Migration

A yellow-billed loon was spotted hanging out on the Las Vegas Strip this week, far from its usual habitat in Alaska and the high Arctic.

Very Rare Yellow-Billed Loon Visits the Las Vegas Strip, Hangs Out in the Bellagio Fountains

The out-of-place bird prompted the hotel to put its famed fountain show on hold before biologists captured and moved the bird—one of the country's ten rarest—to better habitat

Sandhill cranes fly over Nebraska's Platte River, where they gather each year during their spring migration, in 2009.

38,000 Sandhill Cranes Flock to Nebraska in a Record-Breaking Start to Spring Migration

Wildlife biologists counted the birds—likely lured by the region’s mild winter temperatures—during their first aerial survey of the season

A single locust swarm can comprise between four billion and eight billion individual insects.

Giant Locust Swarms Could Expand to New Areas With Climate Change, Study Suggests

In the coming decades, erratic periods of rain and drought could create new hot spots for the ravenous grasshoppers in west India and west central Asia, threatening crops and food security

A mother humpback whale and calf are seen off the coast of Brazil.

Earth’s Migratory Animals Are in Peril, According to U.N. Report

The Convention on Migratory Species warns that many birds, mammals and fish face numerous threats, but they can be saved

Greenhouse gas emissions that result from burning fossil fuels drive climate change.

Six Big Ways Climate Change Could Impact the United States by 2100

Climate change is expected to affect all parts of the country in the coming decades, threatening everything from our food supply to our coastlines

Accents center on the pronunciation of words, while dialects encompass pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. Here, the subjects of Grant Wood's American Gothic channel speaking styles popular in California and New York.

A Brief History of the United States' Accents and Dialects

Migration patterns, cultural ties, geographic regions and class differences all shape speaking patterns

Genes that significantly increase risk of developing multiple sclerosis were introduced to northwestern Europe by herders who migrated from the east around 5,000 years ago.

Ancient DNA From Eurasian Herders Sheds Light on the Origins of Multiple Sclerosis

Genetic variants linked to the risk of MS were brought to Europe during a migration around 5,000 years ago, a new study finds—and they might have helped herders survive

Advances in artificial intelligence and dinosaur discoveries were just some of the major science stories this year.

The Ten Most Significant Science Stories of 2023

From an asteroid sample that was delivered to Earth to a discovery about human migration from North America, these were the biggest moments of the year

In 1958, dozens of red-breasted flycatchers, like the one pictured here, flew off course and visited the United Kingdom.

One Reason Migrating Birds Get Lost Is Out of This World

Solar energy can alter the Earth’s magnetic field and likely lead the animals astray

Banksy's Migrant Child has endured damage from the elements since it appeared in 2019. 

Why Restoring a Banksy Mural in Venice Is So Controversial

Critics argue that the street artist may have intended for the work to deteriorate over time

Contact between Europeans and Native Americans is recorded in the DNA of head lice.

When Did Humans Arrive in the Americas? Lice Help Answer That Head-Scratcher

A new analysis of the annoying critters shows when groups from Asia and Europe hitched rides on human hair and skin to arrive on our continent

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How Scientists Tracked the Movements of a 17,000-Year-Old Woolly Mammoth

Isotopes tell the epic tale of one ancient mammal’s odyssey across Alaska

Can every living thing be traced to a single cell?

Can Every Living Thing Be Traced to a Single Cell? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

The Field Museum collects bodies of birds that collide with windows. The birds are processed and cleaned by the museum’s flesh-eating beetle colony.

Almost 1,000 Birds Died in One Night From Striking a Chicago Building

Another 1,000 were killed in window collisions across the downtown area, amid calls for more bird-friendly architecture and reduced light pollution

Fossilized footprints in White Sands National Park

North America's Oldest Known Footprints Point to Earlier Human Arrival to the Continent

New dating methods have added more evidence that these fossils date to 23,000 years ago, pushing back migration to the Americas by thousands of years

Inside the recreated kitchen of the Confino family, Greek Jewish immigrants who lived at 97 Orchard Street during the early 20th century

See Inside the Newly Reopened Tenement Museum

The Manhattan museum dedicated to telling the stories of everyday immigrants offers vital lessons for today

BirdCast’s newest advances provide detailed flight forecasts of millions of birds.

Four Amazing Impacts of This A.I.-Powered Bird Migration Tracker

A reimagined tool called BirdCast is helping birders, scientists and even farmers

The Tyrolean Iceman Ötzi is one of the oldest known human glacier mummies.

Famed 5,300-Year-Old Alps Iceman Was a Balding Middle-Aged Man With Dark Skin and Eyes

Genetic analysis shows that Ötzi was descended from farmers who migrated from an area that is now part of Turkey

Belugas head to Hudson Bay in the summer in droves to eat, molt and give birth.

Watch Tens of Thousands of Beluga Whales Migrate With These Live Streams

The marine mammals are gathering in Canada's Hudson Bay and Churchill River—and their journey is a reminder of sea ice's importance

Scientists found that carvings on the bones of giant sloths were made within a few years of the animals' deaths.

Humans May Have Arrived in the Americas Earlier Than Previously Thought

Researchers say that humans coexisted with giant sloths in Brazil some 25,0000 years ago

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