BirdNote Daily

Banding Birds

22 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Willistown Conservation Trust in Pennsylvania carries out bird banding to help researchers understand bird populations. Led by licensed bird banders, ...

Welcoming Back Winter Birds

21 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Although we may think of autumn as the end of the growing season, a sort of winding down in the natural world, for birds it’s as much a season of re...

Cedar Waxwings - Sleek and Handsome

20 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When courting in spring, male and female Cedar Waxwings communicate with distinctly different calls and, perched side by side, often pass back and for...

Prairie Warblers - An Early Successional Species

19 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Despite their name, Prairie Warblers nest in tree farms of recently planted pines, in fields overgrown with scattered shrubs, and in clearings under p...

Identify Bird Sounds on Your Phone

18 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

An online tool called BirdNET uses artificial intelligence to identify bird songs and calls. And Cornell’s well-known Merlin Bird ID app now has sou...

Sooty Tern

17 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sooty Terns have long been called "wide-awakes" because of their calls. But it may describe their sleeping habits, too. When young terns leave their b...

The Sound of a Thousand Geese Taking Off at Once

16 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

During migration, Snow Geese gather in the tens of thousands. They coordinate their movements, flying in a big, compact flock, which makes it harder f...

Komodo Dragons and Cockatoos

15 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Due to trapping for the pet trade, the talkative and showy Yellow-crested Cockatoo is now considered critically endangered. But scientists recently di...

All Those Fish in a Puffin's Beak

14 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Puffins fly under water into schools of slender fish, filling their large beaks. Fish are wedged into the gape, the stretchy skin at the beak hinge, b...

Swainson's Hawks Migrate South

13 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In autumn, hundreds of thousands of Swainson's Hawks migrate to South America. With the help of a satellite tracking device, let's follow an individua...

At the Escarpment

12 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Long, upward slopes called escarpments offer a good chance of seeing some of the many raptor species found in Belize. Shaped like a compact Red-tailed...

Changing How You Hear the World

11 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We often hear from listeners that BirdNote has changed the way they see and interact with the world around them. It's had that impact for those of us ...

Investing in Our Listeners' Learning Journeys

10 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

BirdNote shows are made to be accessible for people of all ages, because we want to reach as many folks as we can with the joy of birds. Listeners who...

Supporting the Nest

09 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A female Wood Thrush will carefully choose each piece of nest-building materials because her eggs will depend on it for warmth and protection. But eve...

BirdNote Helps Kids Learn Their Birds

08 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We hear from lots of people about how much they learn from listening to BirdNote. In this episode, Kim Bradmon and her son Ben share their stories.Mor...

Listeners Help Us Delve Deeper

07 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As part of our fundraising week, we’re sharing a clip from our podcast, Bring Birds Back. Because of listener support, we’re able to take our time...

Purple Martins Head South to the Amazon

06 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Purple Martin is the largest swallow that nests in the US and Canada. During fall, Purple Martins from western North America migrate to a distinct...

Crowned-Pigeons: Big, Beautiful, Threatened

05 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Imagine a pigeon the size of a Turkey Vulture or a Canada Goose! Meet the crowned-pigeon. Four species inhabit the large, equatorial island of New Gui...

Putting the Hum in Hummingbird

04 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

To figure out the source of a hummingbird’s hum, scientists built a special rig to measure air pressure, twelve high-speed cameras, and over 2,000 m...

Migrations: Can Birds 'See' Magnetic Fields?

03 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Some migratory songbirds such as European Robins have special light-sensitive proteins called cryptochromes in their eyes. New research suggests how t...

Bilingual Birding with Daniela Herrera

02 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For many, birding is about more than just a love and appreciation for birds – it also helps build community. But finding a birding group in a commun...

The Bird of Freedom

01 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There’s a bird in Cuba with plumage in blue, red and white — the same colors as the nation’s flag. The Tocororo, or Cuban Trogon, is the nationa...

Glowing Feathers

30 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When a Northern Saw-whet Owl spreads its wings, many birds can see something our human eyes can’t: the owl’s flight feathers glow with ultraviolet...

Great Horned Owl Family in Autumn

29 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Compared to many birds, Great Horned Owls remain with their parents a long time. They hatched in early March, from eggs laid in late January. By April...

Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge

28 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The United States is home to more than 550 National Wildlife Refuges – havens for wildlife, including the Canvasback. But only one refuge can claim ...

