
The spring migration of birds is peaking. Here’s how to watch
The migration of birds from their southern wintering grounds to their breeding grounds in the north is in full swing
Kate Wong is an award-winning science writer and senior editor for features at Scientific American, where she has focused on evolution, ecology, anthropology, archaeology, paleontology and animal behavior. She is fascinated by human origins, which she has covered for nearly 30 years. Recently she has become obsessed with birds. Her reporting has taken her to caves in France and Croatia that Neandertals once called home to the shores of Kenya’s Lake Turkana in search of the oldest stone tools in the world, as well as to Madagascar on an expedition to unearth ancient mammals and dinosaurs, the icy waters of Antarctica, where humpback whales feast on krill, and a “Big Day” race around the state of Connecticut to find as many bird species as possible in 24 hours. Wong is co-author, with Donald Johanson, of Lucy’s Legacy: The Quest for Human Origins. She holds a bachelor of science degree in biological anthropology and zoology from the University of Michigan. Follow her on Bluesky @katewong.bsky.social

The spring migration of birds is peaking. Here’s how to watch
The migration of birds from their southern wintering grounds to their breeding grounds in the north is in full swing

‘Kraken’ fossils show enormous, intelligent octopuses were top predators in Cretaceous seas
Fossil jaws from colossal octopuses place them at the top of a prehistoric marine food chain

250-million-year-old fossil proves mammal ancestors laid eggs
Laying eggs may have helped mammal ancestors thrive after Earth’s worst mass extinction

Are expensive binoculars really worth it?
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Join the Great Backyard Bird Count—for science!
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A tool-using cow is challenging what we know about farm animal intelligence
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Humans Made Poisoned Arrowheads Thousands of Years Earlier Than Previously Thought
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Dog Skull Analysis Rewrites Evolution of Humanity’s Best Friend
A surprising diversity of dog shapes and sizes evolved long before the Victorians began making modern breeds

Chimpanzee Consumption of Boozy Fruit May Illuminate Roots of Humanity’s Love of Alcohol
Wild chimps ingest the equivalent of multiple alcoholic beverages a day

This Gloriously Weird Fish Has Teeth on Its Forehead for Sex
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Entirely New Species of Human Ancestor Discovered
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Birds are starting to make their way south for the winter, and you’ve got a front-row seat to the show

Why iNaturalist Users Freaked Out over a Google AI Grant
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Bird Migration Is Peaking in the U.S.—Here’s How to Watch
The spectacle of spring bird migration is in full swing, and you can get in on the action

Kanzi the Bonobo, Who Learned Language and Made Stone Tools, Dies at Age 44
What we learned about ape and human cognition from Kanzi the bonobo, who died this week

To Follow the Real Early Human Diet, Eat Everything
Nutrition influencers claim we should eat meat-heavy diets like our ancestors did. But our ancestors didn’t actually eat that way
We Are in the Golden Age of Bird-Watching
There has never been a better time to be or become a birder

Cats Are Perfect. An Evolutionary Biologist Explains Why
Cats have attained evolutionary perfection

This Seabird Courtship Ritual Is the Romance of the Summer
An adorable seabird courtship ritual shows the meaning of love: fish

This Small-Brained Human Species May Have Buried Its Dead, Controlled Fire and Made Art
Extraordinary claims about the small-brained human relative Homo naledi challenge prevailing view of cognitive evolution

No One Knows How the Biggest Animals on Earth—Baleen Whales—Find Their Food
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Extreme Birding Competition Is a Cutthroat Test of Skill, Strategy and Endurance
A team of birders races to find as many bird species as possible in 24 hours

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