This article appeared in the March/April 2021 issue of Discover as "The Land of Living Snowflakes." Support our science journalism by becoming a subscriber.
St. Matthew Island sits alone in the frigid emptiness of the Bering Sea, like a great, gnarled stone thrown far from Alaska’s western coast. On these shores, the rhythmic lapping of brisk waves and a medley of tinny, chime-like songs are the only sounds rising above the island’s foggy, treeless crown.
The songs come from male McKay’s buntings — brilliantly white birds that drift to the earth in graceful, sweeping arcs. The birds’ bewitching mating ritual and nesting occurs only here, in one of the most inaccessible places on the planet. Precious little is known about their world. Researchers are aiming to change that.
