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Scott Weidensaul has spent decades studying bird migration. "There is a tremendous solace in watching these natural rhythms play out again and again," he says. His new book is A World On the Wing.

Scott Paul and Gerald Taylor of the Alliance for American Manufacturing discuss a report on how manufacturing decline in the U.S. has left many African-American communities spiraling toward poverty.

New music from Bruce Cockburn; Norah Jones' songwriter Jesse Harris; Dreamy Brazilian pop from Celso Fonseca; Violin virtuoso Andrew Bird; New bluegrass from Blue Highway and more.

The population of an endangered bird, the Everglade snail kite, has rebounded recently. Scientists it's all thanks to an invasive snail that has provided kites with a new abundant food source.

NPR's David Baron reports that a new study suggests the time, effort, and money put into rescuing oil-soaked seabirds after oil spills is often for naught. An analysis of North American oil spills over the past three decades finds most rehabilitated birds die within two weeks after release to the wild. Wildlife rehabilitators say the study doesn't take into account recent improvements in treatment.

After building an underground reputation for the mellow, textured sounds of American Analog Set, Texas-based singer-songwriter Andrew Kenny has returned to his native state to work on his latest group, The Wooden Birds. With easy morning melodies, background whispers and lo-fi poetics, Magnolia is simple, intelligent and moving.

This week's All Songs Considered includes a sneak preview of Anderw Bird's Break It Yourself, the hypnotic harmonies of Julianna Barwick, and sweet pop from Hospitality.

Lady Bird Johnson has died at 94. She was the wife of Lyndon Johnson, the nation's 36th president. But during the 34 years since his death, Lady Bird Johnson earned renown in her own right, as a champion of beautifying the outdoors. Johnson lived in Austin, Texas, where she oversaw her husband's presidential library and a wildflower research center that was named for her.

Legendary jazz musician Charlie Parker died 50 years ago Saturday. Poet Joe Pacheco recalls one of Parker's last performances, when the saxophonist known as "Bird" played in Manhattan. The poem is from Pacheco's book The First of the Nuyoricans/Sailing to Sanibel.

In The Backyard Bird Chronicles, author Amy Tan charts her foray into birdwatching and the natural wonders of the world.

Romance books are on the rise, even as overall book sales are declining. NPR's Juana Summers visited a romance book club at Baltimore's Charm City Books to see what brings readers to the genre.

The discovery of an infected pig at a backyard farm in Oregon raises concerns about bird flu's potential to become a human threat.

Elderly hospital patients often arrive sick and leave worse off. But some hospitals are preventing these sharp declines by treating the elderly in units that minimize bedrest and spur mobility.

President Bush is calling for $7.1 billion in emergency funding to protect against a flu pandemic. Speaking Tuesday at the National Institutes of Health, the president said he wants to have enough vaccine to protect 20 million Americans against the current strain of bird flu.

It's the peak of the fall migration season. This is when bird deaths from window collisions tend to spike, even though simple solutions can prevent this.

James McBride's The Good Lord Bird follows 10-year-old ex-slave Henry, known as "the Onion," as he travels with abolitionist John Brown.

Bird's records have grown quieter and more intimate in recent years, but he remains a remarkably dynamic live performer. Watch him collaborate with Tift Merritt at the 2013 Newport Folk Festival.

Studies have found fragments of bird flu virus in about 20% of the milk supply. It's not expected to pose a threat to humans, but may indicate the outbreak is more widespread than previously thought.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture kicks off a new program looking for highly pathogenic bird flu in the milk supply. Starting this week, they're testing samples of milk intended for pasteurization.

The first installment in Gene Luen Yang and Mike Holmes' new graphic novel series uses goofy art — and four-eyed robotic birds — to get kids excited about learning to code.