BirdNote Daily
Episodes
A Pigeon’s Eye View
28 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 1907, a German pharmacist named Julius Neubronner invented the pigeon camera. It was a small camera strapped to a pigeon’s breast — like a phot...
Birdbaths in Winter
27 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Does the image of a frozen birdbath bring to mind a small yellow bird with ice skates? Birds need water in all seasons, for drinking and for bathing. ...
Moonwalking Manakins
26 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Golden-headed Manakin is a tiny bird with dance moves that would turn a pop star green with envy. Johanne Ryan, a nature educator who lives in Tri...
The Verdin’s Winter Roosts
25 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For small songbirds, surviving a cold winter night can be challenging. Their bodies lose heat faster than those of larger birds. So little birds have ...
The Red-shouldered Hawk - One Gorgeous Bird of Prey
24 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sharp, insistent cries signal the presence of one of North America’s most beautiful birds of prey: the Red-shouldered Hawk. There’s no mistaking t...
Spark Bird: H. Jon Benjamin’s Bird Reports
23 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When the COVID pandemic started, comedian and actor H. Jon Benjamin and his family moved to a secluded house by a creek in upstate New York. And livin...
A Crossbill's Beak Does the Job
22 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A close look at this Red Crossbill reveals a curious adaptation. The long tips of the upper and lower bill don't meet, but instead cross over each oth...
The Rusty Blackbird’s Unique Beauty
21 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the fall, Rusty Blackbirds get new feathers with reddish-gold highlights that have a unique and subtle beauty. Their complex little song might soun...
Earthworms - A Superfood in Cold Storage
20 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This American Robin has caterpillars and an earthworm in its beak. But which food source is the real prize? Everyday earthworms are higher in protein ...
The Wood Thrush as a Symbol for Inner Peace
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When we think of a bird to represent peace, many of us might think of doves. Deja Perkins, an urban ecologist, says that the Wood Thrush is the bird t...
Piracy Among Raptors
18 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
One bird of prey may steal another's meal, a behavior that biologists call piracy, or kleptoparasitism. The prey may change hands several times, perha...
Attu and Its Island-hopping Rock Ptarmigan
17 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Attu, at the western end of Alaska’s Aleutian chain, is home to the Rock Ptarmigan. Although grouse are not long-distance fliers, Rock Ptarmigans ca...
Greater Chicago’s Bird Diversity
16 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Judy Pollock, the founding president of the Bird Conservation Network, says the Chicago area is crucial to birds, and has a grassroots conservation mo...
The Benefits of a Raven's Black Feathers
15 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It turns out, a raven's black plumage works quite well in the desert. Black feathers do conduct the sun’s warming rays, but they concentrate that so...
Birds Can Keep the Beat
14 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Scaly-breasted Wren lives in Central and South America, and has a lengthy song of whistled notes separated by pauses. By analyzing song recordings...
An Owl Is Mobbed
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A pint-sized Northern Pygmy-Owl, not much bigger than a pine cone, hoots from a tree-top on a winter morning. Before long, this diurnal owl - a determ...
Dave Mull and the Courage of Steller’s Jays
12 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Skateboarder and birder Dave Mull remembers the first time he heard a Steller’s Jay imitating a Red-tailed Hawk. “These Steller's Jays were preten...
A Bird Walk 65 Million Years Ago
11 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For today’s bird walk, we’re going to need binoculars, sunscreen, hiking boots, annnnnd a time machine. Let’s set our course for the late Cretac...
Of Grouse and Gizzards
10 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
During winter, the Greater Sage-Grouse is wholly reliant on its namesake species — sagebrush — for both shelter and for food. Scientists call this...
Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers
09 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
These Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers appear nearly identical, but the Hairy Woodpecker is larger than the Downy, with a distinctly longer bill. And it do...
Clark’s Nutcracker and the Whitebark Pine
08 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Clark’s Nutcracker is a clever corvid that has a special relationship with a tree called the whitebark pine. The tree’s cones don’t open on thei...
Wing-clapping
07 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For most birds, wings are for flying. But for Rock Pigeons, they’re also for clapping. When the pigeons erupt into flight, some may slap their wings...
Puffling Patrol
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Just off the southern coast of Iceland, the Westman Islands are home to many of the country’s several million Atlantic Puffins. When puffin hatchlin...
Wilson's Warblers Benefit from Shade-grown Coffee
05 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Early this fall, the tiny Wilson's Warbler began its long migration to Belize, where it winters. Navigating by the stars, the 1/4-ounce bird made a se...
Get Involved
04 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Go outside this weekend. Feel the wind in your hair. Listen to a bird. Discover a new park. Then get involved! Volunteer to lead your own bird walk. P...
Diving Birds – Below the Surface
03 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
By December, an array of diving birds that nested at far northern latitudes are wintering on temperate waters across the continent. If we could watch ...
Strange Places for a Nest
02 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Birds are resourceful. Wherever they live, even in the biggest cities, they find clever places to build their nests. An initiative from the Cornell La...
Are Northern Forest Owls Coming South This Winter?
01 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The boreal forest stretches across Canada and Alaska, a huge expanse of woods, wetlands and wilderness. And it’s full of magnificent forest owls tha...
The Woodcock’s Silly Walk
30 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to silly walks, no bird outdoes the American Woodcock’s one-of-a-kind strut. It goes like this: take one step forward, then rock your ...
Dowitchers Get a Second Wind
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The two American species of dowitchers, Long-billed and Short-billed, are similar in appearance but have distinctive calls. And they’re some of the ...
New Homes for Cockatoos
28 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The alpine forests of Australia’s southeast are home to an iconic pint-sized gray parrot with a bright red mohawk, and a call that’s been describe...
Why Birds' Feet Don't Freeze
27 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever watched ducks walking around in freezing temperatures and wondered why their feet don't freeze? And how do birds, including this Norther...
The Avocets of Bolivar Flats
26 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The shallow waters and wide mudflats of the Bolivar Flats Shorebird Sanctuary northeast of Galveston, Texas, are alive with thousands of gulls, terns...
Spark Bird: Maya Higa and Bean
25 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When Maya Higa started interning at a zoo, she wasn't especially into birds — until she began rehabilitating a Red-tailed Hawk named Bean. Meanwhile...