Podcasts about birdnote

For folks looking to try birding for the first time, getting started can be daunting. Should you learn every species' call, every subtle feather pattern before you head out to look for birds? While it's good to prepare, there's a risk of scaring yourself out of starting, and preventing the kind of hands-on experiential learning that's one of the best parts of birding. So when you have the time and energy, just go for it! Learning about birds is the work of a lifetime — that's why it's so rewarding.¡Escuche este episodio en BirdNote en Español!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.

At her home in New Orleans, Grammy-winning musical artist Rickie Lee Jones has transformed her yard into a safe haven for birds. By putting out water and feeders, she's become popular with the local cardinals, doves, and even a crow with a distinctive white wing. The experience has encouraged Rickie to find more ways to take actions to protect birds, like turning off outdoor lights at night and treating windows to prevent fatal collisions.BirdNote is supported by Road Scholar, creating educational travel adventures for adults 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.

Kererū, green-blue pigeons native to New Zealand, like to sun themselves after dining on fruit. But in warm summer months, the bird's sunbathing has a surprising side-effect. A part of their digestive system called the crop stores their latest snack – where it begins to ferment, eventually making the pigeons drunk! The rotund creatures often get so tipsy that they fall out of trees, prompting compassionate people to deliver them to local bird rescues and let them sober up.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 Golden Eagle is a bird of epic proportions not only for their impressive size but also for the many legends they've inspired across human history. They are one of the largest eagles in the world with a wingspan of more than seven feet. When the Aztecs saw a Golden Eagle devouring a serpent atop a cactus, they knew they had found their promised land. Today, that powerful raptor graces Mexico's national shield. In fact, the Golden Eagle appears on the flags and emblems of several countries including Kazakhstan, where nomadic hunters have practiced an ancient form of falconry with Golden Eagles for thousands of years.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.

El águila real (Aquila chrysaetos) no solo impone por su tamaño — con una envergadura que supera los dos metros— sino por la cantidad de leyendas que ha inspirado a lo largo de la historia. Es una de las águilas más grandes del mundo, y su imagen ha marcado culturas enteras. Cuando los mexicas vieron un águila devorando una serpiente sobre un nopal, supieron que habían llegado a la tierra prometida. Hoy, esa poderosa rapaz adorna el escudo nacional de México. Pero también aparece en banderas y emblemas de otros países como Kazajistán, donde cazadores nómadas han practicado con ellas una forma ancestral de cetrería durante miles de años.Listen to this episode in English here. Más información y transcripción en BirdNote.org.¿Quieres más BirdNote? Suscríbete a nuestro boletín semanal. Regístrese en BirdNote+ para escuchar música sin publicidad y otras ventajas.BirdNote es una organización sin fines de lucro. Su donación deducible de impuestos hace posible estos espectáculos.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Polar Bears symbolize the icy landscapes of the far north like no other animal. The bear's way of life — its very survival — is inseparable from the Arctic pack-ice. Less familiar is a remarkable bird that shares with the Polar Bear this vital link to ice: this Ivory Gull. The gulls feed on small fish and other marine life, but also scavenge carcasses, including those left by Polar Bears. Global warming has brought increasing change to the world of ice-dependent species such as the Ivory Gull and Polar Bear.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.

From his start in 1937, the gangly, black-feathered Daffy Duck was a cartoon original: wildly outspoken, volatile, and confrontational — a truly daft duck. Daffy was one of the most memorable characters from the golden age of cartoons, paving the way for other screwball cartoon personalities to come.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.

A century of logging and fire control has taken its toll on the mature pine forests of the West, the preferred nest site for this Lewis's Woodpecker. But there is hope. Lewis's Woodpeckers also nest along rivers in large cottonwoods, trees of little value for timber. Also, many remaining tracts of old-growth ponderosas are protected on public lands, and the trees are growing larger day by day.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.

A bird known as Titanis walleri made its home in Florida just a few million years ago. Titanis, as its name suggests, was titanic indeed — a flightless predator, 5 feet tall, with a massive hooked bill. Titanis and other birds related to it belong to a group some paleontologists call the "terror birds." They were dominant land predators in South America for tens of millions of years. Paleontologists still aren't clear about why Titanis and its kin went extinct. But whatever factors ended the era of the terror birds also made it a lot less risky to go out and fill your bird feeder.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.

