WHYBIRDSMATTERBYJONATHANFRANZENTHEARCTIC’SLASTSEAICESCIENCEOFGOOD&EVILTHEHEALINGOFCOLOMBIAJANUARY2018PREPAREDFORALONGERRETIREMENT?THEEXPERIMENTTHATGOTCOUPLESTALKING.We’relivinglonger,whichisgreat.Butitmeanswecouldbeunderestimatinghowmuchmoneywe’llneedinretirement.Thebiggerconcern?Mostofusaren’ttalkingaboutit.Soweinvitedcouplestoguesshowmuchmoneythey’llneedinretirementusingourinteractivewalkway.Itturnedoutthatmostcouplesweren’tonthesamepageandfellshortoftheaveragelengthofretirement.Theywalkedawayfromourexperimentwithanimportantnewperspective—becausewe’relivinglonger,weneedtostartplanningforlonger.Agoodplacetostart?Planningforincomethatlastsallouryearsinretirement.FORMOREINFORMATION,GOTOPRUDENTIAL.COM.RETIREMENT|INVESTMENTS|INSURANCE©2017PRUDENTIALFINANCIAL,INC.,NEWARK,NJ,USA.ALLRIGHTSRESERVED.0309529-00001-00JANUARY2018•VOL.233•NO.1•OFFICIALJOURNALOFTHENATIONALGEOGRAPHICSOCIETY90LASTICEFEATURESI�CONTENTSInthe1980sArcticseaiceextendedacrossnearlythreemillionsquaremilesattheendofsummer.Sincethenmorethanathirdofthaticehasbeenlost.ByTimFolgerFRONTVISIONSFROMTHEEDITORWhyNationalGeographiciscelebrating2018astheYearoftheBird3QUESTIONSHowColombia’spresident,JuanManuelSantos,haspromotedconservationEXPLOREAerodynamiceggs,trashynests,andabirddetectiveOntheCoverTodayoneineightbirdspeciesisthreatenedwithglobalextinction,BirdLifeInternationalreports.Vulnerablespeciesincludethesecretarybird,Sagittariusserpentarius;thisonelivesattheTorontoZoo.PhotobyJoelSartore�����������������������������Gotonatgeo.com/corrections.30|WHYBIRDSMATTERWildbirdsconnectustoanaturethat’srapidlyreceding.Theyliveinaspectacularvarietyofhabitatsandsignaleachone’secologicalhealth.Birds—withtheirbrilliantplumage,their������������������������nurtureoursouls.ByJonathanFranzenPhotographsbyJoelSartore66|THEHEALINGOFCOLOMBIAAfterahalfcenturyofwar.ByAlmaGuillermoprietoPhotographsbyJuanArredondo116|THESCIENCEOFGOODANDEVILAdecisivefactor:empathy.B...