BirdNote

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 tiny songbird in South America, employs what scientists call “deceitful mimicry.” When frightened by a predator near its nest, a Thick-billed Euphonia imitates the alarm calls of other birds nesting nearby. This stirs them into action as they rush in to harass the predator. The euphonia, meanwhile, sits tight while others do the dirty work.¡Escuche este episodio en español aquí!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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Bicknell's Thrush is known for scarcity… and promiscuity. Unlike most songbirds, the female thrush establishes a territory and then mates with males that happen by. She then lays eggs that have been fertilized by multiple different males. Many of those males will stick around and help feed the young, even if they are not their own. Each year, these little songbirds make the long journey from the Caribbean Islands to the forests of the northeastern coasts of North America.Support for BirdNote is provided by Sarah Merner and Craig McKibben from Seattle, Washington — and generous listeners around the world.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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 produced in a part of their digestive system called the crop — a rare trait they share with doves. But genetic data revealed that Magellanic Plovers are neither plovers nor doves — they're the only species in the family Pluvianellidae. Genetically speaking, they're one of a kind.This episode is dedicated to Kit Ellis, of Gig Harbor, Washington, with thanks for her generous support of BirdNote.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.

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 turn its head around and warm its beak under its shoulder-feathers. Songbirds find a protected perch, sheltered from rain and nighttime predators. Small forest birds often spend the night in tree cavities. Ducks sleep while floating in protected bays.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.  

Ornithologist Bill Evans has helped us better understand the sounds that birds make as they migrate at night. Known as nocturnal flight calls, many species can be identified based on their signature sound. Using special handmade microphones left outside overnight, Evans, his colleagues and many volunteers recorded countless nocturnal flight calls — and not all of them have been identified yet. Let's take a moment to revel in the beauty of the calls that birds make as they fly high in the air.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.

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 answer in a BirdNote Daily episode. Over the last 20 years, BirdNote has produced more than 2,400 episodes covering tons of topics – and there are still more stories to tell! BirdNote is an independent nonprofit that relies on the generosity of its listeners. Your support allows us to continue to make informative and immersive shows that hopefully inspire folks to fall in love with birds.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. 

When you provide places for migratory birds to rest and refuel, you're helping them complete their long journeys and reach their destination safely. In a similar way, BirdNote also relies on your generosity. As an independent nonprofit, we depend on support from listeners like you to keep us going. This week, we're asking you to make a donation of any amount to help us continue sharing the joy and wonder of birds with people everywhere.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.

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 birds inspire their work. This week, we are asking you to support the show so that we can keep providing daily stories about birds – and the books they've inspired – to your local station for free.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. 

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 understand the place you live — by understanding the birds. Our hope is that by spreading knowledge about birds, BirdNote is helping you become more connected to your local ecosystems. A gift of any amount helps us continue to accomplish this goal.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. 

This summer, the U.S. Congress revoked more than $1 billion in previously allocated funding for public media. Because BirdNote provides its shows to stations for free, a gift to BirdNote has a multiplier effect: It helps produce a show you love and it helps provide free programming for the local public radio station you love.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. 

The finches of the Galapagos Islands are famous in the history of evolutionary theory. But Charles Darwin spent four years studying other birds as well, as the Beagle circumnavigated southern South America before reaching the Galapagos in 1835. It was not just the birds, but a lifetime of attending to all the wild things in his path that brought Darwin to his great idea.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. 

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 exhilarates me. It is inspiring. It changes all hours to an eternal morning." Wood Thrushes thrive in large expanses of forest. And their numbers have declined as forests have been cut on their breeding grounds. Protected areas like Adirondack Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Ozark National Forest give them a chance to thrive.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. 

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 like that, they're maybe 75% water.” Those animals become less plentiful in a hotter, drier climate. Extreme warming poses a direct danger to the raptors (such as this Harris's Hawk) and leads to lower rates of reproduction. Lacking sufficient water, they may not be able to produce eggs, and there must be enough food for their nestlings to thrive.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. 

