Balloons can pollute the oceans, harm wildlife and get tangled in power lines.

Seaside California City Bans Balloons in Public

Laguna Beach has joined several other cities taking aim at ocean pollution, wildlife health, power outages and wildfires

A worker catches chickens at a market in Cambodia, where a girl recently died from avian influenza.

Bird Flu Causes the Death of an 11-Year-Old in Cambodia

A father and daughter both contracted avian influenza, the first cases in the country since 2014

An artist's depiction of Macronectes tinae, a newly identified extinct species of giant petrel that lived in New Zealand.

The Wonderful World of Birds

Amateur Fossil Hunter Discovers New Species of Giant Petrel in New Zealand

The now-extinct birds, which lived roughly three million years ago, likely used their hooked bills to feast on seal carcasses

Emperor penguins rely on sea ice to reproduce and, as a result, are vulnerable to global warming.

The Wonderful World of Birds

Scientists Discover an Emperor Penguin Colony From Poop Stains in Satellite Images

Researchers pinpointed the group of roughly 500 birds in West Antarctica

One standout feature of the renovated Bird House at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is the chance for close-up, interactive experiences (above: a cedar waxwing).

The Wonderful World of Birds

Experience the Wonder of Migration at the National Zoo’s New Bird House

Following a six-year renovation, the revamped exhibition will open March 13 with three indoor aviaries

Purple martins perch on a branch in the Brazilian Amazon.

The Wonderful World of Birds

Why Are Purple Martins Declining in the United States?

Mercury contamination in their Amazonian wintering grounds may play a role

Cacao growing on a tree at Zorzal Cacao, the first farm certified by Smithsonian's new Bird Friendly cocoa program.

The Wonderful World of Birds

Why Buying ‘Bird Friendly Cocoa’ Is a Sweet Deal

The Smithsonian launches a new certification for chocolate lovers looking to help their feathery friends

Íris Dröfn Guðmundsdóttir (left) and her cousin Anton Ingi Eiríksson release pufflings from the Hamarinn sea cliff on the Icelandic island of Heimaey.

An Icelandic Town Goes All Out to Save Baby Puffins

Kids and senior citizens alike rally to rescue beloved young seabirds that have lost their bearings

Flamingo the king pigeon was rescued from Madison Square Park in New York City on January 30, 2023. 

A Mysterious Pink Pigeon in New York City Has Died

The bird may have been colored as part of a gender reveal

Flaco, a Eurasian eagle-owl, stands beside a trap with a rat inside. He tried to grab the rat and became briefly snared by the trap's wires, then got free and flew away.

Owl Escapes From Zoo, Becomes a New York Celebrity

A Eurasian eagle-owl named Flaco has been on the loose for a week after his enclosure at the Central Park Zoo was vandalized