“The sight of a feather in a peacock’s tail, whenever I gaze at it, makes me sick,” Charles Darwin told a fellow scientist in a letter in 1860. The showiness of the peacock tail initially struck him ...

Bird tails are complex structures that give us clues about bird flight and bird behavior. Knowing the variety of tail patterns helps us to identify birds, so let's talk bird tails. A bird's tail ...

With USC’s parents weekend and Saturday’s home football opener, people will no doubt notice the distinctive Gamecock tail feathers on signs, banners and more in and around campus. The man who may have ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. Beauty, they say, is in the eye of the beholder. Well, if ...

Sidney Stevens is a writer and editor for magazines, websites, and books, with a focus on health and environmental issues. Some 400 billion birds share the planet with us, each with its own abundant ...