BirdNote Daily

When woodpeckers drum, they slam their beaks against bark many times per second. Scientists have long hypothesized that woodpeckers have a way of protecting their brains from injury. However, more re…

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 his mate is, important as the pair stays together …

Broad-tailed Hummingbirds are small but hardy creatures built for life in the mountains. They survive freezing cold nights by slowing their heart rate and metabolism. And they perform a death-defying…

At a glance, swallows and swifts, both graceful fliers, look much alike. But swifts — like this Chimney Swift — have longer, slimmer wings and short bodies, enabling them to glide for long periods. T…

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 of Laysan Albatrosses is doing), chop holes in tr…

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 learning how to identify birds by their calls. Hi…

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 species has been documented singing over 1,100 dif…

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 songbird nearly disappeared when invasive species inclu…

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 black feathers, which are set off by piercing red eyes. And…

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 10,000 lakes — by belting out their best impression…

Although some of the Turkey Vulture's habits may evoke our disgust, these remarkable birds also inspire our awe. With wingspans approaching six feet, Turkey Vultures ride currents of air to make thei…

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, the tips of its bill begin to grow rapidly — and…

Horned Larks rival meadowlarks as the most colorful birds of North American grasslands. They live in prairies, fields, and tundra, but agriculture and development now intrude on many of the Horned La…

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 researcher named Jessica Yorzinski has shown that…

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. Tall, old saguaros may be pocked with twenty or…

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 Duckmaster, Kenon Walker, who leads them in “The Duck…

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: Superb Starling, as well as Golden-breasted, Emerald,…

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-white undersides, as he sings his clicking serenad…

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 eat three times as much and forage over many more h…

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 song with the phrase, “teakettle-teakettle-teake…