A forest in New Zealand rings with the sound of bellbirds, also known as Korimako or Makomako. Many bellbirds sing together, especially in the morning. Pairs sing duets. And a pair may counter-sing with its neighbors, perhaps letting them know that this patch of land is taken. It all builds to a brilliant, ringing dawn chorus. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. BirdNote...
Sep 07, 2023•2 min
Like most juvenile shorebirds, this young Black-bellied Plover was abandoned by parents that began their southbound flights from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge a few weeks earlier. It will join other young Black-bellied Plovers as they make their way south. This little flock of birds could arrive on the coast of Washington within a few days if they make a direct flight, or within a week or more if they stop at a wetland along the way. Some will stay, but others continue their continent-span...
Sep 06, 2023•2 min
Jack Gedney’s book, The Private Lives of Public Birds , is dedicated to the familiar birds we see and hear in our neighborhoods. Illustrated by Anna Kus Park, the book shares charming vignettes about the birds’ behavior that are scientifically accurate but that also have an emotional weight to help us connect deeper to these birds. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. Bir...
Sep 05, 2023•2 min
Aleutian Cackling Geese, which have a slighter build and shorter beak than Canada Geese, build their nests on a chain of islands off the western coast of Alaska. In the 1700s, fur traders introduced foxes to the islands, nearly wiping out the geese. For decades, they were believed to be extinct. But in the 1960s, a biologist discovered about 300 birds nesting on Buldir Island. Habitat protections have allowed their populations to recover. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more Bird...
Sep 04, 2023•2 min
What could bring crowds of people out after sunset on a September evening to stare at ... a chimney? Swifts, of course! Scores of swifts form a funnel-shaped cloud above the right kind of chimney, then they begin their descent. First one, then a few more, then dozens, then hundreds swirl right down into the chimney. You can help Chimney Swifts and Vaux's Swifts by providing a roosting tower. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign u...
Sep 03, 2023•2 min
Adjusting the flaps on an airplane’s wing allows a pilot to control lift and drag — and the design of these flaps was inspired by the wings of birds. All flying birds have what’s called an alula on each wing. At the center of the front edge of the wing is a structure covered with three to five feathers that functions much like a flap on an airplane’s wing. The alula helps create lift and also prevents stall when a bird comes in for landing. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more Bi...
Sep 02, 2023•2 min
Writer Jen Sizeland has found peace through watching birds throughout her life, so she wanted that for her child, too. When she was pregnant, she sought to introduce her unborn child to birdsong. As a newborn, she and her baby would listen to the dawn chorus together. Now as a toddler, he joins her watching raptors soar over parks and waterbirds paddling across lakes. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get a...
Sep 01, 2023•2 min
The stars appear to rotate in the sky, raising the question of how birds can use stars to navigate during migration. Ornithologist Stephen Emlen brought Indigo Buntings to a planetarium, tracking their movements as the simulated night sky changed above them. The buntings oriented themselves using star patterns that appear to rotate the least — especially the North Star, Ursa Major and Cassiopeia. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. S...
Aug 31, 2023•2 min
Found throughout North America, the common sunflower can grow up to ten feet high, towering over other herbs and grasses. And that’s only half the story: their roots can reach just as deep in the soil. They’re rugged, adaptable plants that bring beauty — and food — to the ecosystem. Planting sunflowers in a public green space or a backyard can benefit pollinator insects as well as finches and other birds that seek out their seeds, which often last well into the winter. More info and transcript a...
Aug 30, 2023•2 min
Ranging from metallic hisses to electronic yodels, sounds of grackles may not be music to our ears—but they have their own rough beauty, a distinctive, primal harshness. Grackle songs evolved to carry through their nesting habitats — dense marshes and brushy landscapes — where more lyrical notes and phrases wouldn’t carry well. However strange they may sound, they know how to make themselves heard. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter....
