Birds

LATEST TODAY'S CATCH

Laysan Albatross with a Chick

May 10, 2013 - 9:27AMThe Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) breeds mainly in Hawaii and other Pacific islands where male and female pairs will incubate their egg for nine weeks. The pair participates in an elaborate courtship dance where...
Apr 15, 2013 - 10:25AM
These cute Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) are actually having a bit of...
Mar 27, 2013 - 9:30AM
There are over 30 colonies of king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) on...

SPOTLIGHT

Puffin in Flight

A tufted puffin (Fratercula cirrhata) in flight against a gray sky in Alaska’s Pribilof Islands (USA). Puffins are...
Jan 11 2013 - 10:40am
“I slowly approached this bird resting on the back of a turtle just under the surface of the water. I got the shot just before the tern flew away.” -- Nature's Best photographer, Nuno Sá. See more beautiful ocean photos in our slideshow of winners from the 2010 Nature's Best Ocean Views photo...
Apr 20 2012 - 11:59am
Two years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, brown pelicans roost on a mangrove island at the spill's "ground zero," said James Morris of the University of South Carolina. "The impact to this island was great. The recovery is impressive." More about the Gulf oil spill can be found in our Gulf...
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Recent Antarctic expeditions have documented climate-induced changes to emperor penguin habitats and impacts on how the penguins feed, breed, and raise their young.
Jun 6 2010 - 7:34pm
On June 3, 2010 a brown pelican, the Louisiana state bird, stands mired in oil in East Grand Terre. According to reports, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries was contacted, and biologists rescued about 20 oiled birds from the area. In November 2009 the brown pelican’s removal from...
Nov 4 2010 - 3:54pm
The St. Kilda site in the United Kingdom was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1986. The volcanic archipelago and surrounding marine waters have some of the highest cliffs in Europe and host large colonies of rare and endangered birds.
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Scripps scientist Gerald Kooyman's expeditions have documented climate-induced changes to emperor penguin habitat in Antarctica. Learn more about life at the poles or check out this emperor penguin chick with mother.
Apr 23 2013 - 5:19pm
Even if you aren't a hardcore birder, chances are you have some hidden love for penguins. These flightless birds have captured our hearts through countless movies, beautiful images and their adorable fluffy young.
Mar 18 2011 - 2:25pm
A menageries of seabirds (including cormorants and pelicans) and seal gather on a rocky outcrop. The photo is a still from The Changing Sea, part of the 19th Annual Environmental Film Festival, which was held in Washington, DC in 2011. See more pictures from the festival's movies.
May 6 2011 - 3:07pm
In honor of Mother's Day, the Citizens of the Sea blog salutes ocean-going mothers everywhere. Especially a 60 year-old albatross named Wisdom. She holds the seabird records for both oldest bird and oldest new mother. No stranger to motherhood, it is estimated that she has already birthed 30-35...
Jul 24 2012 - 9:47pm
A gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) mother stands with her chick in Antarctica. When walking on land, gentoo penguins waddle with their long tails dragging behind them; but in the water, they are the fastest penguins of them all, reaching swimming speeds of 36 kilometers per hour (around 22 miles...
Jun 28 2012 - 8:30am
“As we motored around Paulet Island in a Zodiac boat, these two curious penguins waddled across an iceberg to get a closer look at us.” -- Nature's Best photographer, Phillip Colla. See more beautiful ocean photos in our slideshow of winners from the 2010 Nature's Best Ocean Views photo contest....
Jun 2 2010 - 9:25am
Dr. Erica Miller of the Louisiana State Wildlife Response Team cleans oil form a pelican in Plaquemines Parish, LA. Wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico have been heavily impacted by an ongoing oil spill that began April 20, 2010 when the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform exploded and sank.
Aug 22 2012 - 1:57pm
The TOPP program brought together scientists from seven countries to explore the lives of large mid-water animals such as sea turtles, birds, whales, tuna, sharks, seals and even squids. Animals that live throughout the open ocean are often hard to track, and because of this difficulty, we know...