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 catbird seat"? And what is a catbird? The Gray Catbird is a cousin of the mockingbird, and it does sound a little like a cat. During breeding season, when it's protecting its territory, the catbird competes with others of its species. The two combatants sing their way to higher and higher perches. The one who finally takes the highest perch is ... well ... sitting in the catbird seat!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. 

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, Ryan had to search all over to get footage of a Great Blue Heron. When Ryan found one in its nest, they were shocked at how majestic and beautiful the bird was. Years later, Ryan and their spouse go birding all the time, planning vacations around what birds they might see.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.

European Starlings were present in great numbers in ancient Rome. They swarmed in massive flocks or murmurations — thousands of individuals cascading and folding in awe-inspiring geometric patterns in the sky. Roman augurs, or diviners, scrutinized these patterns for signs of how the gods were feeling that day. Some flock patterns offered more auspicious signs or omens than others. From time to time, it may have seemed like the future of Rome itself hung on the correct reading of the movements of these very common but highly adaptable birds.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. 

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 surviving representative of the species was a bird called Martha at the Cincinnati Zoo. Despite attempts to revive the species through captive breeding programs, Martha outlived several unsuccessful suitors before succumbing to old age on September 1, 1914. Though today is a somber anniversary in the history of conservation, there's no better time than now to take action to protect birds.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. 

In 1956, the Eisenhower Administration announced plans for the nation's new interstate highway system. Planners foresaw 41,000 miles of superior highways, with a grassy border on either side and down the middle. The grassy areas created ribbons of wildlife habitat occupied by small mammals such as voles — favorite prey of the Red-tailed Hawk and other raptors, which are now common along many stretches of interstate. And there are now hundreds of thousands of other highway miles that offer equally prosperous hunting grounds for birds.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. 

In summer, many shrubs bear fruit that birds find irresistible. Elderberries, serviceberries, blackberries, dogwood berries, mulberries, and currants attract many species of birds, including waxwings, tanagers, robins, warblers and this Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Plants offer this bounty in exchange for birds' help in distributing their seeds. And in dispersing pollen, birds, bats and insects also help to guarantee a new crop of berries!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. 

In the desert Southwest, water can be scarce. Yet some birds, like this Black-throated Sparrow, thrive in a scorching landscape. The birds obtain moisture from foods like nectar and fruit, as well as insects and other prey. They tuck into the shade in the heat of the day, so they won't lose water in panting. And they have extremely efficient kidneys, so they excrete almost no liquid. Amazing!The soundscapes featured in this episode were recorded by Gordon Hempton and provided courtesy of QuietPlanet.com.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.

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 winds to assist them. And some birds go even higher! In 1973, a Rüppell's Griffon set the world record by soaring to 37,000 feet.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.

In this episode, ornithologist J. Drew Lanham reads a letter he has written to a wood-pewee, a flycatcher with an “understatedly simple and definitive” song that says the bird's name.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. 

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 the sky, calling as he goes. Outside of the breeding season, they roost and forage in mixed flocks. When the flock is disturbed, the curlews' loud flight calls sound the alarm that a potential predator is near.This episode is brought to you in loving memory of former BirdNote Board member Tom Darden, with thanks to his family for their support.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.

The colorful feathers and loud songs of male songbirds often catch a birder's attention first. Observing females often means birding more slowly, noticing subtle differences in plumage and behavior, says Joanna Wu, who's part of a group called the Galbatrosses that's encouraging birders to spend more time identifying female birds. Fellow Galbatross Purbita Saha says that watching for females can help us understand birds on a deeper level by observing them as individuals rather than just species.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.

David Sibley's paintings connect millions of people with the lives of birds. His talent in observing and portraying birds culminated in The Sibley Guide to Birds. Sibley describes how he learned to sketch and illustrate birds such as this Townsend's Warbler: "I spent years in the field, just traveling and birding and sketching," he says. “The drawing was so important to me, that there was never any question in my mind of continuing to paint the birds. It's how I study the birds." Watch David Sibley sketch a Townsend's Warbler in the BirdNote studio!Support for BirdNote is provided by Marjorie and Ed Ringness from Seattle, Washington — and generous listeners around the world. 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.

