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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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Clever Nuthatches

BirdNote ·

2025/11/08

Of the four nuthatch species living in the United States, the most common are the Red-breasted Nuthatch and the White-breasted Nuthatch. The nuthatch's insistent call matches its aggressiveness. As they work their way down a tree trunk, nuthatches can spot — and eat — all the tasty morsels missed by

The Unmistakable Ruddy Turnstone

BirdNote ·

2025/11/07

The Ruddy Turnstone stands out among sandpipers. On taking flight, the turnstone flashes a vivid and unmistakable pattern of dark and light striping across its wings and tail. And that comical chatter is one of a kind too. Unlike most sandpipers, Ruddy Turnstones favor rocky beaches and jetties

Two Rare Wrens Serenade Southern Mexico

BirdNote ·

2025/11/06

Sumichrast’s Wren and Nava’s Wren are both sooty-brown songbirds of southern Mexico. They both live in tropical forests where limestone outcrops provide a natural amphitheatre to show off their vocal feats. Yet the two have very different songs and are never found in the same place. Though

Vocal Learning is for the Birds

BirdNote ·

2025/11/05

Humans and songbirds are among a small group of animals that can learn to imitate the sounds we hear. It’s an ability called vocal learning that makes language possible. Scientists who study human speech often start with birds that share our vocal learning skills, says neurobiologist Erich Jarvis

La migración extrema del aguilucho langostero

BirdNote ·

2025/11/04

Cada año, el aguililla de Swainson ( Buteo swainsoni) emprende un viaje asombroso: recorre casi 20 mil kilómetros ida y vuelta, desde las praderas de América del Norte hasta las pampas argentinas. Pero lo que realmente lo distingue es su dieta. Mientras la mayoría de las aves rapaces cazan roedores

Volunteer for Project FeederWatch

BirdNote ·

2025/11/03

Project FeederWatch is a community science project studying over 100 species of birds that spend their winters in North America. From November through April, people count the birds they see at a bird feeder, whenever and wherever they’re able, and submit their bird list to the project.

State Birds

BirdNote ·

2025/11/02

All 50 states and the District of Columbia have official birds. To become a state bird, it helped to be familiar, colorful, and have a punchy song. The Northern Cardinal perches as state bird in seven eastern states, the Western Meadowlark in six western states. Bluebirds — like this Western

The Mississippi Sandhill Crane Makes a Comeback

BirdNote ·

2025/11/01

While most Sandhill Cranes migrate, the Mississippi population lives year-round in wet pine savanna near the Gulf Coast. Their dependence on this unique habitat caused their population to plummet to just 35 when the savanna began to disappear. Through the Endangered Species Act, an almost 20,000

Jynx!

BirdNote ·

2025/10/31

A birder may have a target bird so elusive that the bird becomes a kind of "jinx bird." But there was a real bird by that name! The bird once called the "jynx" is known today as the Eurasian Wryneck. When a wryneck is threatened, it twists its head like a snake and hisses. This behavior led to the

Owl Sounds with Becca Rowland

BirdNote ·

2025/10/30

When author and illustrator Becca Rowland first started learning to identify bird calls, they were delighted to discover that owls say more than just ‘who’! In her new book Bird Talk: Hilariously Accurate Ways to Identify Birds by the Sounds They Make, Becca dedicates a whole chapter to the

American Bittern: Thunder-Pumper

BirdNote ·

2025/10/29

American Bitterns nest in marshes across the northern half of the United States and throughout much of Canada, and they winter along both U.S. coasts south into Central America. But in some places, bitterns are in serious trouble. Much of the extensive, shallow marshland they once bred in has been

El juego y el tamaño del cerebro

BirdNote ·

2025/10/28

Muchas aves juegan solas, balanceándose, deslizándose o rodando. Algunas especies interactúan con objetos, como dejar caer una piedra y recogerla nuevamente. Pero unas pocas aves juegan con otros miembros de su especie. Los científicos lo llaman juego social. Este tipo de interacción parece tener

Annakacygna – The Ultimate Bird

BirdNote ·

2025/10/27

Like today’s swans, the extinct species Annakacygna hajimei and Annakacygna yoshiiensis were quite large. But unlike their modern relatives, these birds lived most of their lives out at sea, and their fossils reveal remarkable adaptations to this unusual lifestyle. This led the researchers who first

Towhees' Distractive Plumage

BirdNote ·

2025/10/26

Both this Eastern Towhee and the Spotted Towhee of the West sport a black or dark brown hood and back. And when they fly, their tails flash white. When a hawk gives chase, the towhee's flashing tail-feathers draw the predator's attention. Momentarily distracted, the hawk may come up with just a

The Endangered 'Akiapōlā'au

BirdNote ·

2025/10/25

The 'Akiapōlā'au is a bright yellow bird with a black eye mask, found only in the upper elevations on the Big Island of Hawai'i. But its most distinct feature is its totally unique, uneven bill. The top of the bill is long, skinny, and curved like a sickle. Once abundant, habitat loss and disease

Quirky Words for Patterned Birds

BirdNote ·

2025/10/24

Descriptive names can be a great help when you’re getting to know a new bird. Some species have common names that put their plumage pattern front and center – like the Five-striped Sparrow. If you encounter a bird described as flammulated, lineated, banded, or barred, keep an eye out for their

The Elegant Black Tern

BirdNote ·

2025/10/23

Elegant Black Terns breed in summer on secluded wetlands across the northern states and Canada. Because of major losses of wetlands in their breeding range — especially in Canada's prairie provinces — Black Tern numbers have dropped dramatically since the 1960s. The future of this beautiful bird

Dave Mull and the Courage of Steller’s Jays

BirdNote ·

2025/10/22

Skateboarder and birder Dave Mull remembers the first time he heard a Steller’s Jay imitating a Red-tailed Hawk. “These Steller's Jays were pretending to be something they were not, kind of tricking the world,” he says. It got him into the mindset that he could attempt a terrifying new skateboard

El inconfundible vuelvepiedras rojizo

BirdNote ·

2025/10/21

Los vuelvepiedras rojizos ( Arenaria interpres) destacan sobre las aves playeras. Al emprender el vuelo, el vuelvepiedras despliega un vívido e inconfundible patrón de franjas oscuras y claras a lo largo de sus alas y cola. Y ese parloteo tan cómico es único en su tipo. A diferencia de la mayoría de

Hudsonian Godwit

BirdNote ·

2025/10/20

Hudsonian Godwits are tough birds to find, and they were once thought extinct due to overhunting. After nesting at sites scattered in the High Arctic, they migrate south on a route that takes them over the ocean from Canada to South America. In spring, they head north through the Great Plains

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