Bird Facts Stranger Than Fiction

27 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Novelist Kira Jane Buxton has written several books about a pet crow navigating a post-apocalyptic world. But her writing is full of real-world bird b...

Fairy-Wrens Sing Secret Passwords to Unborn Chicks

26 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Superb Fairy-wrens teach their embryonic chicks a secret code. This incubation call contains a special note that will later serve as a password. When ...

The Eurasian Tree Sparrow

25 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In Lafayette Park in St. Louis, Missouri, a dozen or so Eurasian Tree Sparrows from Germany were released. But unlike other introduced species such as...

BirdNoir: The One That Got Away

24 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, the Private Eye tells his saddest story: his nemesis bird. That’s what birders call a species that keeps giving you the slip. His n...

Birding 101: Birding Without Leaving Home

23 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You don’t need fancy binoculars or lavish trips abroad to look for birds. In fact, you don’t even have to leave home — you can enjoy the birds o...

Montezuma Oropendola - The Golden Pendulum

22 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In a clearing where an ancient Mayan city once stood, the Montezuma Oropendola perches and sings. His courtship display is astonishing: he swings by h...

Prions Filter-Feed Like Whales

21 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Birds called prions have an especially creative approach to getting their food. They pass seawater through their mouths and filter it to catch tiny an...

Yellow-Billed Cuckoo or Rain Crow?

20 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In addition to their scientific names, birds are also given "official" English names. Take the bird commonly known as the rain crow, for example, offi...

Sofia Barboza on Becoming More Aware of Birds

19 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When climate scientist Sofia Barboza was living in New York City, she found it challenging to connect with the outdoors the same way she had growing u...

Migrations: You're Going the Wrong Way!

18 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

During migration, some birds change orientation, often by a full 180 degrees, and travel almost the same distance — but in the opposite direction —...

Rosa Malagon on Leading Hikes in Florida

17 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Rosa Malagon grew up believing that birds hold spiritual significance, thanks to teachings from her Mexican heritage that her mother would share. Now ...

Swallows on Wires

16 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Once nesting season ends, swallows know it's time to party! Whether they nest as single pairs or in large colonies, both adults and juveniles now gath...

Seabirds in the Desert

15 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The White-vented Storm-Petrel is a small black and white seabird found off the coasts of Chile and Peru. Storm-petrels spend their entire lives at sea...

Cowbird Mafia

14 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Brown-headed Cowbirds have a sneaky approach to parenthood. They lay eggs in the nests of other songbirds, and the songbird hosts often raise the cowb...

Playful Keas

13 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Keas are large alpine parrots from New Zealand. Intelligent and social, they have olive-green plumage, a red rump, and a long, curved beak. Keas produ...

The Women Who Fought the Feather Fad

12 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the human fascination with bird feathers went a little too far. Women’s hats and dresses featured extrava...

The Surprising Secret of Hummingbird Tongues

11 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Hummingbirds use their long tongues to sip nectar from flowers. They’re able to roll their tongues into a tube-like shape. Since the 1800s, scientis...

Spark Bird: Walter and Patch

10 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sculptor and musician Walter Kitundu first became enraptured by birds in 2005 when a Red-tailed Hawk flew four feet above his head. He named the bird ...

Birds as Pollinators

09 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Birds are part of the complex web of Nature, and each fits into this web in its own way. Some even pollinate flowers! While feeding at a flower, this ...

Ridgway's Rails on San Francisco Bay

08 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Once abundant around San Francisco Bay, the Ridgway’s Rail — formerly known as the California Clapper Rail — is now endangered. In the 19th Cent...

Truffle-Hunting Birds

07 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

With their excellent sense of smell, pigs are renowned for sniffing out truffles, a fungus that grows underground and is prized for its taste. But it ...

Are Birds Nests Reused?

06 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Let’s talk about nests. Every spring, robins build their cup-shaped nests using grass and mud. Orioles weave a hanging sack. It’s hard work, and y...

The Secret Lives of Goldfinches

05 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

American Goldfinches are one of our most familiar birds, but they lead lives that are anything but ordinary. These birds will sometimes raise two broo...

How Studying Turkey Hens Helps Conservation Efforts

04 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Mike Chamberlain is a wildlife ecologist at the University of Georgia and co-founder of the Wild Turkey Lab. He’s spent the majority of his 30-year ...

Migration: Long, Short, and In-Between

03 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In September, this Arctic Tern flies from Alaska all the way to Antarctica. Rufous Hummingbirds follow pathways of mountain wildflowers, from as far n...

