The Smithsonian celebrates beautiful birds in our museums, our research centers, our gardens, and in coffee shops. We hold, care for, and share artistic and scientific observations compiled over ...

Most of the flight muscles controlling the wing beat are attached to the shoulder blades, unlike birds, whose muscles are braced against the rib cage ... appreciation for the role it plays in ...

After losing the ability to fly, birds lose those feather features in the opposite order that they first evolved. Some more recently-evolved feather adaptations, like the asymmetry in the flight ...

Some birds renew their flight feathers, which can take up to a month. 6. Migrating birds can be divided into “calendar birds” and “weather birds” We don’t know exactly what makes birds ...

Wendy Jehlen’s “Conference of the Birds” for her troupe Anikaya Dance Theater is based on an Iranian poem from the 12th century, but it is strikingly resonant for the present moment.