The Cool Down

Photographer captures stunning images of rare animal not seen in over 30 years: 'At first unsure of what it was'

Visitors at a Yorkshire nature reserve recently got a once-in-a-lifetime surprise: a white-throated needletail.

First ever British sighting of bird native to the US in the New Forest

A first ever British sighting of a Boat-tailed Grackle, a bird native to the eastern United States, has been made at Calshot Spit.
Brown University

Pecking with power: How tiny woodpeckers deliver devastating strikes to drill into wood

A new study reveals how woodpeckers combine breathing and whole-body coordination to drill into trees with extraordinary ...

Can birds imitate R2-D2? Yes, and some are surprisingly good at it

When you think of birds imitating sounds, parrots and starlings might come to mind. They're famous for copying human speech, ...

The bird that kills with a kick: How the ‘secretary bird’ is changing evolutionary science

Africa's secretary bird, a raptor with crane-like legs, delivers powerful, precise kicks to subdue prey like snakes. New research reveals these strikes, exceeding five times the bird's body weight, ...