Feathers are of ultimate importance to birds — crucial for flying, protection from rain, heat and cold and, during nesting season, attracting mates and defending territories. No wonder, then, that ...

Scientists discovered that the preen oil gland secretions, by which all aquatic birds make their feathers waterproof, support a natural mechanism that concentrates AIVs from water onto birds' bodies.

Green herons don't do Facebook, and they certainly don't use Twitter. They don't play bridge or read novels. Not that they don't have time to fill. We've often had green herons visit the swampy pond ...

I thought my cat was bad. The incessant licking to keep himself clean. He’s got to be the cleanest cat ever. Then I watched a northern mockingbird preening itself. It went on for as long as I could ...

Birds are known to choose their mates via calls and oral communication. But scientists at Michigan State University say scent is just as important. In a study published in this month's edition of the ...

Some people have the mistaken idea that birds are dirty, vermin-ridden creatures, a view that's very wide of the mark. I can't quite fathom where this odd notion comes from, unless it's based on the ...

Rival groups of birds behave like football fans, shouting chants at each other and commiserating after a loss, according to a UK researcher. Green woodhoopoes, a South African bird, live together in ...

This park is for the birds — literally! Sunset Parkers celebrated the one-year anniversary of a hard-to-find park on Nov. 22 by spiffing it up for its most frequent visitors — birds. Volunteers weeded ...

The more we study nonhuman animals (animals) the more we learn about how sophisticated some of their behavior truly is. In many species it takes both parents to successfully rear their youngsters ...