Can Crows Laugh at Me?

02 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The American Crow’s rattle call is uncommon, and researchers aren’t sure what it means. It could be a gathering call, a predator alarm, or a call ...

Does a Robin Hear Its Worm?

01 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How does a robin know a worm is in one exact spot? Does it see the worm or hear it? Smell it? Sense its movements through its feet? To find the answer...

Catching Insects

31 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Birds that depend on flies for food have many creative ways of catching their prey. Swallows execute sharp turns and quick changes of speed. Bluebirds...

Warning Eggs About a Warming World

30 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For birds, learning starts early. Birds listen to their parents’ songs and calls from inside the egg. Recent findings have shown that calls from Zeb...

Migrations: Molt Migration

29 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

At the end of summer, the once-bright feathers of a male American Goldfinch look ragged. Growing new flight feathers in a process called molting makes...

Do Woodpeckers Suffer Brain Injuries?

28 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When woodpeckers drum, they slam their beaks against bark many times per second. Scientists have long hypothesized that woodpeckers have a way of prot...

Wood Ducks Succeed

27 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Your eye may be drawn to the gorgeous male Wood Duck, but it is the call of the modestly plumaged female you’ll hear. This call tells the male where...

The Broad-tailed Hummingbird’s Dazzling Dives

26 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Broad-tailed Hummingbirds are small but hardy creatures built for life in the mountains. They survive freezing cold nights by slowing their heart rate...

Swallow or Swift?

25 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

At a glance, swallows and swifts, both graceful fliers, look much alike. But swifts — like this Chimney Swift — have longer, slimmer wings and sho...

What’s a Beak Made Of?

24 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Bird beaks, or bills, come in many shapes and sizes. And birds use them for just about everything: to collect food, preen, fight, court (as this pair ...

Learning More About Birds by Sketching Them

23 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Many people take an interest in birds as they get older. But others start very early, like one young BirdNote listener named Ben Bradmon. He has been ...

The Brown Thrasher's Never-Ending Songbook

22 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Northern Mockingbird isn’t the only mimic bird in town. Brown Thrashers also learn songs from nearby birds and add them to their repertoire. The...

The Ulūlu's Comeback

21 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There are promising signs that a native Hawaiian bird called the ulūlu is on the way to recovery. Also known as the Millerbird, this small gray songb...

Phainopeplas Glisten

20 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A slim, sleek bird with a spiky crest, Phainopepla comes from the Greek for “shining cloak.” The name refers to the male’s glistening, inky blac...

Minnesotans Embrace Their Inner Loons

19 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Each year, adults and children gather in Crosslake, Minnesota to celebrate the incredible sounds of the Common Loon — the state bird of the land of ...

Turkey Vulture - Sky Sailor

18 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Although some of the Turkey Vulture's habits may evoke our disgust, these remarkable birds also inspire our awe. With wingspans approaching six feet, ...

When Does a Crossbill's Bill Cross?

17 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A young crossbill starts life with a wedge-shaped beak. As it grows up and starts to feed itself by removing conifer seeds from their tough packaging,...

Hovering with Horned Larks

16 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Horned Larks rival meadowlarks as the most colorful birds of North American grasslands. They live in prairies, fields, and tundra, but agriculture and...

Looking Two Ways at Once

15 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Great-tailed Grackles are known for their long, expressive tails, and their wide vocabulary of odd sounds. But this bird has another special trait. A ...

Making a Home Among the Saguaros

14 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the arid Arizona desert, where cacti thrive but trees are scarce, the Gila Woodpecker and Gilded Flicker carve out nest cavities in living saguaros...

The Peabody Ducks

13 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Twice every day, a rapt audience gathers at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee to see six local celebrities: five ducks and the hotel’s head Du...

Scintillating Starlings

12 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In Africa, where there are dozens of starling species, a quick look reveals a variety of visual stunners. Some of the names hint at their dazzle: Supe...

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

11 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A male Buff-breasted Sandpiper courts a female on their breeding grounds far north of the Arctic Circle. He raises his wings, flashing their silvery-w...

Migration and Fat

10 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If long migratory flights are amazing, what goes on inside a bird’s body during those flights seems absolutely astonishing. To store fat, birds may ...

The Crafty Carolina Wren

09 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Though half the size of a robin, the Carolina Wren has a powerful singing voice that seems to come from a much bigger bird. Many people remember their...

Protecting Endangered Birds from Maui’s Wildfires

08 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Maui Bird Conservation Center helps care for Hawai‘i’s critically endangered bird species, some of which have gone extinct in the wild. Jennif...

