A half-century of guerrilla conflict is coming to an end in Colombia. In its wake, tourists are returning — especially birders. Colombia is home to 1,900 bird species, more than any other country.
A recently thatched roof on a historic barn is being stripped bare by small birds from the crow family; they're tugging out the straws and "idly discarding them," as the U.K.'s National Trust puts it.
The 15-year project wasn't a flight of fancy. Biologists used a plane to successfully teach many young, captive-bred whooping cranes to migrate cross-country. But the birds aren't reproducing well.
Every year, the Eternal City plays host to millions of migrating starlings. That creates problems — slippery, splattery problems. Falcons have been enlisted to drive them away, but have failed.
It can take more than just a keen ear to figure out what animals are saying. Sometimes, scientists are learning, you have to talk back to map the rich networks of conversation in a forest.
With wingspans over 9 feet long, California condors are so big that they're at risk for electrocution when they fly into or land on power poles. One San Diego program seeks to change this behavior.
The ribs of a 240 million-year-old fossil hold clues to how the first turtle shell evolved. And its skull shape seems closer to that of lizards and snakes than to an ancestor of dinosaurs and birds.
Wild swans — which all belong by law to the queen — are among Britain's most cherished birds. But there's been an uptick in incidents of neglect and cruelty. Some swans are even being eaten.