BirdNote Daily

Lee Ann Roripaugh: Utsuroi

22 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today is the Autumnal Equinox, when the sun crosses the equator and day and night are of approximately equal length across the globe. In her poem ‘U...

Southern Lapwings Defend Their Nest

21 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Nature educator Johanne Ryan shares her observations of Southern Lapwings, shorebirds that make their nests on the ground in open areas and vigorously...

T and Dart

20 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Author Kira Jane Buxton loves crows — so much that she’s written two novels about a crow named S.T. navigating the extinction of humanity. When sh...

Williamson's Sapsucker

19 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Williamson's Sapsuckers nest in western mountain forests. The radically different plumages of the male and female so confounded 19th-century naturalis...

A Lost Hummingbird is Found Again

18 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Santa Marta Sabrewing is a hummingbird species so rare, they’ve only been documented twice in recent years. Native to the mountains of Colombia,...

Thick-billed Euphonia – Deceitful Mimic

17 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Northern Mockingbirds can learn to mimic the sounds of just about any bird. They mimic to show off, not to deceive. But this Thick-billed Euphonia, a ...

Bicknell's Thrush

16 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Bicknell’s Thrush is known for scarcity… and promiscuity. Unlike most songbirds, the female thrush establishes a territory and then mates with...

The Delightfully Odd Magellanic Plover

15 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Magellanic Plover is known for being a bit of an oddball. These shorebirds have a round body like a dove and even feed their young with milk produ...

Where Birds Sleep

14 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

All birds need to sleep — or at least snooze — sometime during each 24-hour period. And most sleep at night. A bird, like a Mallard Duckling, may ...

The Music of Birds Migrating in the Night

13 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ornithologist Bill Evans has helped us better understand the sounds that birds make as they migrate at night. Known as nocturnal flight calls, many sp...

There's a BirdNote for that!

12 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Do you have a question about birds? BirdNote’s Content Director Jonese Franklin says that when people bring her bird queries, she often finds the an...

Helping BirdNote Continue Its Journey

11 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When you provide places for migratory birds to rest and refuel, you’re helping them complete their long journeys and reach their destination safely....

Bird Books with BirdNote

10 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For many of us nature nerds, books and birds go hand in hand. That’s why BirdNote brings you conversations with award-winning writers about how bird...

BirdNote Helps You Get to Know Your Neighborhood

09 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Whether you know your neighborhood inside-out or you just moved and are getting to know the area, BirdNote adds another dimension to how you understan...

The Multiplier Effect

08 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This summer, the U.S. Congress revoked more than $1 billion in previously allocated funding for public media. Because BirdNote provides its shows to s...

Darwin's Birds

07 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The finches of the Galapagos Islands are famous in the history of evolutionary theory. But Charles Darwin spent four years studying other birds as wel...

Henry David Thoreau and the Wood Thrush

06 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In June 1853, Thoreau wrote of an enchanting encounter with the Wood Thrush: "This is the only bird whose note affects me like music. It lifts and exh...

Raptors in the Mojave Desert

05 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Desert raptors get most of their water from eating prey animals. Biologist Blair Wolf explains, “if you think of any insect or a mouse or something ...

Sitting in the Catbird Seat

04 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Longtime baseball announcer Red Barber often described a player in a winning situation as "sitting in the catbird seat." So what is "sitting in the ca...

Spark Bird: Ryan Mandelbaum and the Great Blue Heron

03 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As a kid, science writer Ryan Mandelbaum avoided birds, thinking they were gross and kind of scary. But doing a video project in journalism school, Ry...

Starlings and Roman Divination

02 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

European Starlings were present in great numbers in ancient Rome. They swarmed in massive flocks or murmurations — thousands of individuals cascadin...

Remembering Martha: The Last Passenger Pigeon

01 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the early 1800s, the Passenger Pigeon was one of the most abundant bird species in North America — possibly the world. But by 1910, the last surv...

Highways as Habitat for Hawks

31 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1956, the Eisenhower Administration announced plans for the nation’s new interstate highway system. Planners foresaw 41,000 miles of superior hig...

Fruit as a Bribe

30 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In summer, many shrubs bear fruit that birds find irresistible. Elderberries, serviceberries, blackberries, dogwood berries, mulberries, and currants ...

What Do Desert Birds Drink?

29 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the desert Southwest, water can be scarce. Yet some birds, like this Black-throated Sparrow, thrive in a scorching landscape. The birds obtain mois...

