Explore Birds

A Common Grackle vocalizes with its beak wide open and wings outstretched, perching on a cattail.

10 Fun Facts About the Common Grackle

December 10, 2025 — Scrappy, adaptable, and cosmopolitan, this blackbird is a survivor worth celebrating.

A person's hands sort through small bones and bits of fur with a toothpick on a white surface.

Where Do Owl Pellets Actually Come From? Inside the Unusual Business of Bird Barf

December 02, 2025 — From roost to retail, a network of field scouts and suppliers collect and process the regurgitated balls of bones that students dissect in science classrooms across the country.

Bird Science

A mural of three Lesser Yellowlegs painted on a white brick building.

Lesser Yellowlegs by Justin Suarez

November 18, 2025 — Location: Frosted Farmhouse, 112 Hawick St, Rockton, IL 61072

̽��ѡ Mural Project Partners

Aerial view of a colorful mural of two Lesser Yellowlegs painted on a brick building.

Lesser Yellowlegs by Robert Fishbone

November 18, 2025 — Location: 224 Front Street, Alton, Illinois 62002

̽��ѡ Mural Project Partners

Avis Spiralis

November 12, 2025 — A one-of-a-kind bird blind and observation tower

UMR Arts & Culture

Carole Turek smiles watching a hummingbird hovering at a flower she's holding.

Meet the Woman on a Mission to Photograph Every Species of Hummingbird in the World

November 12, 2025 — In less than a decade amateur photographer and Hummingbird Spot founder Carole Turek has photographed more than 250 hummingbird species, including one that was long considered extinct.

Profiles

An entirely white Common Loon raises its wings, floating on a lake.

‘Once-in-a-Lifetime’ Photos Capture a Rare White Loon’s First Summer

November 07, 2025 — Montana photographer Tony Gangemi documented a season in the life of a leucistic Common Loon, from its first days as a “little cotton ball” up until its first flight.

Photography & Videography