Animals

A declaration signed by dozens of scientists says there is “a realistic possibility” for elements of consciousness in reptiles, insects and mollusks

Four years after a mysterious respiratory virus jumped from animals into humans and launched the COVID pandemic, wary epidemiologists are keeping a close eye on a strain of avian influenza that is spreading among U.S. dairy cows

H5N1 influenza virus particles have been detected in commercially sold milk, but it’s not clear how the virus is spreading in cattle or whether their milk could infect humans

Here’s what a chef, a vet and two anthropologists have to say about eating periodical cicadas

There has never been a better time to be or become a birder

A rice-grain-size fish screams louder than a jackhammer—and we have a lot to learn from its minuscule brain

Social context shapes how fiddler crabs communicate by vibrating the ground underneath their burrows

Fossil and living birds reveal the dazzling biology of feathers

A novel about the tensions between nature and modernity, animal social networks, and more books out now

Deadly bites could surge as venomous snakes migrate into unprepared countries as the climate changes

However much outdoor space you have, here’s how to use it for conservation

As hard as it is to study these denizens of the deep, researchers have found some intriguing evidence to support the idea that “sperm whale culture” exists.