How High Do Birds Fly?

28 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For the majority of the year, most birds stay under 500 feet. During migration, many species fly at 2,000 to 5,000 feet or above, using prevailing win...

Letter to an Eastern Wood-Pewee

27 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, ornithologist J. Drew Lanham reads a letter he has written to a wood-pewee, a flycatcher with an “understatedly simple and definiti...

Long-billed Curlews Whistle from the Sky

26 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Long-billed Curlews are the largest shorebirds in North America. In his courtship display, the male Long-billed Curlew flies a series of arcs across t...

Slowing Down and Observing Female Birds

25 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The colorful feathers and loud songs of male songbirds often catch a birder’s attention first. Observing females often means birding more slowly, no...

David Sibley – Sketching and Painting Impressions

24 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

David Sibley’s paintings connect millions of people with the lives of birds. His talent in observing and portraying birds culminated in The Sibley G...

Birds That Say Their Own Names

23 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Some birds, such as the Northern Bobwhite, get their name from their songs or vocalizations: "Bobwhite! Bobwhite!" The Killdeer is another bird named ...

Quirky Words for Brown Birds

22 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What do Fulvous Whistling-Ducks, Bay-breasted Warblers, Ferruginous Hawks, and Rufous Hummingbirds have in common? They are all birds whose names refe...

How Birds Stay Cool

21 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On a hot summer’s day, watch a bird such as a crow — or this Bald Eagle — very carefully. You’ll never see them sweat, because birds don’t h...

The Royal Ravens

20 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Tower of London has a long and notorious history of murderous political intrigue, dungeons, and famous beheadings. And for more than 300 years, th...

How Brown Pelicans Dive

19 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Brown Pelicans fly just above the surface of the water. They circle high, then diving headfirst, plunge under water to catch fish. But doesn't that hu...

Quail and Their Fancy Feathers

18 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Gambel’s Quail and California Quail are both well known for the comma-shaped tuft of inky black feathers poised atop the crown of their heads. For b...

Male Mallards Disappear

17 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

By late summer, the male Mallard’s need for fancy feathers to attract the females has passed. These birds have molted, and their bright feathers are...

Parakeets Underground

16 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Burrowing Parakeets excavate deep nest tunnels in sandstone and limestone cliffs in Argentina and Chile. The colony’s many tunnels zigzag and interc...

Ultraviolet Vision

15 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Most birds possess the ability to see color. But birds can also see in the ultraviolet spectrum! Hummingbirds — like this Violet-crowned Hummingbird...

The Birdsong Chameleon

14 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Found in Australian forests, male Superb Lyrebirds can mimic calls well enough to convince the bird they’re imitating that the lyrebird is one of th...

Grassland Birds Thrive in Battlefield Parks

13 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

National Battlefield Parks are grassland habitats worth writing home about. Tall grassy fields aren’t typically considered beautiful, much less valu...

Brooklyn's Blue Jays

12 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Brooklyn’s Prospect Park covers more than 500 acres — many of them covered in trees. One bird species that calls the park home is the strikingly b...

Birding 101: Don’t Forget to Look Down!

11 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you’re trying to spot a bird, you should look up — right? While it’s true that there are many beautiful birds to see in the sky, plenty of sp...

Which Jay Was That?

10 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Steller's Jay is a jay... and it's blue. But it's not a true Blue Jay with a capital "B." The bona fide Blue Jay is primarily a bird of eastern No...

Night Voices of Summer

09 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

At the close of a summer day, the songbirds go silent. As if on cue, the birds of the night make their voices known. In an Eastern woodland, the eerie...

Ross’s Gull: An Arctic Wonder

08 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Ross’s Gull is a dainty seabird that’s rarely found south of the High Arctic. Though their bodies are mostly gray, their breast feathers and u...

August Molt

07 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

By August, many birds have just completed the intense rigors of nesting and raising young and now undergo a complete molt. Molt is a cyclic process of...

Birds Can Eat Toxic Berries

06 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Many bird species can eat the fruits of plants that are toxic to humans — even the white berries found on poison ivy. These birds just aren’t sens...

Voices and Vocabularies – Exquisite Thrush Songs

05 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Some believe the song of the Wood Thrush to be the most beautiful bird song in North America. Others select the song of the Hermit Thrush. Still other...

Delhi’s Jain Bird Hospital is Free

04 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

At Charity Birds Hospital, a small staff takes care of approximately 2,600 birds at a time, providing antibiotics, medicine, food, and a safe place to...

