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Image: Taketo Oishi/AP Photo/picture allianceImage: Taketo Oishi/AP Photo/picture alliance

Birds

The air is their domain: our feathered friends are a formidable class of animal. Whether in daily life or through hobby birding, humans have always had a special relationship with avian life.

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All Content on this topic

[No title]

It’s time to talk about fireworks

The last day of the year is a great one to be a human. For birds and other animals, it’s hell on Earth.
ScienceDecember 1, 202217:27 min
A murmuration of migrating starlings is seen near the village of Beit Kama in southern Israel

Starlings and their fascinating flight formations

The incredible, moving shapes formed by these birds, known as murmurations, are a treat for observers and photographers.
Nature and EnvironmentNovember 6, 202211 images
Projekt Zukunft | Zuschauerfrage Dinos

Just ask!

This time the viewer question comes from David Burgos from Colombia.
Nature and EnvironmentOctober 14, 202202:14 min
Birds being held

European farmers struggle to contain bird flu

Normally, there are only a few bird flu cases between May and October, but the current epidemic has hit farmers hard.
HealthOctober 3, 2022
A newly identified bird, named 'Rayadito Subantartico' seen at Gonzalo island.

New bird species found on South America's tip

Scientists have identified a new species of bird, named "Subantarctic rayadito", on the isolated Diego Ramirez Islands.
Nature and EnvironmentAugust 27, 2022
The Environment Magazine

Eco Africa — The Environment Magazine

On Eco Africa: E-bikes offer more sustainable transportation in Africa and a solar powered car made in Morocco.
Nature and EnvironmentJuly 7, 202226:06 min
Global 3000 vom 04.04 - Global Kap Verde Seevögel

Cape Verde: Tourism threatens seabird populations

In Cape Verde, conservationists are working to protect seabirds from the impact of tourism.
Nature and EnvironmentJuly 7, 202204:14 min
Cape Verde: Tourism threatens seabird populations

Cape Verde: Tourism threatens seabird populations

In Cape Verde, conservationists are working to protect seabirds from the impact of tourism.
Nature and EnvironmentJuly 7, 202203:45 min
[No title]

Cloudy with a chance of COVID

Here's a riddle: How do you predict the spread of a virus from a few hundred miles above the earth?
ScienceMay 27, 202219:55 min
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Teaching conservation: Delhi's 'nest man'

Rakesh Khatri's hobby has become his life's work: giving birds a home, and teaching others to do the same.
Nature and EnvironmentMay 18, 202202:33 min
A flock of gray geese (Anser anser).

The perilous life of migratory birds

From habitat loss to hunting, humans pose all kinds of danger to migratory birds. But it doesn't have to be this way.
Nature and EnvironmentMay 13, 2022
Four gouldian finches on a tree branch

Birds really are more colorful in the tropics

We've long believed tropical birds are more colorful than those from more temperate climates. A new study has proof.
ScienceApril 20, 20227 images
Casualty of a window strike in New York City

How to keep birds from colliding into glass

Conservationists seek to convince cities and building owners to introduce changes to stop birds from flying into glass.
Nature and EnvironmentApril 19, 2022
A red-billed tropicbird in the hand of a conservationist

Cabo Verde fights to save red-billed tropicbirds

Could new data on the habits of the migratory birds help us understand the health of the ocean?
Nature and EnvironmentApril 7, 2022
Italien |Fund bei archaeologischen Ausgrabungen in Park of Paestum und Velia

Revealing bird's-eye archeology

We join an aerial archeologist looking for Roman ruins from the skies above Germany.
ScienceApril 3, 202206:32 min
A flock of birds, hundreds of them, in a low cloud

Stunning photos featuring flocks of birds

Soren Solaer's photos of flocks of birds often resemble abstract paintings.
CultureMarch 12, 202204:02 min
DW Projekt Zukunft Sendungslogo Englisch (Tomorrow Today)

Tomorrow Today

What bird brains can do, how a T-Rex skeleton is assembled, why biochar helps the climate
ScienceMarch 5, 202226:01 min
Wide tree-lined boulevard in Paris

