Developing eggshells requires a key ingredient — calcium — in larger quantities than the female typically has in her bloodstream. Just how different bird species supply or store calcium for egg-laying isn’t fully known. While some species seek out extra calcium from their environment, many species simply "borrow" calcium directly from their leg bones! The eggs seen here are those of an Anna's Hummingbird. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly news...
Jan 04, 2024•2 min
Day Scott’s interest in birds grew following a car accident that resulted in a traumatic brain injury. As she recovered, she would sit in the kitchen and watch birds at the feeder through the window. She began noticing bird behavior, like how members of the same species competed for space at the feeder. Watching the birds became a source of joy for her. Day eventually began writing stories about the birds and shared them with people along with her photos on Instagram. More info and transcript at...
Jan 03, 2024•2 min
Catia Lattouf cares for dozens of hummingbirds from her home!In Mexico City, 73-year-old Catia Lattouf started a hummingbird hospital — in her apartment! She hosts dozens of hummingbirds as they recover from injuries. Catia, who once ran a French high-fashion boutique, began caring for hummingbirds in 2012, after she survived cancer that was considered terminal. She received her first injured hummingbird, and named him Gucci. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscri...
Jan 02, 2024•2 min
Most duck species court and form pair bonds in winter. In the icy waters of Vermont’s Lake Champlain, Common Goldeneyes are getting hot! This male is displaying his signature move, the “head-throw-kick,” to attract a mate. Goldeneye pairs now bonding throughout the US will migrate in early spring toward breeding waters across Canada and Alaska. But the males are ramblers. After the female lays her eggs, the goldeneye male abandons his mate and parental duties. It’s common conduct among ducks! Mo...
Jan 01, 2024•2 min
Both the Willow Ptarmigan and these White-tailed Ptarmigan, feathered mostly brown in summer, are utterly transfigured by an autumn molt. As snow begins to mantle their world, both species, now all white, blend in superbly. But the ptarmigan pulls another trick. It adds dense white feathering on both the tops and bottoms of its feet. And its claws grow longer. The bird grows snowshoes! More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for ...
Dec 31, 2023•2 min
The word “dove” might make you think of an elegant bird symbolizing peace, while the word “pigeon” might bring up images of rowdy flocks of city birds. But there’s no formal distinction between doves and pigeons, only a linguistic one. In many languages, the birds are one and the same. The dove and pigeon family includes some of the most beautiful birds in the world. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad...
Dec 30, 2023•2 min
The treeswifts of India, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and beyond make their nests out of bits of plants and feathers and hold it all together with some very sticky saliva. A treeswift’s whole nest is but a tiny cup — just large enough to hold a single egg — stuck to a bare upright branch. The adult on the nest appears simply to be perching, not sitting on a nest. Ingenious! More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to ...
Dec 29, 2023•2 min
Juan Pablo Culasso is a nature recordist based in Colombia. Here, he describes how he uses a parabolic microphone to record a singing bird. Juan Pablo is blind, so he uses his hearing to pinpoint a small bird in dense vegetation. 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....
Dec 28, 2023•2 min
By late January, some resident birds, such as the Northern Mockingbird, are beginning their spring singing. When you step outside on a particularly sunny day this winter, a Fox Sparrow like the one pictured here may be warming up for the coming spring. And as far north as British Columbia, Pacific Wrens are singing in earnest by mid-February. So the singing season never entirely stops. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for ...
Dec 27, 2023•2 min
Cuba is home to a unique population of Northern Bobwhites, with plumage patterns and short bills that set them apart from bobwhites on mainland North America. But where these quail came from has been a mystery. Did humans introduce them from the mainland? If so, when, and why do they look so different? Recent scientific detective work may have uncovered the answer. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-f...
Dec 26, 2023•2 min
In the depths of winter, when open water is frozen over, it can be challenging for birds to stay hydrated. Some birds eat the frozen water all around them. Cedar Waxwings catch snowflakes in mid-air. Black-capped Chickadees drink from dripping icicles. Plenty of other birds scoop up fresh, powdery snow and eat it. It could be worth the calories to melt the snow when searching for liquid water could expose them to predators. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe...
