May | June 2008

Timeless Birds, Changing Times
By Howard Youth

Like pandas of the bird world, cranes capture our attention with their exceptional beauty and complex behaviors—and their vulnerability to habitat loss and other threats. With helping hands, some species are recovering, just as others slide downward.

Cranes at the Zoo

Weedy New World
By Mary-Russell Roberson

Unleashed on purpose or by accident, invasive exotic plants face few obstacles when it comes to over-running native ecosystems, be they in the humid East or the dry Southwest. While eradication may now be impossible, conservationists are finding some surprising twists in some not-so-new weeds. Some can be hunted down by introduced insects, but is this always good for native wildlife?

Fabulous Frugivores
By Susan Lumpkin

Whether broadcasting fruit seeds in forests or cementing themselves inside nest cavities, the hornbills of Asia are a breed apart.