Three solutions to environmental problems

Altered seasons, burning forests and loud cities harming our health. Three environmental problems and their solutions.
Nature and EnvironmentFebruary 17, 2022
Eco Africa I UK Birds

A sanctuary for UK's endangered birds

The Ouse Fen Nature Reserve offers sanctuary to endangered bird species.
Nature and EnvironmentFebruary 3, 202202:16 min
Two pigs

Of bird brains and herd mind — intelligence in the animal world

How intelligent are animals?
Nature and EnvironmentJanuary 27, 202213 images
Vultures feeding on a carcass

Nepal's vulture restaurant

As vicious and mean as they are often made out to be, vultures are a key part of the ecosystem — their preference for rotting flesh actually helps protect humans from diseases. So when vultures started dying en masse in Nepal and throughout South Asia in the 1990s, conservationists sounded the alarm. They also came up with a unique way of making sure the birds could eat, thrive and repopulate.
Nature and EnvironmentJanuary 20, 202207:28 min
A man in British attire and a sanitary glove hand-feeds a raven at the Tower of London

The Ravenmaster at the Tower of London

The Tower of London's ravens are almost as valuable as the crown jewels, and are guarded as such.
TravelJanuary 15, 202204:25 min
A dead crane lies on the ground at the Hula Lake conservation area in northern Israel

Israel: Bird flu kills cranes, forces chicken cull

The outbreak is being called the deadliest wildlife disaster in the country's history.
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 27, 2021
A lake in Kashmir

Vanishing wetlands threatens Kashmir livelihoods

Thousands of birds that flock to Indian-administered Kashmir each year are under threat due to shrinking wetlands.
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 2, 202103:01 min
DW Podcast | Science Unscripted

Weekly roundup — Is it time?

Forcing people to vaccinate is not an appealing option — at all. It might happen anyway.
ScienceNovember 27, 202130:00 min
DW Podcast | Science Unscripted

The test that birds can beat kids at

How do you explain the concept of time to a bird?
ScienceNovember 23, 202114:03 min
DW Podcast | Science Unscripted

Weekly roundup — (The wrong kind of quiet)

A world with less birdsong? Just step outside. Also, atheists don't tend to say what they are — and for good reason.
ScienceNovember 20, 202130:00 min
DW Podcast | Science Unscripted

Do you care about birds?

It's a callous question to ask, but with new evidence showing a stark decline in birds, it's worth trying to answer.
ScienceNovember 15, 202116:04 min
Intensive turkey breeding in Vignoc Brittany, north-western France

Bird flu: France orders poultry 'lockdown'

Poultry farmers have been ordered to keep flocks indoors in a bid to stop the contagious avian disease from spreading.
Nature and EnvironmentNovember 5, 2021
Silhouettes of flying migratory birds during sunset

Free as a bird: Celebrating World Migratory Bird Day

Friday's World Migratory Bird Day ups awareness about itinerant avians with the motto "Sing, Fly, Soar — Like a Bird!"
Nature and EnvironmentOctober 8, 20219 images
The chancellor proved a hit with the bird park's rainbow lorikeets

Parrots swoop in for Merkel swan song

Outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel had her hands full as she made a flying visit to a bird park.
OffbeatSeptember 24, 2021
Eco Africa - Saving Kenya's Ondiri wetland region

Saving Kenya's Ondiri wetland region

Environmentalists have come together to protect the Ondiri swamp by educating local communities about its importance.
Nature and EnvironmentSeptember 23, 202104:18 min
A griffon vulture spreads its wings in Israel, revealing its tracking numbers

Humans outnumbered: 11 amazing birds

Only think of birds when they fly overhead? Think again. At 50+ billion in the world, there are more of them than us.
ScienceAugust 27, 202111 images
Eco Africa - Cape cormorant birds on South Africa’s Robben Island

Saving South Africa's cormorant population

An NGO is working to save the Cape cormorant population from Robben Island by rescuing and hand rearing them.
Nature and EnvironmentAugust 5, 202104:18 min
Mali Oberst Assimi Goita, Anführer der malischen Militärjunta