Canyon Spectacle – Swakane Canyon

03 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Canyons, whether large or small, can host a spectacular variety of birds! Consider Swakane Canyon, in central Washington State. It cuts west from the ...

A Drive Along a Bar Ditch

02 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the rural Southeast, roadside ditches – known as “bar ditches” – carry on for miles. The term bar ditch probably comes from their construct...

Biomimicry with Billy Almon

01 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For as long as humans have been solving problems, we’ve looked to nature for inspiration. In some cases we’ve even imitated other organisms in our...

Dreading the Terns

31 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In June of 2022, Adé Ben-Salahuddin worked as a volunteer research assistant on a tiny island off the coast of Maine at a Common Tern breeding colony...

Birds, Nests, and Camouflage

30 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Bird nests can be hard to find, often hidden in plain sight. Is the clever camouflage simply the result of using building materials that the birds hap...

The White-crowned Pigeon

29 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Florida Keys extend from the state's peninsula like a string of pearls, and pearls they are, in their uniqueness and value. Stands of hardwood tre...

Breeding Birds of the Northern Great Plains

28 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Migratory birds connect the Northern Plains with many parts of the Western Hemisphere. Lark Buntings, Baird’s Sparrows, Upland Sandpipers, and many ...

The Secretarybird: Eagle on Stilts

27 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Secretarybird of sub-Saharan Africa looks like a slim eagle set on the long, slender legs of a crane. Secretarybirds can fly but prefer to hunt on...

On the Trail of the Bobwhite

26 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Northern Bobwhite — many call it just the Bobwhite — has an unmistakable call, which is also the source of its name. The species is native to ...

Hummingbirds Help Mites Hitch a Ride

25 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Mites are tiny critters related to spiders and ticks. Because they are typically no larger than a grain of salt, many mite species rely on larger anim...

Sleeping on the Wing

24 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Some swifts and frigatebirds stay aloft for months. But for a long time, scientists did not know if the birds might be sleeping on the wing. A 2016 st...

House Sparrow Pool Party

23 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Social, chatty, ubiquitous, the House Sparrow has adapted to living in cities, suburbs, and rural areas. Like most birds, these sparrows enjoy a daily...

Lilli Holden on the Ecology of Vacant Lots

22 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 tr...

River Rapids, Dippers and Ducks

21 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Powerful currents and rocky terrain make for a dangerous place to swim. But for birds like the American Dipper and Harlequin Duck, whitewater rapids a...

Insects Are Essential

20 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Insects sustain our ecosystems, as a food source and pollinators of 90% of all plants. But their numbers have dropped by half in the last 50 years, so...

The Eyes of an Owl

19 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Peer into an owl's face – there is something almost human about its large, forward-facing eyes. The Great Gray Owl, which stands two feet tall and w...

Bird Scent: It's All About the Bacteria

18 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Many birds have an excellent sense of smell. And the odors that birds make can act as mating signals for some species. The source for many of these sc...

Bird Emoji

17 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

July 17th is World Emoji Day — because that’s the date on the little calendar emoji. These cartoon graphics can show everything from smiley faces ...

Seasonal Flooding of the Amazon

16 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When it’s predictable and wildlife is well adapted, natural flooding can create a biological bonanza. In the Amazon River Basin, which holds one-fif...

Whistling Birdsong with Andrew Bird

15 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Musician Andrew Bird is known as a songwriter, violinist, and, like his namesake, a virtuoso whistler. He showcases all of these skills in the song Ra...

Rufous-collared Sparrow: Tico-Tico

14 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The song Tico-Tico no Fuba, like Carmen Miranda, came to us from Brazil. Believe it or not, the song is about a bird. The Portuguese lyrics tell the s...

Beaks and Bills

13 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A bird’s bill is an incredible multi-tool — good for preening feathers, building a nest, self-defense, scratching, displaying, building a nest, an...

Song Neighborhoods

12 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Birds of the same species don’t always sing exactly the same as each other. But those that live near each other sometimes have similar songs. Scient...

Montezuma Oropendola's High-Security Nesting

11 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A male Montezuma Oropendola holds forth in a tree bedecked with twenty or more hanging nests. The nests are intricately woven sacks hanging three feet...

Altamira Oriole

10 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It was only in 1939 that this Altamira Oriole was first found north of the Rio Grande River. Now it happily visits residents on the Texas side of the ...

