Birds and their feathers have been important to humans since prehistoric times. Birds were important for food. Feathers were ...

Quick Take Shatters the pigment myth: structural coloration crafts the vivid blue feathers, produced by microscopic feather ...

Why are some songbirds so brightly colored? A new study finds that a hidden layer of black and white feathers help their colors pop. Have you ever looked at a bird and wondered, how can it be so red ...

A rare feather from an extinct New Zealand bird set a record at auction after selling for $46,521 NZD ($28,400 USD), the Webb's auction house announced Monday. The huia bird, of the wattlebird family, ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. The IUCN Red List, which assesses the extinction risk of ...

How does iridescence work? From rainbow bubbles to beautiful birds, bugs, and gemstones. Why is a soap bubble rainbow? What makes an oil slick beautiful? Iridescent colors, which transform depending ...

Because birds live outdoors, there's an assumption that they're dirty and harbor many insect pests among their feathers. But this is very wide of the mark: Birds are as clean as cats, spending almost ...

NEW YORK - To woo mates, male golden pheasants are dressed to impress. They strut around with cinnamon-colored tail quills and a striped hood of orange and black feathers. Then there is its forehead ...

Chipping Sparrow, Female Bird Winner, United States and Canada, Boise, Idaho; Chipping Sparrows can be found in summer from coast to coast and from central Alaska to Central America. The National ...