AfricaLink on Air - 20 July 2021

Nigeria arrests separatist Yoruba leader+++Ghana's bird flu outbreak
PoliticsJuly 20, 202130:00 min
Skeleton bird figurine on a bird feeder hanging in a tree

Birds are dying in the United States and no one knows why

Birds are dropping dead in the US capital as an illness seems to be spreading. Experts say they don't know why.
Nature and EnvironmentJuly 7, 2021
wall full of cuckoo clocks

Quirky German bird idioms

What Germans mean when they tell you 'only the cuckoo knows!'
CultureJune 30, 2021
Bird caught in a glue trap

France bans glue traps for bird hunting

Environmental and animal rights activists have long decried the practice as "inhumane."
Nature and EnvironmentJune 28, 2021
DW Podcast | Science Unscripted

Weekly roundup: Sleep, COVID-19 and an ostrich

Night owls have higher depression than early birds. Can we change that? Also, why store vaccination info in QR codes?
ScienceJune 1, 202130:00 min
DW Podcast | Science Unscripted

YOUR ANSWERS to the bird quiz

Seven birdcalls. That was the challenge we put to you just over a week ago. And now, it's time for a reckoning.
ScienceMay 26, 202107:02 min
DW Podcast | Science Unscripted

Weekly roundup — Birds, babies & COVID-19

Have an ear for birdsong? Take our quiz and find out! Also, some kind of big updates on three COVID-19 vaccines.
ScienceMay 18, 202130:00 min
An owl sits on display at an exotic bird cafe in Tokyo, Japan

50 billion birds live on Earth, new study finds

According to the estimation, there are at least six times more birds on the planet than people.
ScienceMay 18, 2021
DW Podcast | Science Unscripted

Take the DW birdsong quiz

If you recognize a few of the chirps in our quiz, please take a second and send your answers to [email protected].
ScienceMay 14, 202114:27 min
Eco Africa - Eggs of migratory birds in Burkina Faso

Migratory birds in decline around Burkina Faso

NGOs are working to bring Burkina Faso's ecosystem back into balance so migratory birds can nest like they used to.
Nature and EnvironmentApril 8, 202104:26 min
DW Euromaxx 13.03.21 | Solkær

Spectacular photos of flocks of birds

Usually, Søren Solkær photographs stars like Adele or Björk. For his current project, the Danish photographer sought new leading actors: starlings. His photos of flocks of birds often look like abstract paintings.
LifestyleMarch 13, 202104:33 min
Pinguins in Edinburgh Zoo

Norwegian penguins get vaccinated

Fears of bird flu have kept them under strict confinement for months.
HealthMarch 5, 2021
Workers in protective gear handle poultry

Russia logs first human case of AH5N8 bird flu

Seven workers at a poultry farm in southern Russia were infected during an outbreak in December.
HealthFebruary 20, 2021
Störche auf Mülldeponie

Storks in Spain transforming into junk food junkies

A symbol of fertility and prosperity, the stork has been making its summer home on European fields and rooftops for millennia. European white storks typically migrated to Africa when the seasons turned to winter up north — but warmer winters due to climate change, along with a steady new food source are convincing the birds to stay put in Europe over the winter.
Nature and EnvironmentFebruary 11, 202108:01 min
Grauhals-Kronenkranich

Kenya's grey crowned cranes under threat

People from all over the world come to observe the striking African crowned crane in its native habitat. Worldwide, birding is a multi-billion-dollar industry, and a vital source of income in many communities. The bird lives across East Africa — but it is declining in Kenya. And some volunteers have made it their business to take care of grey crowned cranes — starting with the local community.
Nature and EnvironmentFebruary 11, 202104:35 min
Hooded vulture ripping into dead rat

Vultures gain a lobby

Scavenger birds like the vulture play a critical role in ecosystems, eating decaying flesh and returning that energy to the food web. But the fact that these birds rely on eating dead animals also puts them at risk. Though vultures don't exactly capture the hearts and minds of the general population, some people have made it their mission to lobby for these undesirables.
Nature and EnvironmentFebruary 11, 202102:43 min