Dec 25, 2023•2 min
The goose of today’s farmyards was domesticated about 3,000 years ago from the Graylag Goose, the wild species found today throughout much of Europe and Asia. To ancient Egyptians, the goose symbolized the sun god Ra. Greeks linked the goose with Aphrodite, the goddess of love. And geese are prominently featured in the Shijing, the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+...
Dec 24, 2023•2 min
A single Canada Goose has between 20 and 25 thousand feathers. Some are designed to help the bird fly or shed water. Many are the short, fluffy kind, the down that insulates the bird from the cold. Birds survive in sub-zero weather by fluffing their feathers, creating layers of air and feathers. Just a fraction of an inch of this insulation can keep a bird's body temperature at 104 degrees, even in freezing weather. Seen here are the feathers of a Brown Pelican . More info and transcript at Bird...
Dec 23, 2023•2 min
For folks looking to try birding for the first time, getting started can be daunting. Should you learn every species’ call, every subtle feather pattern before you head out to look for birds? While it’s good to prepare, there’s a risk of scaring yourself out of starting, and preventing the kind of hands-on experiential learning that’s one of the best parts of birding. So when you have the time and energy, just go for it! Learning about birds is the work of a lifetime — that’s why it’s so rewardi...
Dec 22, 2023•2 min
Thomas Poulsom is a hobbyist LEGO builder best known for his models of birds. But making birds out of bricks isn't easy. That’s why he uses special pieces to sculpt something entirely different — like when minifigure carrots became a puffin’s legs. A unique piece called a “snot brick” allows him to build in any direction, making it possible to make a round object out of square LEGO bricks. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up ...
Dec 21, 2023•2 min
The hoots of the Greater White-fronted Goose inspired a nickname, the “Laughing Goose.” A little smaller than Canada Geese, these gray-brown birds are named for the band of white around the base of their pinkish-orange bills. Greater White-fronted Geese are strong, athletic fliers. When family groups come in to land at a roost, they employ a slip-sliding or “falling leaf” maneuver to quickly lose altitude—from over a thousand feet above the ground. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want...
Dec 20, 2023•2 min
Long-eared Owls aren’t rare, and they don’t live in remote locations. But their plumage and habits make them incredibly elusive. The mixture of warm browns and cool, bark-like grays lends the bird an astonishingly branch-like appearance. When potential predators approach, the birds close their orange eyes and stretch their bodies so that even the most practiced human eye has a hard time spotting them. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newslett...
Dec 19, 2023•2 min
The Andean-Cock-of-the-Rock sounds like a cross between a chainsaw and a squealing pig. The national bird of Peru, male birds of this species sport a splendid bright red plumage along with a head crest reminiscent of a knight’s battle helmet. Females choose their mate from among a group of bickering males, then build a nest high on a cliff wall. 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 ot...
Dec 18, 2023•2 min
There are five million bird eggs stowed away in museums across the world — and the study of eggs, called oology, can give us great insight into birds. The link between DDT and the decline of Peregrine Falcon populations was identified in part using museum and personal egg collections, and this evidence helped lead to a ban on DDT. And today, Peregrines can still be seen zipping across the sky. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign...
Dec 17, 2023•2 min
There used to be a saying about somebody who doesn’t eat much — “she eats like a bird.” But how much does a bird typically eat? As a rule of thumb, the smaller the bird, the more food it needs relative to its weight. A Cooper’s Hawk, a medium-sized bird, eats around 12% of its weight per day. For a human weighing 150 pounds, that’s 18 pounds of chow, or roughly six extra-large pizzas. And that perky little chickadee at your feeder eats the equivalent of 35% of its weight. You, as a 150-pound chi...