Thick-billed Longspur

09 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It can feel like there’s nowhere to hide in the shortgrass prairie. But the Thick-billed Longspur calls this place home. The bird’s burbling song ...

The Firebird’s Bright Outfit

08 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You might have heard of the Phoenix, the legendary bird who bursts into flames and is reborn from its ashes. Well, its literary cousin is the Slavic m...

Least Auklets: Seabirds in Miniature

07 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The family of seabirds called alcids is an eclectic bunch that includes puffins and murres. The largest alcids are about the size of a duck, but the s...

Help eBird Fill in the Gaps

06 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

eBird, an online tool for submitting bird observations, allows scientists to keep track of birds around the world. eBird now has over one billion bird...

What Are Birds Saying with Their Crests?

05 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A bird’s crest is made up of a slender array of feathers on top of their head. These feathers are a bit longer and can be spiked up or slicked back,...

Sizing Up Sharp-shinned Hawks

04 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sharp-shinned Hawks are swift, bird-catching predators. The male is jay-sized. The female stands a head taller and weighs almost twice as much. Female...

'What is a birder?' with Rosemary Mosco

03 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Rosemary Moscoe’s latest book is a tongue-in-cheek guide that defines many of the terms that you might hear on a bird outing, like calling a particu...

Shorebirds Watch Their Feet

02 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Greater Yellowlegs — not surprisingly — have bright yellow legs and feet. And why? While foraging through shallow water, a yellowlegs can keep tra...

Canada Jays Save Food for Later

01 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

While camping in the mountains, you might see this Canada Jay (formerly known as the Gray Jay — but before that, as the Canada Jay!), boldly swoopin...

How Writer Amy Tan Helps Backyard Birds

30 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Writer Amy Tan’s work is known all over the world. And thanks to her latest best-seller, The Backyard Bird Chronicles, she’s now also known for he...

The Colors of Chicken Eggs

29 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Except around Easter, chicken eggs usually come in a predictable range of colors: white, brown, and sometimes pale blue or green. Chickens are descend...

The Plover and the Hurricane

28 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Piping Plovers are tiny, sand-colored shorebirds that nest on the beach. They’re threatened in much of their range. But plovers have gotten a boost ...

Pigeon Guillemots Have Fun

27 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Although many seabirds utter groans and croaks, the Pigeon Guillemot produces a lovely series of trills and whistles. As part of their courtship, they...

Why Are Blackbirds Black?

26 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Why are blackbirds black? One possible answer is that black is conspicuous against just about all of Nature's backgrounds. Blackbirds, like this flock...

How Nestlings Leave the Nest

25 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Young birds leave their nests in different ways. Some shuffle tentatively along the nearest branch and practice flapping their wings, while others tak...

Crested Auklets Entice Their Mates with Scent

24 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Crested Auklets are small seabirds that nest on remote cliffs in the Northern Pacific and the Bering Sea. But it’s their smell that really sets thes...

Pelagic Birds by Boat

23 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Some birds spend most of their lives on the open ocean, only coming to land when it's time to breed. These high-sea specialists are called pelagic bir...

Advice to Beginning Birders from David Sibley

22 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

David Sibley, creator and illustrator of The Sibley Guide to Birds, offers this advice for people learning to identify birds: “Spend time at home, p...

What’s in a Name? A Bird!

21 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Names are conventions, right? But some names contain something special: a bird! For example, the name Paloma comes from the colloquial name in Spanish...

Black-bellied Plover, Arctic Nester

20 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, June days offer almost continuous daylight to breeding birds, including this Black-bellied Plover. At this hig...

As the Crowe Flies

19 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Crows play many roles in human cultures, from ominous tricksters to sacred purveyors of wisdom. After exploring the stories behind her family surname,...

If You See a Bird with Leg Bands

18 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you see a wild bird with a small metal band around its leg, that means researchers have given the bird a unique ID to keep track of it over the cou...

The Chihuahuan Meadowlark

17 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 2022, ornithologists recognized the Chihuahuan Meadowlark as a separate species rather than a subspecies of the Eastern Meadowlark. Named after the...

Green Jay

16 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Adorned in shades of peridot green, sapphire blue, and onyx black, the Green Jay is a jewel-toned wonder with a voice as loud as its color palette. Th...

Father Birds

15 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The male hummingbird leaves the female to build the nest and raise the young alone, but other father birds are more involved. A Peregrine Falcon fathe...