BirdNote Daily

Surf Scoters are perfectly at home in the element they’re named for. They swim smack in the middle of what surfers call the impact zone: Just where the waves break with greatest violence. Why risk the harshest waves when there’s calmer water close by? Because the churning action of crashing waves can expose the small clams and crabs that scoters eat. And how do Surf Scoters avoid getting mashed by...

Pigeon Pose. Crow Pose. Eagle pose. Bird of paradise. Writer Trisha Mukherjee, who is also a yoga teacher, discusses the connections these bird-inspired yoga poses have with Hindu mythology and philosophy. 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...

When it comes to nests, common sense suggests that large birds build large nests, and small birds build small nests. But in fact, some species of smaller birds build large nests. None, though, builds anything like the communal structures of Sociable Weavers in southern Africa’s arid plains. These House Sparrow-sized birds often live in accommodations with room for up to 500 birds. Each family has...

Ornate Hawk-Eagles stand out from other raptors with their impressive crest that looks like an elegant crown in adults, and a punk hairdo over the white-headed and black-bodied juveniles. These birds are excellent hunters, but they’re also devoted parents. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org .  Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listen...

Yellow-eyed Juncos sometimes make a migration of sorts — not from north to south, but from the high mountains to the lowlands or the other way around. It’s called altitudinal migration. In the warm summer months, some Yellow-eyed Juncos prefer to nest at higher elevations, while in winter, the scarcity of food pushes them back down to the valleys. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org .  Want m...

What an amazing array of sounds birds have to offer! The call of a male Yellow Rail sounds like someone tapping two small stones together. And Turkey Vultures hissing at one another over a carcass sound like a snarling lion. The duet between the male and female Barred Owls seen here is especially raucous. BirdNote gets most of its sounds from The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds. More info and t...

Crow experts think big communal roosts provide warmth, protection from predators, shared knowledge about food sources, and a chance to find a mate. Follow crows to their roost some autumn evening, if you can, and watch these avian acrobats wheel in for the night. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org .  Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free...

In this episode, ornithologist J. Drew Lanham reads a letter he has written to a Kentucky Warbler, an “uber-skulky” species that’s hard to find but brings “warbler-iffic joy”  when Drew hears them. 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-ded...

Have you wondered about the right time to remove your hummingbird feeders during fall? Consider leaving your feeders hanging for a week or two after you’ve seen the last hummingbird of the season, just in case a late migrant stops by to fatten up. However, Anna’s Hummingbirds – like the one pictured here – benefit from feeders year-round. This species is largely non-migratory, residing from Califo...

As he trained to be an arborist, Thomas Poulsom started developing two new interests: birds and building with LEGO bricks. After first building a European Robin, he went on to create LEGO models of more than 75 species. Thomas became one of the first LEGO fans to have his designs produced as an official set. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org .  Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly ne...

Even if the name Spix's Macaw doesn’t ring a bell, you might recognize this bird. It’s Blu, from Rio , the animated film! Also known as the Little Blue Macaw, the species went extinct in the wild due to hunting for the pet trade, loss of habitat, and invasive species. However, scientists raised a captive population of Spix’s Macaws from the few remaining wild birds. In 2022, 52 of the captive-rais...

John Edmonstone was born on a timber plantation in British Guiana, and enslaved by Scotsman Charles Edmonstone. He learned taxidermy techniques by accompanying a naturalist on expeditions. In Scotland, he became a free man and began working as a taxidermist. One of his students was a teenaged Charles Darwin, who would later use the skills he learned from John to preserve and study the Galapagos bi...

Birds have developed many strategies for protecting their young. But only one species can tuck its chicks into pouches under its wings, then fly the young to safety. It’s the Sungrebe of Central and South America. Despite the name, they are not closely related to grebes. Sungrebes swim and dive on quiet freshwater streams. Both sexes incubate the eggs in a nest on branches just above the water. Bu...

Blackpoll Warblers make one of the longest migrations taken by a songbird in the world. Blackpoll Warblers that breed in Alaska fly southeast in the fall, appearing throughout the Midwest and eastern U.S. on their way to the Atlantic Coast. Then, they make a nonstop flight over the water to reach South America. Scientists uncovered the stranger-than-fiction details of Blackpoll Warbler migration t...

In this episode, ornithologist J. Drew Lanham reads a letter he has written to an Olive-sided Flycatcher, a beloved bird that he pleads with to visit the dead pine tree on the edge of his home by a mountain lake. 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 nonprofi...

It's the time of year that geese migrate south for the winter. Isn't it? So why are there so many geese still hanging around, setting up housekeeping on our parks and golf courses? Did they decide to forgo the long trip north? In the early 1900s, non-migratory geese were brought in by the hundreds to populate wildlife refuges. Now, while many Canada Geese migrate south for the winter, these other...

When a pair of Western Grebes decides it’s time to mate, they call loudly and approach one another. Each bird curves, then straightens, its long neck gracefully. They then face each other, necks on the water’s surface, their bills flipping up drops of water. If attraction prevails, they rush together and off they go across the water, running on the surface side by side. Standing straight up with n...

Photographer Xavi Bou creates incredible images of birds and their movements by combining his love of photography and technology with his love for birds and nature — as seen in his book, Ornithographies . He’s especially drawn to European Starlings and their movements as a flock, called a murmuration. The starlings fly in a tight, synchronized group, sometimes to avoid a predator. More info and tr...

It’s a wistful moment when your backyard birds — like these Black-capped Chickadees — depart their nestboxes. By October, it’s time for one last duty as nestbox landlord: to clean it out . Cleaning will reduce the incidence of parasites in the box and make it more inviting to next spring’s tenants. It will also help you know for sure if it gets used again. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org...

A parrot’s eyes are located on the sides of its head. So, if it wants to look at something — say, a delicious piece of fruit — it has to cock its head one way or the other do it. And if it looks with its left eye, then uses its left foot. Scientists call this handedness . That’s when one hand — or foot — is used consistently over the other for doing complex tasks. Sulphur-crested Cockatoos are alm...

These Emperor Penguins feed on fish and squid in the icy ocean. Getting into the sea is easy, but getting out is another story. How does a penguin haul its plump, 80-pound body up and over icy ledges that are several feet high, while avoiding nearby predators? Underwater video has revealed an amazing adaptation that allows the penguin to launch out of the water like a feathered torpedo. More info...

In this episode, ornithologist J. Drew Lanham reads a letter he has written to a Pileated Woodpecker, a large species of woodpecker that is sometimes mistaken for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker.  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-deductib...

Autumn brings many species of wintering ducks and seabirds to our waters. Watch carefully. Some dabble along the surface, feeding along shallow edges of lakes and estuaries. Others dive under the water, using their feet and occasionally their wings for propulsion. The male "dabblers" are often bright and colorful, whereas the females are mottled brown. The "divers" tend to be less colorful. More i...

Wildlife biologist Janet Ng works for the Canadian Wildlife Service. And for her waterbird surveys, one of the most important tools of her trade is a kayak. Many species that breed in the Arctic pass through lakes in southern Saskatchewan on their way north, making it a great place to survey the birds’ populations and track how they’re doing year to year. But some birds are hard to see, hidden in...

Mexico's Bumblebee Hummingbird is one of the smallest birds in the world. Less than 3 inches in size and weighing less than a bottlecap, they’re easily confused with a bumblebee as they buzz by. But as tiny as they are, they defend their breeding territories fiercely. Perhaps that’s why the ancient Mexicas associated hummingbirds with their most important god: Huitzilopochtli, the god of war…and o...