Every bird species uses its wings a little differently, and some are specialized for highly efficient flight. But that means going without other abilities. Swallows and hummingbirds, like a Talamanca Hummingbird, capture their food on the wing, but they can't walk. Swifts, which are acrobatic in the air, can't even perch. Yet they dazzle with the maneuverability made possible by their aerodynamic bodies.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.

To hear a Common Loon in the wild during summer, you'll need to find a northern, freshwater lake where a pair is nesting. But to find that same Common Loon in winter, you'll likely need to look on a saltwater bay. This shift from fresh to salt water would kill most animals. But loons — along with many ducks and other water birds — have evolved to make that move. It's possible that breeding adults nest on fresh water in order to save their energy for raising chicks.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 Wall of Birds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a towering mural showing nearly 250 life-sized birds across a map of the world. To complete the impressive artwork, artist and scientific illustrator Jane Kim spent 17 months painting day in and day out. Though the experience was often solitary, Jane stayed connected to the outside world through the sounds of wildlife in the nature preserve that surround Cornell Lab.Read more about Jane Kim and the Wall of Birds in Field Notes!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.

Para escuchar a un colimbo común (Gavia immer) en la naturaleza durante el verano, tendrás que buscar un lago de agua dulce en el norte, donde haya una pareja anidando. Pero para encontrar ese mismo colimbo en el invierno, probablemente tendrás que buscarlo en una bahía de agua salada. Este cambio de agua dulce a agua salada mataría a la mayoría de los animales. Pero los colimbos –al igual que muchos patos y otras aves acuáticas– han evolucionado para lograr este cambio. Es posible que los adultos reproductivos aniden en agua dulce con el fin de ahorrar energía para criar a sus polluelos.Listen to this episode in English here. Más información y transcripción en BirdNote.org.¿Quieres más BirdNote? Suscríbete a nuestro boletín semanal. Regístrese en BirdNote+ para escuchar música sin publicidad y otras ventajas.BirdNote es una organización sin fines de lucro. Su donación deducible de impuestos hace posible estos espectáculos.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Writer and ornithologist J. Drew Lanham shares a note he has written to a Dark-eyed Junco, which he fondly nicknames “snowbird.”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.

In the depths of winter, when open water is frozen over, it can be challenging for birds to stay hydrated. Some birds eat the frozen water all around them. Cedar Waxwings catch snowflakes in mid-air. Black-capped Chickadees drink from dripping icicles. Plenty of other birds scoop up fresh, powdery snow and eat it. It could be worth the calories to melt the snow when searching for liquid water could expose them to predators.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.

Thomas Poulsom is a hobbyist LEGO builder best known for his models of birds. But making birds out of bricks isn't easy. That's why he uses special pieces to sculpt something entirely different — like when minifigure carrots became a puffin's legs. A unique piece called a “snot brick” allows him to build in any direction, making it possible to make a round object out of square LEGO bricks.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.

At the visitor center of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, artist and scientific illustrator Jane Kim painted the Wall of Birds to celebrate the evolution and diversity of birds. Completed in December 2015, the massive mural depicts nearly 250 birds — and several of their ancient predecessors — on a map of the world where each lives. Jane worked closely with scientific advisors to ensure that each portrait accurately represents the bird's features and behaviors, including many species — like the Three-wattled Bellbird — that appear to sing from their place on the wall.Read more about Jane Kim in Field Notes!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.

While many shorebirds have gone south, tiny sandpipers called Sanderlings are easy to find on winter shores. They follow the waves as they lap in and out, probing the swirling sand for prey. They often eat various small crustaceans such as mole crabs, isopods, and amphipods. But they also enjoy miniature clams, polychaete worms, and horseshoe crab eggs. They'll even catch flying insects or eat plant matter.This episode is dedicated to Deb Rivel, for her many years of board service and 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Named for its rhythmic calls, the Black-legged Kittiwake is a dapper, oceanic gull. As described by Roger Tory Peterson, the tips of its pale gray wings "are cut straight across, as if they had been dipped in ink." Unlike many gulls, kittiwakes spend most of the year at sea and are seldom seen inland.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 Andean Condor is one of the largest flying birds in the world. With a wingspan that can stretch over 10 feet across, the condor doesn't flap so much as sail, using rising thermals to glide across the Andes for hours. Once revered in Inca mythology as a messenger of the gods, the Andean Condor now graces the coat of arms of Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador. But like many scavengers, condor populations are declining due to threats like lead poisoning and habitat loss.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.

