Living Bird Winter 2023—Table Of Contents

Birders added more than 9 million photos to the Cornell Lab’s Macaulay Library in 2022 alone. From bee-eaters to Bat Falcons, kingfishers to cockatoos, and loons to lorikeets, here are some of our favorites.

A decade of research has revealed how the cognitive abilities of chickadees are shaped by their surroundings. Now scientists have begun to peer inside the black box of genetics, uncovering the variations in the birds’ DNA that made these adaptations possible.

The latest State of the Birds Report uncovers continuing declines but also shows opportunities for bringing birds back—while aligning bird conservation with biodiversity protection, environmental justice, and climate resilience.

It’s a fun new avenue for bird photography: using a “camera trap” to shoot images whenever a bird appears in your backyard—like an avian selfie photo booth.