Owl pellets aren't poop, and they're not vomit either. Here's how to tell a pellet from a dropping, what's actually inside ...

There's a lot to look forward to in spring for birders. The flowers are blooming, old friends are returning, and birdsong is at its peak. The sheer volume of songs and calls can often feel ...

An odd little diver, the main North American representative of the group of stiff-tailed ducks, with spiky tail feathers that are often cocked up in the air. Usually, the Ruddy Duck is lethargic and ...

Flashing its trademark yellow rump patch as it flies away, calling check for confirmation, this is one of our best-known warblers. While most of its relatives migrate to the tropics in fall, the ...

This tiny bird is often hard to see in summer, when it lives high in tall conifers. In migration and winter, however, it often flits about low in woods and thickets, flicking its wings nervously as it ...

The Northern Fulmar is patterned somewhat like a gull but very different in flight behavior. A Northern Fulmar flies fast with quick wingbeats and stiff-winged glides, wheeling effortlessly in strong ...

This medium-sized owl is widespread but not particularly well known in North America. The Long-eared Owl seems to call less often or less conspicuously than many of our other owls, so it may be ...

Widespread on Pacific Coast from Alaska to California, but more local in the east, being found mainly off eastern Canada. This large auk sits upright on sea cliffs, looking like a northern version of ...

Common over much of the continent is the little Chipping Sparrow. Originally a bird of open pine woods and edges, it has adapted well to altered landscapes. It now nests in gardens and parks in many ...

In North America, the Magnificent Frigatebird is seen most commonly in Florida. However, they also appear regularly along the Gulf Coast, and strays have turned up in many parts of the continent.

A hardy grouse of barren ground in the high Arctic, well adapted to harsh surroundings. Well camouflaged by white winter plumage and mottled brown summer plumage; male molts later in spring than ...

Part of a complex of similar gulls, this bird closely resembles the American Herring Gull or Ring-billed Gull, and is intermediate between those two in size. The California Gull nests around lakes in ...