PODCAST

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.

science

All Episodes

Strange Places for a Nest

BirdNote ·

2024/12/12

Birds are resourceful. Wherever they live, even in the biggest cities, they find clever places to build their nests. An initiative from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology called Celebrate Urban Birds once asked people to share the funkiest and funniest places they’ve seen a bird nest. Among the

Is There a Bird Flu Vaccine?

BirdNote ·

2024/12/11

Avian flu has been in news headlines all of 2024. And many people are concerned for birds, other animals, and humans. Dr. Wendy Puryear, a molecular virologist, says scientists are working together worldwide to decrease the threat.

Halcones con articulación doble y evolución convergente

BirdNote ·

2024/12/10

El gavilán zancón de Centro y Sudamérica y el aguilucho caricalvo común de África, tienen patas que se flexionan hacia adelante y hacia atrás. La maravillosamente peculiar adaptación de la pata de cada ave es muy original y evolucionó por su cuenta, aunque el resultado es el mismo. Los científicos

Birding 101: Don’t Get Discouraged by Lookalikes

BirdNote ·

2024/12/09

If you’re a new birder and find yourself feeling confused by lookalike birds, don’t be too hard on yourself. Some bird species look almost identical, and some of the most advanced birders get stumped. BirdNote is supported by the Tuttleman Foundation and by generous listeners like you.

The Brown Thrasher's Never-Ending Songbook

BirdNote ·

2024/12/08

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 more than 1,100 different songs: a mix of imitations and invented little melodies. While mockingbirds usually

Screech-Owls Go Fishing

BirdNote ·

2024/12/07

Screech-owls are opportunistic diners. In the Pacific Northwest, they’ll prey on small birds, crayfish, large ants, or earthworms. In Arizona, pocket mice and pack rats. And in Ohio, biologists who noticed a fishy smell around Eastern Screech-Owl nest boxes found the remains of dozens of shad. It’s

BirdNoir – The Mystery of the Blue Bird

BirdNote ·

2024/12/06

In this episode of BirdNoir, Michael Stein — Private Eye — gets a call from a friend, Danny, who wants to know why the bluest bird he’s ever seen has vanished. But there are many birds that are blue besides the true bluebirds (which belong to the thrush family). To solve the mystery, the detective

How Terns Read the Water

BirdNote ·

2024/12/05

Like an expert angler, a tern can read the surface of the water to find where to catch its next fish. Scientists piloted a drone to track the flight paths of terns on the hunt. The terns sought out turbulent water. A vortex formed by colliding currents traps fish near the surface, where terns can

Geese Whiffling in for a Landing

BirdNote ·

2024/12/04

Looking at a Canada Goose, you might not think their bodies are designed for fancy flying. But watch as a flock of geese comes in for a landing at a lake and you might be surprised. If the flock comes in too fast or too high above the water, geese have a little trick to slow themselves down for a

Titmice Lead the Way

BirdNote ·

2024/12/03

In winter, many songbirds join flocks made up of multiple species that travel around looking for food, benefitting from safety in numbers. But a bird flock that doesn't move in the same direction soon scatters to the wind. It turns out that the Tufted Titmouse, a small gray songbird, is often the

The Importance of Neotropical Ornithology

BirdNote ·

2024/12/02

To protect our migratory birds, it’s vital that we understand their behaviors both during the breeding season in North America and when they migrate to the Neotropics — a region that includes Central and South America, and the Caribbean. Yet historical and systemic barriers in scientific research

The Pecking Order

BirdNote ·

2024/12/01

Birds in flocks almost invariably develop a pecking order. An alpha chicken can peck any other in the flock, and a beta chicken can peck all others but the alpha bird. Juncos and other small birds have a pecking order, too. The pecking order – or dominance hierarchy – of a flock of birds is usually

Western Hummingbirds, East

BirdNote ·

2024/11/30

Not long ago, the only hummingbird that someone living in the eastern United States and Canada could hope to see was the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. But things have changed. Today, more and more hummingbird species — such as this Broad-tailed Hummingbird — have been discovered beyond their “normal”

Learning to Sing from a Blackbird

BirdNote ·

2024/11/29

Many years ago, when writer and musician Ray Young Bear was training his singing voice, he took a kind of vocal lesson from the blackbirds. “They have the most complicated song in the world — high pitches and low notes, and then it smooths out, then it kicks up again,” he said. “I would listen to

As the Crow Flies

BirdNote ·

2024/11/28

Traveling "as the crow flies," eating "like a bird," and being "free as a bird" are just a few of the sayings we use to describe everyday human actions and feelings. But these often don't take into account the birds' real activities, relative to their size.

Waxwing Nightlight

BirdNote ·

2024/11/27

The warm colors and bright accents of the Bohemian Waxwing might make you think it glows in the dark. For the better part of two thousand years, that’s what people believed. Pliny reported that their feathers “shine like flames” in the dark forests of central Europe. The Germans allegedly used

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

832 results

BirdNote

All Episodes

Similar Podcasts

Classic Radio Science Fiction

solgoodmedia.com

Mission to Mars

Inception Point Ai

The 365 Days of Astronomy

365DaysOfAstronomy.org

Creek Devil

william Jevning

UFO Chronicles Podcast

Nik Hunter