News Archive

The brown-headed cowbird ( Molothrus ater) is a brood parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of other birds. These "foster parents", called hosts, usually raise cowbird young at the expense of their own eggs or young.

Flight affords the utmost in mobility and has made possible the evolution of avian migration as a means of exploiting distant food resources and avoiding the physiological stress associated with cold weather.

Imagine. It is dark and you have been traveling at an altitude of 5,000 feet for eight hours over arid desert, crossing the Mexican border at midnight. You have been flying on your own two wings, fueled by body fat and guided by the celestial map of the constellations. The sun begins to rise, and...

Several species of insects including the Western Spruce Budworm, Gypsy Moth, Western Pine Beetle, and the Eastern Spruce Budworm experience population cycles in which populations remain low for several years and are followed by outbreaks (population explosions). During non-outbreak years, these...

In the midst of altered and shrinking habitat in both North and Latin America, migratory birds have found a sanctuary in the forest-like environment of traditional coffee plantations. In eastern Chiapas, Mexico, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center biologists found that traditionally-managed coffee and...