Some birds, such as the Northern Bobwhite, get their name from their songs or vocalizations: "Bobwhite! Bobwhite!" The Killdeer is another bird named for its song: "Kill-dee, kill-dee, kill-dee." There are others. "Poorwill, poorwill, poorwill," says this Common Poorwill. This bird is the cousin of the Whip-poor-will, another bird that calls its own name.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.   

What do Fulvous Whistling-Ducks, Bay-breasted Warblers, Ferruginous Hawks, and Rufous Hummingbirds have in common? They are all birds whose names refer to a shade of brown!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. 

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 have sweat glands. So how do they keep cool? One way is panting. As the bird breathes rapidly, heat is carried out of its body through the lungs and air sacs. Bare skin on the legs, face, and beak also help with cooling. So do puffing out feathers, fluttering wings, or splashing in a puddle or birdbath. And soaring birds like hawks can simply ride the updrafts far above ground to cooler air.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. 

The Tower of London has a long and notorious history of murderous political intrigue, dungeons, and famous beheadings. And for more than 300 years, the tower has also been home to a set of royally maintained ravens. Since the time of Charles II, at least six ravens have — by royal decree — made their home in the tower. They are given ample food, comfy quarters, and private burials in the moat near Traitor's Gate.Support for BirdNote is provided by Charlie and Carrie Kahle and generous listeners around the world.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.  

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 hurt? Several adaptations protect pelicans as they dive. First, they have air sacs beneath the skin on their breasts, which act as cushions. Pelicans have also learned that a steep dive angle, reduces aiming errors caused by water surface refraction.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. 

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 both species, this decorative “topknot” is formed from six individual feathers that contour together into a single structure. Yet they're hardly the only quail with a fashionable updo. Though we don't know exactly why so many quail evolved elaborate headdresses, they may help the birds attract a mate or intimidate competitors.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. 

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 replaced with mottled brown ones. Subdued colors help camouflage the male ducks, protecting them from predators. Come fall, the male Mallards will molt again and become the colorful dandies we remember.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. 

Burrowing Parakeets excavate deep nest tunnels in sandstone and limestone cliffs in Argentina and Chile. The colony's many tunnels zigzag and interconnect, creating an intricate labyrinth. Their nesting colonies are among the largest of any parrot — one in Argentina has 70,000 birds!¡Escuche este episodio en español aquí!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.

Most birds possess the ability to see color. But birds can also see in the ultraviolet spectrum! Hummingbirds — like this Violet-crowned Hummingbird — may zero in on certain flowers because their petals strongly reflect in the ultraviolet range. Migrating birds may use ultraviolet light to navigate on overcast days, because the sun's ultraviolet rays pass through the cloud cover.This episode is sponsored by Bird Conservancy of the Rockies. The world needs birds. To learn more about their work and mission, visit birdconservancy.org.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.

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 their own! While males sing to attract mates, females imitate the calls of predators, which could help frighten other birds off their territories.Listen to this episode in Spanish here.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. 

National Battlefield Parks are grassland habitats worth writing home about. Tall grassy fields aren't typically considered beautiful, much less valuable to conserve. But battlefield monuments and military parks are maintained as historic sites, with the side-effect of preserving excellent habitat. Today, rather than the roar of cannons, battlefields like Gettysburg, Antietam, and Monocacy are filled with the sounds of grassland songbirds.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. 

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 beautiful Blue Jay, which nests, forages, and roosts in trees. In the eastern U.S., you can invite Blue Jays into a small yard with just a decent tree or two. It's the volume of branches and leafy habitat overhead that matter to the jays.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.  

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 species are easier to find by keeping your eyes and ears to the ground. You may encounter towhees using their powerful feet to kick up leaf litter beneath dense underbrush. American Pipits and small shorebirds often look like clods of mud before they start running across a roadside field. There are even some colorful warblers who prefer to skulk!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. 

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 North America. Blue Jays and the Steller's Jays have similarly raucous personalities. Like their larger cousins, the crows, ravens, and magpies, they are intelligent opportunists.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. 

