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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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Stowaway Cockatoo Takes a Cruise

BirdNote ·

2024/11/26

A beautiful Rose-breasted Cockatoo named Harri took the adventure of a lifetime. She set off unseen on a cruise ship from Brisbane, Australia, and wasn’t discovered until the ship neared New Zealand. Authorities there were not happy to see Harri, whose species is the bane of farmers in her native

Nuthatches Sweeping the Nest

BirdNote ·

2024/11/25

White-breasted Nuthatches aren’t the toughest birds on the block — but when it comes to their nests, they know how to put up defenses. Squirrels could easily duck inside a nest cavity and gobble up the eggs. That’s why you might see nuthatches sweeping around their nest hole with a beetle or other

Goldeneyes and Whistling Wings

BirdNote ·

2024/11/24

On a still winter afternoon, you may hear Common Goldeneyes flying low across the water. Whistlers, their wings sibilant, make the sound – as Ernest Hemingway wrote – of ripping silk. Common Goldeneyes nest in cavities, in northern boreal forests.

Just What Are Flamingos?

BirdNote ·

2024/11/23

Few birds are as distinctive as flamingos. Scientists once grouped flamingos with storks and ibises. But a study of flamingo DNA delivered a stunning surprise: their closest living relatives appear to be grebes. And an even bigger surprise: DNA indicates that flamingos and grebes share an ancestry

City Owls

BirdNote ·

2024/11/22

Some owls, like Barred Owls and Great Horned Owls, live in the city. As hunters, they find a lot to eat in the city — like rats or squirrels! Both favor urban parks, cemeteries, and botanical gardens — places with big trees — and both roost during the day. The Great Horned Owl, like this one, might

Haley Scott on New York's Indigenous Landscapes

BirdNote ·

2024/11/21

Haley Scott lives in the Bronx, where she helps other people experience the joy of New York’s wildlife as a bird walk leader. But she maintains a connection with another community of birds outside the city, on the Unkechaug Nation’s land, where she visits her dad’s side of the family. Leading bird

Ivory Gull and Conservation

BirdNote ·

2024/11/20

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

El dueto tropical de los saltaparedes

BirdNote ·

2024/11/19

El saltapared pecho gris canta a dueto. Cada uno interpreta una frase, cada una tan ligada a la otra que se escucha como un solo canto. Este dueto tan coordinado es conocido como canto antifonal. Las parejas utilizan este dúo para asegurar y mantener sus territorios de crianza. Cantar a dueto es

Sympathy for the Grackle

BirdNote ·

2024/11/18

Many people become birders by way of backyard feeders, including BirdNote’s Content Director Jonese Franklin. And while she loves to watch Northern Cardinals and Blue Jays pay a visit for some seed, she’s also enchanted by species that some folks would call “nuisance birds,” especially the Common

Toucan – Tropical Icon

BirdNote ·

2024/11/17

In the Amazon, a cacophony of birdcalls surrounds you. One piercing, cheerful yelp catches your ear. Could this be the same sound you remember from a Saturday morning in your childhood? The Cuvier's Toucan could have been the inspiration for Toucan Sam, the spokesbird for Froot Loops cereal. Its

Pygmy-Owls' False Eyes

BirdNote ·

2024/11/16

This Northern Pygmy-Owl appears to have eyes in the back of its head. But why? One theory is that large false eyes may create the illusion that the owl is much bigger than its 6 and 3/4-inch size. A more current theory is that the false eyes help protect the pygmy-owl's true eyes. Small birds will

Bright Yellow Northern Cardinals

BirdNote ·

2024/11/15

Northern Cardinals are known for their iconic red feathers, yet that scarlet hue is actually derived from yellow pigments in their food. Most cardinals’ bodies transform those yellow pigments into their signature shade of red, but some lack this ability — resulting in a bright yellow bird. House

Birds of Prey and Nesting Territories

BirdNote ·

2024/11/14

Red-tailed Hawks typically have a nesting territory of about a half-mile to a full square mile, depending on how much food there is. Bald Eagles’ nesting territories range from 2½ square miles to as much as 15 square miles, for the same reason. But the Gyrfalcons in Finland and Scandinavia really

Convocations, Coveys and Charms

BirdNote ·

2024/11/13

Everybody’s heard of a gaggle of geese and a covey of quail. But what’s a group of penguins called? And a “conspiracy” of ravens? Maybe the way we label birds says more about us than it does about them.

El aguililla aura imita a los zopilotes

BirdNote ·

2024/11/12

El aguililla aura del suroeste de Estados Unidos se parece mucho al zopilote aura. Y a menudo se ve volando entre grupos de zopilotes aura. Al juntarse con los zopilotes, las aguilillas obtienen una clara ventaja como depredadores. Si bien las palomas y lagartijas huirían rápidamente de la sombra de

What If You Only Have a Feather?

BirdNote ·

2024/11/11

Sometimes all you need to identify a bird is a single feather. Because collecting bird feathers is prohibited in the U.S. to protect birds from poachers, start by taking a photo with a common object for scale. Then you can use online resources like the iNaturalist app or Featherbase website to help

Gull Identification II

BirdNote ·

2024/11/10

The challenge of learning which gull is which brings to mind a crossword puzzle. Take in all the clues, and come up with the right answer. For identifying gulls, we recommend a good bird book, binoculars, perhaps a thermos of hot coffee, and maybe a chair. So which gull is this? Large gull, dark

Common Mergansers Pushed by the Ice

BirdNote ·

2024/11/09

Around this time of year, Common Mergansers cross the U.S.-Canadian border on their way to wintering grounds in the Lower 48. But how do they know when to go? Ducks are well insulated against frigid winter temperatures, but mergansers can find their fishy prey only by diving below the surface of

Migrations: Which Came First, North- or South-bound...

BirdNote ·

2024/11/08

Every year, hundreds of bird species migrate between North and South America. Some species likely evolved from ancestors that moved north in search of new breeding habitats: the “southern home” hypothesis. But others may have extended their winter ranges south: the “northern home” hypothesis. Many

The Fight for a Bird-Friendly Chicago

BirdNote ·

2024/11/07

Window collisions kill nearly one billion birds every year in the U.S., with many fatalities occurring during spring and fall migration. Judy Pollock, president of the Chicago Bird Alliance, says this problem has a solution: using bird-safe glass or applying a tight grid of decals to existing

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