Birds In Paradise

04/28/2025

He looks like a punk rocker… but he’s really a living fossil.

Meet the hoatzin—one of the strangest birds on Earth. Found only in the Amazon and Orinoco basins, this prehistoric-looking bird smells like manure, hisses like a reptile, and feeds its chicks a leafy diet no other bird can digest.

But here’s the real kicker: baby hoatzins are born with claws on their wings. When danger strikes, they leap from the nest into water, swim to safety, then climb back up the tree using those claws—like a feathered dinosaur comeback tour.

From its blue, lizard-like face to that wild mohawk crest, the hoatzin isn’t just bizarre—it’s a reminder that evolution doesn’t always follow the rules. It rewrites them.

Nature's weirdest rebel. And it’s proud of it.

06/02/2024

04/02/2024

06/26/2023

04/25/2023

Oh no! You’ve found a baby bird on the ground, apparently alone and in distress. Its tiny chirps may pull at your heartstrings, but stopping and assessing the situation is essential. Here’s our guide on how and when to assist baby birds: https://bit.ly/3HdXnX0

03/25/2023

Standing an average of five feet tall and with a wingspan of eight feet, the Jabiru stork is one of the largest bird species in the Americas. In addition to their large size, another notable feature of the Jabiru stork is its throat sac. When it expands, it communicates to other birds that they are eager and excited - an important form of expression for a social bird. When greeting one another, they turn face-to-face, hold their necks upright, and rattle their beaks very quickly while waving their necks and moving their heads up and down. Photo taken at Aviario Nacional De Colombia.

02/16/2023

These two cuties are baby little blue penguins that I photographed at Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. The smallest of all penguin species, adults measure in at approximately one foot tall and weigh only two pounds. They are also the only penguins in the world to sport blue and white feathers instead of the traditional black and white penguin “tuxedo”.

02/14/2023

Happy Valentine’s Day from these cute and cuddly four-week-old black-necked swans at Sylvan Heights Bird Park. Known as cygnets, these little ones regularly get a helping hand from mom and dad, who carry their young on their backs while swimming, ensuring that they safely make the journey to and from feeding locations. Parents will also brood their young during cold and stormy weather, keeping them safe and warm.

11/25/2022

From filling our lives with beauty, to pollinating plants and controlling pests, birds make our lives better. Today, let's give thanks for the birds and all that they do for humankind. Find out more in our Question of the Week: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/analysis-the-economic-value-of-birds/