In the lowland rainforests of Panama, Geoffroy’s tamarins slip like shadows through the mid-canopy, their masked faces and white crests glimpsed only in motion. But it’s their voices that give them away. High, clipped, and metallic, their calls echo the sharp notes of tyrant flycatchers, blurring the lines between primate and bird in a forest where sound carries farther than sight. This acoustic resemblance may reflect a deeper connection: flycatchers follow tamarin troops to catch flushed insects, while tamarins seem to respond to the birds’ alarm calls—a subtle, mutual choreography played out in the tangled understory.

When a brood of mallard ducklings drifted through the morning fog, the loons disappeared from the story—but something more intimate took shape. Seen from a floating blind, just inches above the surface, their world opened up: eye-level glimpses into the fragile physics that let them float, the maternal oil that coats their down, and the evolutionary design behind their soft, buoyant bodies.

In the misty cloud forests of Panama, brilliant flashes of color give way to aerial combat as tiny birds clash over a single bloom. In this behind-the-scenes look at photographing high-speed hummingbird battles with a multi-flash rig, wildlife photographer Jared Lloyd reveals the hidden aggression behind their iridescent beauty. From the mythology of Aztec gods to the physiology that fuels their fury, this article unpacks the science—and the spectacle—of why hummingbirds fight, and how capturing it on camera is both art and endurance.

Winter is here and with comes some of the best wildlife photography of the year, if only we know how animals respond to the changes in the air. We are working on something new here at PhotoWILD Magazine and Podcast, and excited to share a sneak peak inside!

Wherever there are oak trees, there are usually bears. Across the eastern deciduous forests of North America, black bears have a deep connection with these trees. However, to a black bear, not all oak species are created equally. If you want to find and photograph black bears across the eastern half of North America this fall, then understanding black bears association with these trees will set you up for success.

It's when we are not photographing that we actually learn something. Everywhere black bears live, they have some sort of association with a particular species of tree. Understanding this will significantly improve your ability to find and photograph these amazing animals.

A bear's sense of smell is unmatched by any other animal in the world. Everything about their biology is fine tuned for this superpower. As wildlife photographers, understanding the importance of smell for other animals can make or break our ability to fill memory cards. If you want to be able to step into nature and find and photograph animals, especially mammals on their terms, then it's time to understand the importance of smell.

Just as heavy snow or deep negative temperatures impact wildlife behavior, so too does a lack of winter. When temperatures fail to get cold, when the snow does’t come, when winter just isn’t winter, wildlife is impacted in myriad ways.

By understanding how mountain sheep such as Dall, Stone, and Bighorns utilize microclimates in the mountain haunts, we can learn how to predict where and when to find animals to photograph, from birds to mammals, no matter where we are this winter.

When winter comes, it’s best to throw out all of your old assumptions about the animals you photograph. Cold adapted species have any number of ways in which they shift their behavior to survive. And understanding this will make you a better wildlife photographer

Changing weather can be a matter of life or death for animals - especially in the winter. Every species on Earth has ways of responding to and coping with these events. When it comes to wildlife photography, understanding how animals respond to changes in the weather can give you the ability to find, photograph, and predict the behavior of wildlife this winter.

The ability to read and understand the tracks left behind by wildlife is a critical skill that all of us should strive for. Whether in the snow, sand, mud, dirt, or leaves, there is much to be learned from by observing tracks.