In short: No-one thought New Zealand's smallest bird, called the titipounamu or rifleman, could learn new calls. Scientists have discovered it bridges the gap between birds that can learn new songs ...

We're not the only species that can recognize voices in the womb: Inside the egg, tiny songbirds called superb fairy wrens can discriminate sounds from different birds of their own species, a new ...

The interplay with readers is one of the most enjoyable aspects of writing this column. Several weeks ago a reader named Laura in Asheville emailed to inquire about the identity of “a little brown ...

Over a decade ago, behavioral ecologist Diane Colombelli-Négrel was wiring superb fairy wrens’ nests to record the birds’ sounds when she noticed something odd. Mother fairy wrens sang while ...

When I hike the nearby tiny portion of the North Country Trail, now declared a national park, by the way, the two things I am always sure to carry are my cellphone and binoculars. The phone because it ...

Fairy wrens are everywhere. Go anywhere in Australia and there will be at least one local fairy wren. They're not endangered. In fact, it would be hard to imagine an animal less endangered than fairy ...