The song of birds can be soothing and inspiring, but birds sing for more than just the beauty of it. Birds use song, call notes and behavior to communicate with each other. Birds use sound and action to scare off predators or warn other birds about danger, to attract a mate or to defend one’s...
Birds are admired for their beauty, songs, and the grace of their ability to fly and most importantly birds are admired for the role they play in the ecosystem. Yes, birds contribute to the environment directly and indirectly. This is often called “Ecosystem Services”. Many ecologically important plants require pollination by birds, and some birds...
For many years, scientists have known of how the red or yellow colour of feathers is achieved. These colours come from pigments in food the birds eat, meaning that they are diet based. One of the challenges in avian colour has been to figure out how the #blue colour is achieved. Interestingly, it came to...
Having an understanding of what birds eat is important when it comes to having an overall idea of their preferred diets. Every bird has a different dietary preference, and if the preferences are known for different birds then this can be used to your advantage when birding or searching for birds in the wild. Thank...
Seabirds have made numerous adaptations to living on and feeding in the sea. Species such as the wandering albatross, which forage over huge areas of sea, have a reduced capacity for powered flight and are dependent on a type of gliding called dynamic soaring as well as slope soaring. Seabirds also almost always have webbed...
Bird watching has become an exciting hobby that anyone can take part in. Some people doing it casually, while others are confirmed birders who plan expeditions to far off places on the chance of seeing a particular type of bird. Learning about different birds from different parts of the world is a never-ending pursuit. Thank...
Terrestrial birds are type of birds that are generally found on the ground, not only foraging but also nesting and roosting on the ground or very low bushes. For most terrestrial birds that do fly, they generally stay low above the ground or close to cover when flying. Their way of flying is usually short,...
The term waterbird is used to refer to birds that live on or around water. Waterbirds are well adapted to their aquatic lives. They have feet functioning as paddles, and their feathers are made to be waterproof and air tight. Thank you to all the photographers that submitted photos of birds with the theme WaterBirds,...
Colors play an important role in our lives and different reactions are shown to different bird colors. All over the world, we see birds with most colourful and incredible plumage. Thank you to all the photographers that submitted photos of birds with the theme ColourfulBirds, your pictures can create awareness about the variety and beauty...
Bird watching has become an exciting hobby that anyone can take part in. Some people doing it casually, while others are confirmed birders who plan expeditions to far off places on the chance of seeing a particular type of bird. Learning about different birds from different parts of the world is a never-ending pursuit. Thank...
To celebrate World Wildlife Day, we’ve interviewed two of our National Geographic Photo Ark EDGE Fellows, Daniel Arauz-Naranjo and Jamal Galves, to learn more about them and what they’re currently doing to help save marine wildlife. Each Fellow focuses their conservation efforts on an Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species featured in the Photo...
By Jessica Perelman, PhD Student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa “95% of our oceans have never been explored.” This is a statistic that I hear regularly, and it holds a pretty strong message. What’s out there beneath the surface? How is the ocean changing? One of the greatest challenges in conveying the significance...
By Kyaw Thinn Latt “It used to be quite easy to catch enough fish to feed my family and for me to sell the surplus in the market,” laments Mr. Than Zaw Htay, a coastal fisher in the Kyeintali area of Myanmar, “but these days it is harder and harder to catch enough.” This situation...
By Cheryl Chetkiewicz [Note: this is the third and final blog in this WCS series during the Global Climate Action Summit, taking place in San Francisco this week, examining the role of Indigenous Peoples in protecting forest resources and mitigating climate change.] At 5.6 million square kilometres, Canada’s boreal region is one of the largest forests...
By Lilian Painter [Note: this is the second in a 3-part series during the Global Climate Action Summit, taking place in San Francisco this week, examining the role of Indigenous Peoples in protecting forest resources and mitigating climate change.] This week in San Francisco, government and business leaders, investors, and average citizens are gathering to inspire...