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 trills and whinnies of an Eastern Screech-Owl are among the first sounds of the night. Meanwhile, as night falls west of the Rockies, a Western Screech-Owl calls out. But there's another bird whose voice will drown out the loudest of screech-owls: the Barred Owl! Pairs may break into a rollicking duet, sometimes called their “monkey call.”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. 

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 underparts glow a satiny pink thanks to pigments from the marine crustaceans they pluck from the ocean's surface. Every so often, a Ross's Gull drifts into southern Canada and the U.S. — and almost always attracts an adoring crowd.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. 

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 feather growth. As new feathers grow in, they push the old ones out. Why molt? Because feathers wear out. Songbirds that migrate long distances need to complete this process on a tight schedule, to be ready when it's time to strike out in September. You might not even recognize this American Goldfinch in its winter plumage.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. 

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 sensitive to the compounds in the berries that are irritating or poisonous to people. While you probably want to stay away from poison ivy, you can improve habitats for birds by planting native fruit bushes and advocating for wildlife-friendly gardening in public green spaces.Support for this episode was provided by Jerry Tone and Martha Wyckoff from Seattle, Washington — and generous listeners around the world.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. 

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 others name the singing of the Swainson's Thrush. How do thrushes like this Veery create such fine music? The answer is that the birds have a double voice box, unique to them, called the syrinx. A fine singer like a thrush can voice notes independently and simultaneously from each half of its syrinx, notes which blend brilliantly as ethereal, harmonious tones.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. 

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 rest for injured or sick birds. The hospital is run entirely on donations, mostly from the Jain community, which follows the philosophy, “live and let live.”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. 

Canyons, whether large or small, can host a spectacular variety of birds! Consider Swakane Canyon, in central Washington State. It cuts west from the Columbia River into the Entiat Mountains for nine miles, while gaining nearly 3,000 feet. Steep slopes wall in the canyon floor, several hundred yards wide. A slender creek runs through the canyon, nurturing shrubs like blue elderberry. The plant provides nesting cover for Bullock's Orioles and other birds in summer, and masses of tiny fruit to migrating birds in September. And each successive habitat embraces a new mix of birds and other wildlife.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. 

In the rural Southeast, roadside ditches – known as “bar ditches” – carry on for miles. The term bar ditch probably comes from their construction, when dirt was "borrowed" to build up the road. The ditches are full of water and full of life, these narrow wetlands. Herons stalk the shallow water, stabbing at minnows. Common Gallinules, like this one, swim on the surface. Reeds and bulrushes provide cover for secretive marsh birds like King Rails. Red-winged Blackbirds flash crimson epaulets as they sing, and Boat-tailed Grackles offer their own rough music.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.

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 inventions through a process called biomimicry, says Billy Almon, a futurist and biomimicry expert. Billy discusses how the Wright brothers modeled their early airplane designs from the flight mechanics of turkey vultures and how there's still a lot we can still learn from nature: our first teacher. Learn more in the latest season of Bring Birds Back!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. 

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. Every once in a while, the colony would suddenly go dead silent as all the adult terns took flight and dove over the rocky cliffs, returning soon afterward. This strange behavior is called a “dread,” and sometimes occurs without a predator nearby. It remains unclear why terns do it.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.

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 happen to find? A Scottish research team used birds popular in the pet trade, Zebra Finches, to try and find out. The team gave nesting Zebra Finches two sources of paper to build their nests from: one that matched the papered walls of their cage, and one that did not. By and large, the finches built nests that blended in with their background.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.

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 trees rise above the islands' level ground. These trees draw many birds of the Caribbean to the keys' tropical habitat. One of these is the White-crowned Pigeon. It's a fruit-eater that eats native figs and the fruit of the poisonwood tree. White-crowns play an important role in spreading seeds. The birds swallow fruits and deposit some of the seeds on the hardwood knolls also called hammocks. Without the pigeons, there might be no tropical hardwood hammocks in the Keys. But without the hammocks, there would be no White-crowned Pigeons in Florida.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.