El cóndor andino (Vultur gryphus) es una de las aves voladoras más grandes del mundo. Con una envergadura que supera los tres metros, el cóndor no aletea tanto como navega el viento, aprovechando las corrientes térmicas para deslizarse durante horas sobre la cordillera de los Andes. Alguna vez venerado en la mitología inca como mensajero de los dioses, hoy el cóndor andino aparece en los escudos nacionales de Bolivia, Chile, Colombia y Ecuador. Pero, como muchas especies carroñeras, su población está disminuyendo debido a amenazas como el envenenamiento por plomo y la pérdida de hábitat.Listen to this episode in English here. Más información y transcripción en BirdNote.org.¿Quieres más BirdNote? Suscríbete a nuestro boletín semanal. Regístrese en BirdNote+ para escuchar música sin publicidad y otras ventajas.BirdNote es una organización sin fines de lucro. Su donación deducible de impuestos hace posible estos espectáculos. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sandhill Crane families form a close bond. A pair of adults might travel north with their young from the previous summer, along with grown-up offspring from several years ago. After the breeding season, families will stick together for the journey south and the winter, even in large flocks. The parents often remain together for the rest of their lives.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.

Palmyra Atoll is a ring-shaped island encircling a lagoon in the South Pacific. The atoll lost many native trees due to U.S. military activity during World War II. Conservationists have worked to restore the ecosystem. Seabirds such as Black Noddies and Red-footed Boobies nest in the island's rainforest. Their guano enriches the soil, and the soil's nutrients help support the coral ecosystem that provides fish for the 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.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There are five million bird eggs stowed away in museums across the world — and the study of eggs, called oology, can give us great insight into birds. The link between DDT and the decline of Peregrine Falcon populations was identified in part using museum and personal egg collections, and this evidence helped lead to a ban on DDT. And today, Peregrines can still be seen zipping across the sky.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.

Kiwikiu, also known as Maui Parrotbill, used to be found all over Maui and Molokaʻi. Now, fewer than 150 individuals exist and kiwikiu are currently restricted to a tiny region of high elevation forest on the slopes of Haleakalā. A translocation effort to expand their range was unsuccessful due to the rapid spread of mosquito-borne avian malaria.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.

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. In winter, however, the scarcity of food pushes them back down to the valleys.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.

Isaiah Scott was in middle school when his family took him to visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. He remembers seeing a huge mural showing hundreds of colorful birds spread across a map of the world. That painting, called the Wall of Birds by Jane Kim, got Isaiah curious about how many of those species he might see for himself. In this episode, Isaiah shares how the artwork sparked his love of birding.There's more to our conversation with Isaiah Scott in season 4 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sometimes, a species' song changes over the course of a few decades. But a bird that lives in the mountains of eastern Africa, the Forest Double-collared Sunbird, appears to have kept the same song for at least 500,000 years. That's the amount of time that two populations of the species split up into two separate mountain ranges. Despite a lack of contact between those populations, they sing a nearly identical song, suggesting that it's very similar to the one their ancestors sang long ago.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.

Los colibríes son admirados por su belleza, sus colores brillantes y su forma de volar tan única. Pero en algunos lugares son víctimas de una tradición peligrosa. En ciertas regiones de México, estas aves son capturadas y matadas para usarlas en hechizos de amor conocidos como “amarres de chuparosa”. Lo preocupante es que esta costumbre no solo sigue viva, sino que también ha cruzado fronteras y ahora se ve en algunos lugares de Estados Unidos. Frente a esto, organizaciones de conservación están trabajando para proteger a estas aves impulsando leyes y aumentando las alarmas.Listen to this episode in English here. Más información y transcripción en BirdNote.org.¿Quieres más BirdNote? Suscríbete a nuestro boletín semanal. Regístrese en BirdNote+ para escuchar música sin publicidad y otras ventajas.BirdNote es una organización sin fines de lucro. Su donación deducible de impuestos hace posible estos espectáculos.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When the air is thick with wildfire smoke, people are advised to stay home. At Hastings Natural History Preserve in California, Acorn Woodpeckers do the same. These gregarious birds live in family groups and frequently visit their neighbors while foraging. Using tiny radio transmitters, scientists tracked the movements of Acorn Woodpeckers during the summer of 2020 when wildfire smoke blanketed the preserve. On smoky days, woodpeckers spent more of their time at home. And when they did leave their territories, they didn't venture far and visited fewer neighbors than usual. Published in Current Biology in 2023, the findings suggest that harm caused by wildfires go far beyond the blaze itself. As megafires become more common in our changing climate, even more birds could be affected by wildfire smoke in the future.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.

