Feature Stories

Four researchers kneeling in sand secure a Brown Pelican by its beak and prepare to swab its mouth.
North Carolina's Cape Fear River Is a ‘Forever Chemical’ Hotspot—What Does That Mean for Its Birds and People?
March 25, 2025 — Amid mounting global health concerns about PFAS, communities living along the waterway must grapple with how contamination is affecting life on the river. Yet as hard as it is to conduct health studies on humans, it’s even harder with wild animals.
From Audubon Magazine
A long line of students, books in hand, walk from their schoolhouse through a grassy field.
How an Indigenous Community in the Amazon Created a Bird Guide of Their Own
March 25, 2025 — Inspired by naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace’s visit nearly two centuries ago, an isolated Indigenous community in Brazil worked with scientists to survey local birds and document cultural traditions. In doing so, they flipped the script of how research gets done.
From Audubon Magazine
Partially hidden by brown grass and shrubbery, a Lesser Prairie-Chicken with its patterned, striped feathers dances to attract a mate.
In the Great Plains, Landowners Are Banking On the Lesser Prairie-Chicken’s Survival
March 25, 2025 — The best bet to save the imperiled species may be a system that pays farmers and ranchers to protect its grassland home.
From Audubon Magazine
The Many Ways Scientists Are Turning Birds Into Feathered Field Assistants
March 25, 2025 — From frigatebirds and gulls to curlews and cormorants, researchers are tapping the ”Internet of Animals” to map, understand, and protect our changing world.
From Audubon Magazine