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Where the latest news about birds and conservation takes flight.
On Florida's Marco Island, families of Burrowing Owls live among the locals. Photo: Karine Aigner
Fall 2025 Issue
The 2025 探花精选 Photography Awards: Winners
September 17, 2025 — Enjoy our annual celebration of outstanding bird visuals鈥攏ow featuring new prizes and winners from across the Western Hemisphere.
A mother Wild Turkey hen perches on a sturdy branch with her wings spread, protecting her small chicks.
The Wild Turkey Is a Comeback Bird We Can鈥檛 Take for Granted
September 19, 2025 — From bustling towns to rural woodlands, turkeys seem to be everywhere these days. But despite being an undeniable conservation success, questions still loom about the fate of this beloved yet confounding bird.
The three brothers pose for a portrait in Jim's home studio filled with paints and brushes, and a picture of Vincent Van Gogh on the wall.
For The Hautman Brothers, the Secret to Duck Stamp Dominance Is All in the Family
September 15, 2025 — The Minnesota painters have achieved unrivaled success in the federal government鈥檚 conservation-boosting art competition. They insist technical know-how has little to do with it.

探花精选 delivers essential news, advice, and reporting on birds and bird conservation.

Pairing compelling journalism with stunning photography and design, each quarterly issue helps readers grow their appreciation of birds and learn how to help them thrive. Our editorial team also reports and publishes stories on 探花精选.org daily, including science and conservation news, birding tips, photo galleries, and interactive reader experiences. In print and digital, through stories and visuals, 探花精选 emphasizes the importance of a diverse and inclusive science and conservation effort to help meet the challenges facing both birds and people today.

To receive our award-winning print publication, become a member of the National 探花精选 Society.  For our full editorial statement, masthead, pitch guidelines, and pay rates, please visit here

Read the Entire Fall 2025 Issue
Two covers of 探花精选 magazine side by side. The left features a Brandt's Cormorant and the right shows a Ringed Kingfisher.
Read the Entire Fall 2025 Issue

Inside: Tracking tiny songbirds to new heights. The 2025 探花精选 Photography Awards鈥攏ow featuring winners from Chile and Colombia. Get to know the resilient, befuddling Wild Turkey. How do these three brothers keep winning the federal duck stamp contest? Chasing a Snow Geese explosion across the continent. Learn to love squirrels (while keeping them out of your feeders). Read these stories and more.

Highlighted Feature Stories
North Carolina's Cape Fear River Is a 鈥楩orever Chemical鈥 Hotspot鈥擶hat Does That Mean for Its Birds and People?
North Carolina's Cape Fear River Is a 鈥楩orever Chemical鈥 Hotspot鈥擶hat Does That Mean for Its Birds and People?

Amid mounting global health concerns about PFAS, communities living along the waterway must grapple with how contamination is affecting life on the river. Yet as hard as it is to conduct health studies on humans, it鈥檚 even harder with wild animals.

Latest News and Articles
A gull in flight in a cloudy blue sky.
More Gulls, More Vireos: Latest Shakeup of North American Bird Names Splits Familiar Species
August 20, 2025 — 探花精选 field editor Kenn Kaufman breaks down this year鈥檚 checklist changes from the American Ornithological Society.
A Streaked Shearwater pooping while flying.
Poop-Cam Footage Shows These Seabirds Fertilize the Ocean With Their Body Weight Per Day in Guano
August 18, 2025 — Recording Streaked Shearwaters gave scientists a new window into the role seabirds play in fueling marine food webs鈥攁nd possibly spreading avian flu鈥攆ar from land.
A Chimney Swift flying low over rippling, greenish water.
10 Fun Facts About the Chimney Swift
August 12, 2025 — These little guys were built for life on the wing.
A light gray seabird hovers on a wave with its beak open at the surface.
How Do Seabirds Drink Salt Water?
August 07, 2025 — Albatrosses, petrels, and other ocean-dwellers can stay hydrated without fresh water. The key? Little glands above their eyes.
A Rufous Hummingbird perches on a thin branch and looks towards the camera.
Common Birds Are Declining the Fastest, and Habitat Loss Is to Blame, a New Study Finds
August 05, 2025 — As humans have transformed the natural environment, abundant birds have suffered the most鈥攚hile some rare species have increased.
A Brown Pelican on water holds its beak slightly open, revealing several fish flopping around in its gular pouch.
10 Fun Facts About the Brown Pelican
August 01, 2025 — They love fish but will eat whatever their pouches can hold.
A collage of two taxidermied bird specimens, a cloacascope, a book, and two documents on a black background.
鈥楩eather Detective鈥 Roxie Laybourne鈥檚 Career in Six Objects
July 22, 2025 — From a gynandromorphic grosbeak to feathers collected at a murder investigation in Florida, biographer Chris Sweeney shares six unusual artifacts he found while researching his new book about the world鈥檚 first forensic ornithologist.
A gull walking on pavement holding a piece of green baked good in its beak.
This Researcher Wants Your Photos of 鈥楪ulls Eating Stuff鈥
July 21, 2025 — A community science project examines how gull diets are shifting amid population declines.
A colorful, iridescent pigeon preens its mate, standing on a wood railing with a black background.
What Birding Can Teach Us About Living
July 18, 2025 — After an inspiring pigeon encounter with her son, a mother discovered a new appreciation for birds and the everyday wonders around us.
A grid of six colorful hummingbirds.
Quiz: How Well Do You Know Your Western Hummingbirds?
July 10, 2025 — Think you can tell a Calliope from a Costa's? Let's find out.

Find a Read

探花精选 magazine publishes a variety of story types in print and online. Peruse鈥攁nd enjoy鈥攋ust a sampling of our work below. 

Investigations
A New Plastic Wave Is Coming to Our Shores
A New Plastic Wave Is Coming to Our Shores

A glut of natural gas has led to a U.S. production surge in tiny plastic pellets, called nurdles, that are washing up on coasts by the millions.

Profiles
The Remarkable Life of Roxie Laybourne
The Remarkable Life of Roxie Laybourne

From deep within the Smithsonian, the world鈥檚 first forensic ornithologist cracked cases, busted criminals, and changed the course of aviation鈥攎aking the skies safer for us all.

Essays
What a Songbird Lost at Sea Taught Me About Survival
What a Songbird Lost at Sea Taught Me About Survival

Aboard a mission to explore the alien life of the deep ocean, a chance encounter with a migratory bird offered a point of connection鈥攐ne that has felt poignant this past year. 聽

Remembering Toni Morrison, the Bird Whisperer
Remembering Toni Morrison, the Bird Whisperer

A year after Morrison鈥檚 passing, a journalist and birder reflects on how her time with the cherished author changed her relationship with birds鈥攁nd with herself.

The 探花精选 Guide to Climate Action
The 探花精选 Guide to Climate Action

Feeling like you can鈥檛 make a difference? That couldn鈥檛 be further from the truth. Our award-winning guide shows you where to begin and how to 颅amplify your efforts to make lasting change in the world.

Dispatches
An Anna's Hummingbird perches on a twig in the center of the frame against a blurred background of blue, yellow, and green.

The 2025 探花精选 Photo Awards: Top 100

Revel in the staggering beauty and surprising behaviors featured in this gallery of our favorite images.

Photo Essays
Birding Advice and News
Bird Books and Culture
The 探花精选 Bird Guide
Pomarine Jaeger
Skuas and Jaegers
Abert's Towhee
New World Sparrows
Zenaida Dove
Pigeons and Doves
American Barn Owl
Barn Owls