A few times each year, the Eastern Paradise-Whydah puts on his party clothes. This small finch is found in East Africa, and males and females generally share the same nondescript appearance. But when it's time to mate, the male sprouts extravagant, long, black tail feathers two or three times the length of his body. The feathers make it look like he's wearing a long black cape, thus the nickname, “widow bird.”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.

Every summer, puffins — like this Horned Puffin — grow blazingly colorful layers over the bases of their huge beaks. But in the winter, puffins lead very different lives, and they shed their bright ornamentation. Puffins in winter are largely solitary — and silent. They spend about seven months alone at sea, before returning once again to their colonies to breed.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.

Crane Hawks of Central and South America and African Harrier-Hawks both have legs that bend forward and backward. Each bird's wonderfully peculiar leg adaptation is completely original — it evolved all on its own — even though the end result is the same. It's a fascinating example of a phenomenon called convergent evolution.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.

Biodiversity conservationist Lily-Arison Rene de Roland works with some of the rarest birds in the world. He's the Madagascar program director for the Peregrine Fund, a non-profit conservation organization that protects imperiled birds of prey like the Madagascar Fish-Eagle. These large raptors only eat fish, which means they rely on the same diminishing wetlands and natural resources as some fishing communities. In this episode, Lily shares how community-centered conservation programs are helping to support Madagascar's fishers and fish-eagles.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.

Common Potoos are champions of camouflage. In the daytime these nocturnal creatures perch perfectly still on branches: heads pointed upward, bodies outstretched, and eyes closed down to tiny slits. It's hard to tell where the branch ends and the bird's body begins — which helps them avoid predators. They're birds more often heard than seen; with a melodious but mournful song, made at dawn, dusk and by the light of the moon. The song earned potoos the name ‘Poor-me-one' in Trinidad and Tobago.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.

Gyrfalcons are circumpolar, nesting in the far north of Asia, North America, and Europe, including Iceland and Greenland. They evolved as a distinct species in the Pleistocene Era, around 100,000 years ago. Their large size and warm feathering gave them an edge for nesting high in the Arctic. Gyrfalcons reuse the same nesting site year after year, and some nests have been occupied for 2,500 years!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.

Los halcones gerifaltes (Falco rusticolus) son aves circumpolares que anidan en las regiones más remotas del  norte de Asia, América del Norte y Europa, incluyendo Islandia y Groenlandia. Estas aves evolucionaron como una especie distinta durante el Pleistoceno, hace unos 100,000 años. Su gran tamaño y cálido plumaje les dieron una ventaja evolutiva para anidar en las alturas del Ártico. Los halcones gerifaltes reutilizan el mismo sitio de anidación año tras año, ¡y algunos nidos han estado en uso por 2,500 años!Listen to this episode in English here. Más información y transcripción en BirdNote.org.¿Quieres más BirdNote? Suscríbete a nuestro boletín semanal. Regístrese en BirdNote+ para escuchar música sin publicidad y otras ventajas.BirdNote es una organización sin fines de lucro. Su donación deducible de impuestos hace posible estos espectáculos. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Walk into the visitor center at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and you'll be greeted by a massive mural called the Wall of Birds. About the size of a tennis court, the mural shows a map of the world covered in 270 life-sized portraits of birds and their relatives — ranging in size from the 30-foot-long, feathered dinosaur Yutyrranus hauli to the tiny Marvelous Spatuletail hummingbird. Artist and scientific illustrator Jane Kim partnered with the Cornell Lab to create this epic celebration of the evolution and diversity of birds, which was completed in December 2015.Read more about Jane in Field Notes!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.

