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BirdNote

Escape the daily grind and immerse yourself in the natural world. Rich in imagery, sound, and information, BirdNote inspires you to notice the world around you. Join us for daily two-minute stories about birds, the environment, and more.

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Quail and Their Fancy Feathers

BirdNote ·

2025/08/18

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

Male Mallards Disappear

BirdNote ·

2025/08/17

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

Parakeets Underground

BirdNote ·

2025/08/16

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

Ultraviolet Vision

BirdNote ·

2025/08/15

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

The Birdsong Chameleon

BirdNote ·

2025/08/14

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.

Indigenous Water Justice

BirdNote ·

2025/08/13

Host Billy Almon speaks with Indigenous water scientist, legal scholar and advocate Dr. Kelsey Leonard. Kelsey incorporates both her Indigenous knowledge and practices along with her western science studies to advocate for a better world for us all. From the importance of birds to Indigenous

Las charas azules de Brooklyn

BirdNote ·

2025/08/12

Prospect Park, en Brooklyn, abarca más de 200 hectáreas –en su mayoría cubiertas de árboles. Una especie de ave que vive en este parque es la bellísima chara azul ( Cyanocitta cristata), que anida, busca alimento y duerme en los árboles. En el este de los Estados Unidos, puedes invitar a las charas

Birding 101: Don’t Forget to Look Down!

BirdNote ·

2025/08/11

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

Which Jay Was That?

BirdNote ·

2025/08/10

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

Night Voices of Summer

BirdNote ·

2025/08/09

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

Ross’s Gull: An Arctic Wonder

BirdNote ·

2025/08/08

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

August Molt

BirdNote ·

2025/08/07

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

Restoration Ecology: The Birds and the Trees

BirdNote ·

2025/08/06

Meet your co-host, Anika Hazra! Anika is a former restoration ecologist turned science communicator, and in this episode, she’s teaching us all about her past work life. Restoration ecology is a less popular method of conservation that holds a lot of potential and Anika walks us through restoration

Voces y vocabularios: La exquisita melodía del zorzal

BirdNote ·

2025/08/05

Algunos consideran que el canto del zorzal moteado ( Hylocichla mustelina) es el más hermoso de América del Norte. Otros escogen el canto del zorzal cola canela ( Catharus guttatus). Y hay quienes prefieren el canto del zorzal de anteojos ( Catharus ustulatus). ¿Cómo logran estos zorzales, como el

Delhi’s Jain Bird Hospital is Free

BirdNote ·

2025/08/04

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

Canyon Spectacle - Swakane Canyon

BirdNote ·

2025/08/03

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

A Drive Along a Bar Ditch

BirdNote ·

2025/08/02

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

Biomimicry with Billy Almon

BirdNote ·

2025/08/01

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

Dreading the Terns

BirdNote ·

2025/07/31

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

Biomimicry, Birds and Beyond with adrienne maree brown

BirdNote ·

2025/07/30

On this season premiere episode, meet your new co-host, Billy Almon! Billy is an astrobiofuturist (which you’ll hear more about later), and one of his passions and expertise is in the art of biomimicry. Billy lays out the history of this ancient process, how it's been instrumental in connecting

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