Aug 29, 2023•2 min
Before the high-tech gadgets used to track bird migration today, there was moon-watching: a technique dreamed up in the 1940s by ornithologist George Lowery. Using telescopes pointed at the moon to see the silhouettes of migratory birds, Lowery helped show that birds regularly migrate across the Gulf of Mexico and organized the first continent-wide survey of migration in North America. Learn more about the history of bird migration research in Rebecca Heisman’s new book Flight Paths: How a Passi...
Aug 28, 2023•2 min
To distinguish one bird from a similar one, watch how the bird moves. Does it flick its wings? Bob up and down? Flip its tail? The White-breasted Nuthatch (right) works its way down the trunk of a tree, while the Brown Creeper works its way up. A field guide usually mentions these behaviors, and watching for them can help you determine which bird is which. It's like detective work: gather enough clues, and you'll solve the mystery! More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? S...
Aug 27, 2023•2 min
By late summer, most birds hatched in spring are on their own, without help from their parents. Where do they go? Young migratory birds will head south in late summer or fall, in the pattern of their species. But most non-migratory birds born last spring — such as this immature Bewick’s Wren — will need to find an unoccupied territory. So they disperse more widely than the established adults. Newly fledged Bald Eagles embark on a nomadic life. Sometimes they fly hundreds of miles in a day, a jou...
Aug 26, 2023•2 min
Found in the Sierra Madre, the Arizona Woodpecker has a special connection to the mountain range. Sharing mid-elevation pine and oaks with fellow border straddlers, these small brown birds with white and brown cheeks stand out from other Woodpeckers with their heavily marked white underparts. Uniquely, they forage by flying to the base of a tree and then spiraling up the trunk. And in courtship, the male turns himself into a paper airplane, holding his wings steady and gliding toward his mate. M...
Aug 25, 2023•2 min
It’s been said that if someone knows only three birds, one of them will be the crow. They’re common, easy to see, and even easier to hear. But crow voices are complicated. Altogether, crows may use 30 sound elements in different combinations, and one of the most intriguing is their song. Unlike many birds, crows don’t sing loudly to attract mates from a distance. Instead, they sing softly — and at close range — during courtship, with a mix of soft cooing, rattles, growls, bowing movements, and m...
Aug 24, 2023•2 min
Nature educator Johanne Ryan shares her observations of Southern Lapwings, shorebirds that make their nests on the ground in open areas and vigorously defend them. If a potential predator approaches, the parent will sound a piercing alarm call. If that doesn’t work, the lapwing will charge the opponent, using a secret weapon – sharp, bony spurs on the bird’s “wrists.” More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get a...
Aug 23, 2023•2 min
When birds like these Dunlin form flocks, each individual is less likely to be captured by a predator. Some shorebirds that forage with their heads down, like godwits, will flock with birds that forage with their heads up, like curlews. Still other birds work together — like American White Pelicans driving fish before them or auklets that surround schools of herring and herd them like a border collie does sheep. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our week...
Aug 22, 2023•2 min
Sometimes, a species’ song changes over the course of a few decades. But a bird that lives in the mountains of eastern Africa, the Forest Double-collared Sunbird, appears to have kept the same song for at least 500,000 years. That’s the amount of time that two populations of the species split up into two separate mountain ranges. Despite a lack of contact between those populations, they sing a nearly identical song, suggesting that it’s very similar to the one their ancestors sang long ago. More...
Aug 21, 2023•2 min
Pigeons seem to bob their heads as they move, like they’re grooving to an internal tune. But what look like head bobs are actually momentary pauses of the head while they walk. Their eyes are fixed in their sockets, so that pausing enables the pigeon to take a brief, steady view of its surroundings. Without those pauses, they’d just see a Blair Witch, shaky-cam mess! More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad...
Aug 20, 2023•2 min
August 22 is the birthday of renowned French composer, Claude Debussy. Born in 1862, Debussy is known for his impressionistic sonic portraits, like La Mer, about the sea. But one of his best known works is an earlier piano piece, Clair de Lune. The song is quiet and haunting. Which got us thinking: what if we paired it with the most haunting birdsong — the song of loons? Enjoy Clair de Loon . Created for BirdNote by Breakmaster Cylinder . More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more Bird...
