Birds boast some of the most vibrant colors among terrestrial animals. Our pretty avian friends have inspired our Democrat and Chronicle photographers for years and captured the imaginations of many ...

A Fork-tailed Flycatcher. Credit: Valentina Gómez-Bahamón, Field Museum Bird feathers have many different functions. Softer down keeps a bird warm and stiffer wing feathers are used for flight.

What makes a blue jay blue or a cardinal red? Color, a crucial element in nature, is most evident in the amazing hue and pattern variations in more than 10,000 bird species around the world. How birds ...

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A feathered cape from 19th century Hawaii will soon be on display at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. The red, yellow and black ahu’ula is made from i’iwi and o’o bird ...

‘Blue-throated Toucanet,’ from John Gould’s 1833 ‘Monograph of the Ramphastidae,’ or ‘Family of Toucans.’ (Courtesy photo) The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History’s latest exhibit, Splendid ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. When it’s time to impress a potential mate, many birds rely on ...

Birds tweet, squawk, chirp, hoot, cluck, and screech to communicate with each other. Some birds have found another way to talk, though: they make sounds by fluttering their feathers or smacking their ...

The red and yellow feathers of parrots aren’t really that different at the chemical level, despite their unmistakable hues. A study published in Royal Society Open Science on July 4 finds that the ...

If you had to describe a male peacock’s tail feathers, you might pick words like “dazzling” or “beautiful.” You probably wouldn’t go with “stealthy,” “aerodynamic,” or “subtle.” Peacock tails are just ...

Peacock tails are just one example of how evolution walks a line between favoring traits that make it easier to survive, and traits that make it easier to find a mate. In a new study, scientists have ...