A Giant Parrot of New Zealand

07 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

New Zealand was once home to a massive parrot that stood three feet tall, about hip-high to most adult humans. It’s estimated that the bird weighed ...

Migrations: Watching Seabirds Summer at the Lake

06 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Many oceanic species like grebes, loons, pelicans, and gulls migrate far inland to raise their young near freshwater lakes. Ring-billed Gulls, for exa...

Bringing Birding Adventures to Broward County

05 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

While Sierra Taliaferro was working as a Naturalist in Broward County, Florida, in 2021, she collaborated with Broward County Library to help enhance ...

An Amazing World of Owls

04 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Owls are magnificent animals that share our cities with us, and live in some of the most extreme environments on Earth. They range in size from huge, ...

Pigeon Flocks Follow the Leader

03 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The flocking movements of homing pigeons are governed by a pecking order. Higher-ranked birds have more influence over how the flock moves. Leading bi...

For Shorebirds, Summer Ends Early

02 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We often think of birds migrating south in the fall. But many species kick off their big trips surprisingly early in the year. Shorebirds nesting in t...

Gannets and Dolphins

01 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Northern Gannets, fish-eating seabirds, dive headfirst into the ocean at speeds of up to 60 miles an hour, pursuing their prey. Sometimes, they get he...

Precision Flight in Flocks: How Does It Work?

31 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A flock of shorebirds flying wingtip to wingtip seems to act like a single organism, rolling and twisting in exquisite patterns. Flocks like these use...

Birds in Art Through the Ages

30 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Birds were one of the earliest subjects for human artists. A cave painting in France over 30,000 years old shows the unmistakable outline of an owl. P...

Having Your Tail Scared Off

29 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When a hawk is about to capture a songbird, the songbird has one last trick: a fright molt. It’s when a bird loses feathers due to sudden stress. Th...

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher: Little Bird with a Big Story

28 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The slim, 4½-inch Blue-gray Gnatcatcher is found over much of the East and Midwest and in parts of the West, too. It actively searches trees and bush...

To Mob or Not to Mob

27 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When a bird of prey flies over, a flock of crows may dive-bomb the predator and give it a noisy escort out of town. An Eastern Kingbird, like this one...

Which Bird Has the Most Feathers

26 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In general, the bigger the bird, the higher the number of feathers. Someone counted the feathers on a Tundra Swan and came up with 25,216. At least 80...

Bridging Hawaiian Culture and Conservation

25 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sam ‘Ohu Gon is the Senior Scientist and Cultural Advisor for the Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i. He's something of a rare combination: academicall...

Black-necked Stilt – The Bird with Outrageous Legs

24 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Visit a shallow wetland in summer, and you might see this slender, black-and-white shorebird with outrageous red legs. The Black-necked Stilt uses its...

Taking the Bus for Birds

23 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

By carrying more people in a single vehicle, mass transit can use less energy than cars. Taking steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions can help the ...

Black-crowned Night-Heron

22 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Black-crowned Night-Herons feed primarily on fish, but they will consume everything from earthworms to clams to eggs of nesting birds and refuse at la...

Shorebirds Aren't Always on the Shore

21 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Shorebirds' lives take them to many places other than the shore. Most of the shorebirds we see along our coasts migrate to the Arctic in summer. Here,...

Australia's Rainforest Birds

20 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The rainforests of Eastern and Northeastern Australia harbor many species of birds found almost nowhere else. This Eastern Whipbird — which is more ...

Emily Raboteau and Harlem's Gray Hawk Mural

19 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Over the last few years, writer Emily Raboteau has been going out and photographing a series of bird murals found throughout New York City commissione...

A Cardinal That's Half Male, Half Female

18 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In Texas, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere, people have reported seeing Northern Cardinals that are red on one side and brown on the other, indicating that...

J. Drew Lanham’s Taxonomy of Bird Obsessions

17 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ornithologist J. Drew Lanham's favorite bird is “the one with feathers.” But here, he shares a few species that have been especially on his mind l...

Flying and Molting - A Tricky Balance

16 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Feathers are amazing structures. But after about a year, constant use and exposure to the elements mean they have to be replaced. So how do you replac...

How Birds Can Help Coral Reefs Recover

15 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today kicks off Coral Reef Awareness Week. Coral reefs are hotspots of biodiversity, but they’re threatened by warming ocean temperatures, pollution...