Dec 16, 2023•2 min
Every summer, puffins — like this Horned Puffin — grow blazingly colorful layers over the bases of their huge beaks. But in the winter, puffins lead very different lives, and they shed their bright ornamentation. Puffins in winter are largely solitary — and silent. They spend about seven months alone at sea, before returning once again to their colonies to breed. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-fre...
Dec 15, 2023•2 min
Dwain Vaughns, II, worked as a pilot for 11 years until he developed a rare chronic pain condition called complex regional pain syndrome after an accident. As part of a recreational therapy program, Dwain signed up for a birding trip, but that day he found himself struggling with a racing heart rate. But by stopping and listening to the birds, he found that his heart rate and pain decreased. In the details of bird flight, Dwain sees echoes of his time spent flying planes. More info and transcrip...
Dec 14, 2023•2 min
For birds and other animals with good natural insulation, winter provides a striking benefit as they scavenge. Bacteria function very slowly or not at all in the cold, preventing dead bodies from rotting. In northern latitudes, ravens and other scavenging birds take advantage of winter's cold storage. When a caribou, moose, or deer dies in Canada, Alaska, or other cold place in the winter, it's available to be eaten for months. Bacteria must wait until spring warms the carcass before they can be...
Dec 13, 2023•2 min
To out-sip their competition, Sword-billed Hummingbirds have a distinct adaptation: these birds’ beaks are longer than their bodies. Found in temperate forests from Venezuela to Bolivia, these hummingbirds rely entirely on tube-like flowers that other species could never reach. While most birds can use their tongues to clean their feathers, the Sword-billed Hummingbird’s long beak gets in the way – so they use their legs to scratch themselves instead. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . W...
Dec 12, 2023•2 min
Male birds are often the larger, flashier sex that courts choosy females, who in turn raise their chicks. But not always. Female phalaropes -- like this Wilson's Phalarope -- challenge each other over territories in which to house a cluster of males half their size. And the males do all the childcare. Other stay-at-home dads include most of the ratites, like ostriches and emus, as well as several species of jacanas. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our ...
Dec 11, 2023•2 min
Great Black-backed Gulls have a reputation as serious predators of other birds. During the nesting season, they’ll prey on eggs and nestlings of other seabirds. They’ll also hunt adult seabirds including puffins and grebes, as well as songbirds as big as a grackle. 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 pos...
Dec 10, 2023•2 min
Here and there along winter shorelines, little flocks of pale, silvery shorebirds probe at the water's edge, keeping pace with each wave's ebb and flow. These are Sanderlings, small sandpipers that stay through the winter. Rachel Carson, in Under the Sea Wind , described Sanderlings as running "with a twinkle of black feet." Learn more about the Sanderling at Audubon's online Guide to North American Birds. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly new...
Dec 09, 2023•2 min
The secret to birds’ flight starts with the shape of their wings. They’re curved in a way that causes air to flow more slowly under the wing than above it. That creates an area of low pressure just above the wing that pulls the bird up into the sky—a force called lift. Airplane wings are curved in a similar way — but unlike airplanes, bird wings don’t stay in place, they flap! That lets birds push their way into the air from a dead stop. On the upstroke of a wing-flap, birds fold their wings inw...
Dec 08, 2023•2 min
Palmyra Atoll is a ring-shaped island encircling a lagoon in the South Pacific. The atoll lost many native trees due to U.S. military activity during World War II. Conservationists have worked to restore the ecosystem. Seabirds such as Black Noddies and Red-footed Boobies nest in the island’s rainforest. Their guano enriches the soil, and the soil’s nutrients help support the coral ecosystem that provides fish for the birds. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscrib...
Dec 07, 2023•2 min
After Christine Okon was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2012, she found herself falling behind on birding walks when the group trudged across hills and valleys – something she once really enjoyed. Now, Christine helps organize birding events with Golden Gate Bird Alliance and designs them to be accessible. A big part of that is talking to people with disabilities about what they need. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org . Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up...
Dec 06, 2023•2 min
