:13 PM EDT

Gary Strafford, a Zimbabwean falconer, holds an owl inside one of the cages at his bird sanctuary, Kuimba Shiri, near Harare, Zimbabwe, Wednesday, June, 17, 2020. Kuimba Shiri, Zimbabwe's only bird park, has survived tumultuous times, including violent land invasions and a devastating economic collapse. Now the outbreak of COVID-19 is proving a stern test. With Zimbabwe’s inflation currently at more than 750%, tourism establishments are battling a vicious economic downturn worsened by the new coronavirus travel restrictions. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)
Zimbabwe bird sanctuary has 400 species, not enough tourists

By Farai Mutsaka Jul. 11, 2020 03:08 AM EDT

This March 2011 photo provided by the Wildlife Trust of India shows a tiger skin which was seized when it was being delivered to a suspected buyer in a hotel in Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. Since the country announced its 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, at least four tigers and six leopards have been killed by poachers, Wildlife Protection Society of India said. (WTI via AP)
Coronavirus lockdowns increase poaching in Asia, Africa

By Aniruddha Ghosal And Michael Casey Jun. 22, 2020 12:27 AM EDT

In this May 11, 2014 photo provided by the International Crane Foundation, curator of birds Kim Boardman holds an endangered whooping crane, while senior aviculturist Marianne Wellington performs artificial insemination. The foundation is not using the technique this year because foundation officials feel it would go against COVID-19 social distancing guidelines. This is among reasons that far fewer young whooping cranes than usual will be released into the wiild this fall to help bring back the world's rarest crane. (International Crane Foundation via AP)
Pandemic hampers raising rare whooping cranes for the wild

By Janet Mcconnaughey Jun. 10, 2020 12:12 PM EDT

Flags are carried at a tribute ceremony to honour Capt. Jennifer Casey at the Kamloops Airport Thursday May 21, 2020. Capt. Casey, the Snowbirds public affairs officer, died after the Snowbirds jet she was in crashed shortly after takeoff. (Jeff Bassett/The Canadian Press via AP)
Bird strike might have caused Snowbird aerobatic plane crash

Jun. 01, 2020 12:45 PM EDT

In this Monday, May 4, 2020 photo, a wild turkey crosses a field in Freeport, Maine. States around the country are encouraging hunters to hunt turkeys this spring despite social distancing rules. The hunt will look different than usual because of concerns about the virus. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Not giving it up cold turkey: Bird hunters just winging it

By Patrick Whittle May. 09, 2020 08:12 AM EDT

Bird-watching soars amid COVID-19 as Americans head outdoors

By Gillian Flaccus May. 02, 2020 11:14 AM EDT
Conner Brown, a 25-year-old law student at Stanford University, spent the early days of the pandemic following his brother as he spotted and collected...

In this Monday, April 6, 2020, photo, monkeys wait for food at Pashupatinath temple, the country's most revered Hindu temple, during the lockdown in Kathmandu, Nepal. Guards, staff and volunteers are making sure animals and birds on the temple grounds don't starve during the country's lockdown, which halted temple visits and stopped the crowds that used to line up to feed the animals. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Volunteers feed hungry animals at Nepal's revered shrine

By Binaj Gurubacharya Apr. 13, 2020 12:48 AM EDT