Featured Articles
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The Secret to Song Sparrows’ Extraordinary Success Lies in Their Genome
This ordinary-seeming songbird species is teeming with subtle genetic diversity, which allows local populations to respond in various ways to a changing world.
By Rebecca Heisman
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As Birds Decline, High-Precision eBird Models Offer a Vision of Hope
Five years after the 3 Billion Birds Lost research, a follow-up study published in the journal Science showed how eBird Trends can reveal the patterns behind America’s bird declines—and pinpoint areas for future recoveries.
By Gustave Axelson
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Mountain Chickadees Change Their Tune When They Live Beside Black-capped Chickadees
As human-altered habitats bring two closely related chickadees together, one species’ song seems to be evolving to help them tell each other apart.
By Marc Devokaitis
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How a Supreme Court Justice Helped Create the 185-Mile C&O Canal Trail
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.
By Frederic J. Frommer
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Listening with Merlin Bird ID, I Hear the Patterns We Live By
A Merlin Bird ID user finds the app enhances more than just birding. It fosters attention, pattern recognition, even belonging.
Perspective essay by Andrew J. Lewis
Columns & Departments
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View from Sapsucker Woods: Studies of Declines Contain Blueprints for RecoveryBy Ian Owens
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In Ultraviolet Light, Birds-of-Paradise Show True ColorsBy Benjamin Hack
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A Bigger Range for the Lesser GoldfinchBy Marc Devokaitis
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Living Among the Song Sparrows of Mandarte IslandEssay by Miranda Rinck
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Incorporating eBird Trends into State of the Birds 2025By Gustave Axelson
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Birdword: An Illustrated Guide to Some Tongue-Twisting Ornithological TermsBy Rosemary Mosco
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Gallery: Bird Art Week 2025Artwork by Venus and Nayan, Sofia Betancur Silva, Theo Chang Andreu, Charlotte Belland, Zoe Keller, Lauren Richelieu, and Owen Tattersall