Alice Sun

Reporter, 探花精选 Magazine

Alice Sun is a science writer, visual storyteller, and birder based in Brooklyn. See more of her work at 

Articles by Alice Sun

A Killdeer standing in grass with its beak wide open.
10 Fun Facts About the Killdeer
September 30, 2024 — Even if you haven鈥檛 seen one, chances are good you鈥檝e heard this notoriously noisy shorebird.
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A GPS tag is placed on the back of a Common Grackle while being held by one researcher.
Where Have All the Common Grackles Gone?
September 18, 2024 — Scientists are racing to figure out why a widespread blackbird is disappearing.
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Grid of many past 探花精选 magazine covers.
Dive Into 125 Years of 探花精选 Magazine Covers, Bird by Bird
September 05, 2024 — We catalogued more than 700 covers dating back to 1899 to discover what their subjects reveal about our publication鈥檚 enduring interests.
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Backlit silhouette of a swallow flying to its nest box, out of which another swallow is poking its head.
How to Keep Nest Boxes From Turning Lethal in Extreme Heat
August 22, 2024 — As soaring temperatures during the breeding season become more severe and widespread, here鈥檚 how you can make nest boxes cooler homes for baby birds and their parents.
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Illustration of a shorebird standing on a rock in water in front of a low sun.
One Team's Mission to Recover the Indigenous Names of Ontario鈥檚 Birds
May 21, 2024 — In the Anishinaabemowin language, bird names are embedded with traditional knowledge. An ongoing project is trying to document as many as possible before they are lost.
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A flock of pigeons eating seeds on a sidewalk.
Cities Are Testing Birth Control to Solve Pigeon Problems
April 16, 2024 — Booming populations of these familiar urban birds are causing complaints. Can contraception help?
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A Bald Eagle sits in a nest on the ground looking at the camera.
Why Do Birds Incubate Rocks?
March 14, 2024 — From stones to bones and other random objects, birds have been found to incubate seemingly anything that looks like an egg. But maybe that鈥檚 also the point?
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Close-up portrait of a hawk with bright, all-white feathers with its mouth open and tongue sticking out.
This White Red-tailed Hawk Isn't Just Gorgeous鈥擨t's Also a Rare Scientific Opportunity
March 12, 2024 — The stunning raptor was recently trapped in Oklahoma by an awestruck group of researchers, who affixed the bird with a GPS transmitter for further study.
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A woman stands outside looking up at the trees overhead holding binoculars and a phone.
How Do Birds Respond to Extreme Wildfire Haze? Project Phoenix Aims to Find Out聽
November 15, 2023 — Harnessing the power of community science can help birds as smoke pollution from blazes becomes more extreme.
Field Notes
Merlin Is Magical, but It Still Makes Mistakes
August 23, 2023 — As the popularity of the app鈥檚 Sound ID feature grows, so do concerns about how imperfect artificial intelligence impacts a trove of scientific data.
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