It's early morning in Costa Rica. Tiny bats nestle in a tree after a night on the wing. A Great Kiskadee calls. Gray-capped Flycatchers sally forth from willow-like shrubs to catch insects in mid-air. White Ibis forage at the water's edge. Deep in a thicket, Black-hooded Antshrikes call. By noon, Chestnut-mandibled Toucans will shift lazily from one tree to another. In the evening, the sounds of cicadas give way to the sounds of crickets and a chorus of Marine Toads pours forth like no other. The land is pulsing with life!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.

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 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.

From an early age, urban ornithologist Murry Burgess loved to draw and tell stories – and that passion stayed with her as her love for birds grew as well. The joy Murry found in both art and science inspired her to write the children's book Sparrow Loves Birds. The story follows the adventures of a curious 5-year-old girl named Sparrow as she meets her neighborhood birds. The book includes a field guide so that birders of all ages can learn to identify birds, too.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.

Ray Young Bear is a writer, musician and a member of Meskwaki Nation. He considers himself a word collector, writing poetry in both English and Meskwaki, his first language. And he enjoys taking photos of the birds around his home in Iowa. In the spring of 2021, he was spending time with his grandson, Ozzy Young Bear. He composed a song in Meskwaki about how his grandson enjoyed watching the robins hunt for earthworms. He later recorded the song for a music collection called, For the Birds: The Birdsong Project. Over 200 musicians, artists and writers contributed, with proceeds going to the National Audubon Society.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 way that some birds flick, wag, or flare their tails can be distinctive. A flicking or flashing tail might suggest to a predator that a bird is particularly alert or hard to catch, while also warning others in the flock of danger. Tail flicking can also help flush out prey. A Hooded Warbler — or a Song Sparrow, like this one — may flare its tail while foraging low to the ground to cause insects to jump, making them easier prey.¡Escuche este episodio en español!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 Whooping Crane is the tallest flying bird in North America. These huge white cranes with a black mask and a splash of red on the crown came perilously close to extinction. By the 1940s, just 15 individuals remained in the wild. Decades of conservation efforts – both kooky and conventional – have helped their number grow to nearly 800. Today, the only self-sustaining wild flock migrates between Canada and Texas, while other populations survive with help from captive breeding programs.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.

Black Scoters are sea ducks that spend the winter on saltwater bays. They are large, strong ducks and buoyant swimmers with a habit of cocking their tails upward. Black Scoters nest each summer on freshwater tundra ponds. Each fall, they can be found on bays all across the Northern Hemisphere. An unmistakable clue to their presence? Their mysterious, musical wail.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.

Bird feeders full of seeds or suet can spark nonstop action. Chickadees flitter in and out. Finches expertly crack one seed after another, while jays, doves, woodpeckers and sparrows all join the flurry. This might bring to mind a neighborly picnic — but it's not quite as friendly. At any given moment, there's a distinct hierarchy in effect. More dominant birds are usually able to displace lower-ranking birds. But not always! The next time you're watching a bird feeder, try to figure out who's in charge.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.

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 it 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 almost all left-handed ... that is... left-footed!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.

In spring and summer, Yellow Warblers sing from treetops to stream sides. While their beauty and songs commonly light up our most vibrant months, they face imminent challenges. Yellow Warbler populations have adapted genetically to their local climates. That makes them vulnerable to environmental shifts, which could cause the species to lose much of its breeding range in the U.S. by 2080.A special thank you to artist Heidi Stavrevski for designing our 20th Anniversary Logo, which beautifully captures two decades of BirdNote Storytelling.¡Escuche este episodio en español!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.

Birder and author Christian Cooper says learning to identify bird calls feels like unlocking a sixth sense. Birding by ear is a skill that takes time to develop, but you'll start to recognize patterns with practice. Christian says mnemonics are a great way to remember bird calls. Some birds have well-known mnemonics, like the “Oh sweet Canada Canada Canada” of the White-throated Sparrow. But if those don't work for you, make up your own!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.

Many birds that play do it alone by swinging, sliding, or rolling around. Some species interact with objects, like dropping a stone and picking it up again. But a select few birds – like these crows – play with other members of their species. Scientists call this social play. It appears to have implications for the evolution of brain size among birds as well as our own species.¡Escuche este episodio en español!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.