Each Canada goose that you see flying around in formation around Lancaster County these days has between 20,000 and 25,000 feathers, most hidden from sight. A typical songbird at your backyard feeder ...

Dove, Carla J., Arijke, A. M., Wang, X., and Andrews, L. S. 2007. "Infrared analysis of contour feathers. The conservation of body heat radiation in birds." Journal ...

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 ...

Many birds’ feathers are remarkably efficient at shedding water — so much so that “like water off a duck’s back” is a common expression. Much more unusual are the belly feathers of the sandgrouse, ...

Vanya, curator of birds and mammals at the Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates, studies a turkey vulture wing at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. — Photos: BRYAN ANSELM/The New York Times Vanya ...