BIRDS

Signature Song keeps Fairy-Wren Moms from Being Fooled

Talk about "singing for your supper": New research shows that fairy-wren chicks have to sing a specific song to their mother or she will refuse to feed them.

7 Videos of People Rescuing Animals

Some people can be pretty terrible to animals—but most people will try to help cuddly (and not-so-cuddly) creatures when they can. Here are some of the most incredible videos of people saving animals.

Sir Nils Olav, Norway’s Penguin Knight

The United States Marines have their bulldogs and the Army has their mules, but the Norwegian Royal Guard has a mascot a little more accustomed to colder temperatures: Nils Olav, a King Penguin who is also a Colonel-in-Chief and a knight.

22 Vintage Photos of Animals Acting Like People

Forget celebrities being just like us. These vintage photos prove that animals have a rich history of indulging in activities usually reserved for humans.

Operation Migration: Saving the Whooping Crane

Dan Lewis runs the popular daily newsletter Now I Know ("Learn Something New Every Day, By Email"). We've invited him to share some of his stories on mental_floss this week.

Project Peacock: How the British Wanted to Heat WWII Mines

Dan Lewis runs the popular daily newsletter Now I Know ("Learn Something New Every Day, By Email"). We've invited him to share some of his stories on mental_floss this week. To subscribe to his daily email, click

Parrots and Horses Reveal their Musical Preferences

From classical and country to dub step and smooth jazz, humans have some drastically different opinions on music. But when it comes to animals, it seems that birds of a feather tend to rock together—or at least they tend to agree on what they hate.

How Can Owls Rotate Their Heads 270 Degrees Without Dying?

For humans, sudden gyrations of the head and neck—whether they’re from car accidents, rollercoaster rides, or chiropracty gone awry—can tear blood vessel linings in the neck, leading to clots that can cause stroke. Not so in owls, which can quickly rotate

John James Audubon's Discovery of a Bird That Might Not Exist

Wikimedia Commons “It was in the month of February, 1814, that I obtained the first sight of this noble bird, and never shall I forget the delight which it gave me.” That’s John James Audubon, the American naturalist and artist, writing in The Birds of

Does Wedding Rice Really Make Birds Explode?

Throwing rice at a newly married couple has been a tradition for thousands of years, possibly going back as far as the ancient Assyrians and Egyptians. Are birds suffering from our holy matrimonies?

Why Is Bird Poop White?

Birds’ digestive systems and naughty bits don’t work exactly like ours or most other animals'. Instead of pooping and peeing separately, they basically do it all in one weird mess.

Why Utah Loves Seagulls (but not crickets)

The answer, oddly enough, lies with Mormon Crickets. The so-called "Miracle of the Gulls" became a legend in Salt Lake City, with the California Gull being named the Utah state bird and a monument to the birds being built outside of Salt Lake Assembly Hal