"When a whooping crane stands up, you notice. At 5 feet in height, it's America's tallest bird. Its wingspan is more than 7 feet, its body snowy white, its wingtips jet black. By the 1940s, the birds had nearly gone extinct. Biologists have worked hard to bring them back, by breeding whoopers in captivity and releasing them in the wild."
"A coalition of environmental groups has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Obama administration's sweeping greater sage grouse conservation plans across the West, claiming they are riddled with loopholes, scientific flaws and "political compromises" and won't protect the bird or its habitat."
"This year marks the 100-year anniversary of the historic Migratory Bird Treaty. Environmentalists find much to celebrate, but challenges remain for migratory bird populations."
"The armed occupation of a wildlife refuge in southeastern Oregon has interrupted important habitat restoration work that must be completed before spring migration — when hundreds of thousands of birds descend on the area’s vast wetlands, conservationists and bird-watchers say."
"Because of man-made global warming and a strong El Nino, Earth's wild weather this year is bursting the annual heat record, the World Meteorological Organization announced on Wednesday."
"The greater sage grouse, a bird whose habitat is spread across 11 Western states, has been saved by collaborative conservation effort and won't be listed as endangered or threatened, the Interior Department announced Tuesday."
"Things are starting to look up for the US’s flock of nearly 300 million egg-laying hens. Right now, approximately 96% of those chickens live in cages, with only about 67 to 86 square inches (170 to 220 cm) of usable space per bird. But that may soon change.
"A long-simmering debate in the American West over an imperiled ground-dwelling bird was headed for climax on Tuesday with the Obama administration expected to unveil a conservation plan lacking Endangered Species Act protections."
"A court has vacated federal protections for the lesser prairie chicken, a Great Plains bird that was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act last year."
"The lesser prairie chicken population appears to be on the rebound a year after the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife placed the bird in threatened status."
Advertisement 