Aug 19, 2023•2 min
Over 12,000 miles across at its widest point, you might think the Pacific Ocean is a barrier that even high-flying birds can’t cross. Think again – some species make the trip every year as part of their life cycle. During the spring, Bar-tailed Godwits break up their trip from New Zealand to Alaska with a stop in the Yellow Sea off the coast of East Asia. But for their winter migration, they fly from North America to New Zealand without stopping. The longest recorded godwit journey is over 8,000...
Aug 18, 2023•2 min
The four species of South American bellbirds can make a real racket, including this Bearded Bellbird. Hidden in the tree canopy, males cannot see one another as they sing — but they sure can hear each other! Their ear-splitting songs carry over long distances. The loudest of the species is the White Bellbird, reaching an ear-splitting 125 decibels — louder than a rock concert! It’s the loudest bird song ever documented. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to ...
Aug 17, 2023•2 min
In her grandmother’s neighborhood in Chicago, Lilli Holden made an early connection with the outdoors by playing in a vacant lot with a large old tree. Now an emerging environmental leader in Chicago, Lilli has a different perspective on vacant lots, many of which were properties destroyed in the city’s 1968 riots that were never rebuilt due to a lack of investment in Black communities. Because they’re such a big part of the landscape in Black communities on the West and Southside, Lilli wants t...
Aug 16, 2023•2 min
Male Northern Cardinals, Scarlet Tanagers, and House Finches all have striking red plumage that’s thought to play a role in attracting mates. Males with the brightest red feathering tend to have the best luck with the females. Scientists think that a male’s redness signals to females that he has just what it takes to help produce superior offspring. But just because a male is a brilliant shade of red... does that mean he’s stronger or more fit than his duller-colored competitors? It might be so,...
Aug 15, 2023•2 min
The amazing vocal organ found in most birds, the syrinx, has two sides, with different sets of muscles and nerves controlling each side. That lets some songbirds sing two separate melodies at the same time. The Veery, a species of Thrush, can even sing a rising melody and a falling melody simultaneously with the two halves of the syrinx! More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perk...
Aug 14, 2023•2 min
By August, most birds in North America have finished nesting, bringing billions of new birds into the world. So many birds. It might make you wonder: what is the most abundant bird in North America? More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible....
Aug 13, 2023•2 min
Some birds woo a mate by building the best nest. Males of many weaverbird species construct a series of intricately woven nests to impress a prospective partner. A male Red-winged Blackbird can even attract multiple mates if he controls prime breeding territory. Adélie Penguins construct their nests on mounds of stones, and partners often exchange stone gifts during the course of construction. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign...
Aug 12, 2023•2 min
In the blue skies over the Andes Mountains, Andean Condors look majestic, with a ten-foot wingspan. While flying, according to researchers from Argentina and the UK, Andean Condors only flap one percent of the time. One bird was tracked for more than 100 miles over five flapless hours. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift ...
Aug 11, 2023•2 min
Ospreys are remarkable nest builders. Many reuse their massive stick nests from the previous year, but continue tinkering with it once the nesting season begins. And the nest transforms along with the growing chicks. It’s bowl-shaped at first, corralling the young birds, but it gets flatter after the chicks hatch. By the time they fledge, it has fully flattened out. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-...
Aug 10, 2023•2 min
Not all owls live in the deep woods. Many Great Horned Owls make their homes in urban areas. Though mostly nocturnal, Great Horned Owls are also active early in the morning and just after sunset, offering a chance to see them hunting for rodents and other prey. Look for their distinctive horns, which are really just feather tufts. At night, you might hear their deep, syncopated hoots echoing through the neighborhood. Avoiding toxic rodenticides helps protect Great Horned Owls and other urban rap...
Aug 09, 2023•2 min
