October 2012

How the Barred Owl's success in the Pacific Northwest is forcing managers of the endangered Northern Spotted Owl to think the unthinkable.

Why sapsuckers often choose to make their nests in living, not dead, trees -- and aspens in particular.

Where and when to go to enjoy the surprising array of birds that make their home amid the otherworldly tufa towers in California's beautiful Mono Lake.

Here we publish 20 personal ads. Can you guess which North American bird species wrote each one?

Located on the shore of Lake Erie, a great place to watch migrating raptors in fall.

An extensive tract of ponderosa pine and western larch that attracts migrating warblers and other songbirds in fall and is home to 10 species of woodpecker.

Thirteen routes that lead birders in canoes through the upper Mobile-Tensaw River Delta, known for its abundance of waterfowl, waders, raptors, and songbirds.

The former site of Meigs Field is a magnet to migrating birds that follow the Lake Michigan shore.

The 24-hour competitions known as Big Days may be big fun, but they also produce a goldmine of serious data about birds.

Why you can rely on native trees and shrubs to attract a host of birds with a minimum of effort.

How three South American species -- Hoatzin, Sungrebe, and Sunbittern -- helped repay a student's debt to a beloved mentor.

How to distinguish Western Kingbird from Cassin's Kingbird and Tropical Kingbird.

How leg length can help you tell a goldfinch from a warbler, or a siskin from a sparrow.

A falcon, warbler, and hummingbird to find now.

How researchers who tracked the annual movements of Pacific Golden-Plovers discovered a previously unknown circular transoceanic migration route.

A study of feathers that reflect ultraviolet light proves that birds' ability to tell males from females is far better than our own.

Why scientists now believe that the extinct Carolina Parakeet was related to faraway South American species, not to much closer birds in Mexico, Cuba, or the Caribbean.

How a birder in Wisconsin in May 2011 spotted a rarely seen hybrid between Yellow-throated Warbler and Northern Parula.

Thanks to reports from birdwatchers and other amateur naturalists, scientists now know that more than 50 bird species can become entangled in spider webs.

How we know that readers of this magazine not only enjoy reading the section "Hotspots Near You" but also visit the destinations described in it.

How critically endangered Millerbirds were returned to the Pacific island of Laysan for the first time since introduced rabbits and other grazing mammals imperiled the birds about a century ago.

See a family of Canada Geese, a squirrel in a Wood Duck box, Least Terns, an Acorn Woodpecker, a stunning Red-bellied Woodpecker, and a Mountain Bluebird in flight.

How a reader in Pennsylvania took a photo in June 2012 that makes a female Dickcissel look like a ball of fluffy feathers.

Readers tell whether they think of themselves as bird-watchers or bird-getters and speak out about nighthawks and nightjars, birdbath cleaning, and bird identification.