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Song of the Mountains: The Brown-backed Solitaire
Brown-backed Solitaires are ordinary-looking: medium-sized, gray-brown birds. But they have one of the most melodic, complex songs in the world, ring…
1 month ago
Help Birds Survive Heat Waves
It's easy to feel helpless during a heat wave, as if there's nowhere to hide from the sun. Birds feel much the same. Extreme heat poses a risk to you…
1 month ago
The Secret Lives of Goldfinches
American Goldfinches are one of our most familiar birds, but they lead lives that are anything but ordinary. These birds will sometimes raise two bro…
1 month ago
Swallow or Swift?
At a glance, swallows and swifts, both graceful fliers, look much alike. But swifts — like this Chimney Swift — have longer, slimmer wings and short …
1 month ago
Migrations: Molt Migration
At the end of summer, the once-bright feathers of a male American Goldfinch look ragged. Growing new flight feathers in a process called molting make…
1 month ago
Ridgway's Rails on San Francisco Bay
Once abundant around San Francisco Bay, the Ridgway’s Rail — formerly known as the California Clapper Rail — is now endangered. In the 19th Century, …
1 month ago
Fairy-Wrens Sing Secret Passwords to Unborn Chicks
Superb Fairy-wrens teach their embryonic chicks a secret code. This "incubation call" contains a special note that will later serve as a password. Wh…
1 month ago
Your Support Makes All the Difference
Today is the last day of our on-air pledge drive. BirdNote is an independent nonprofit that relies on financial support from listeners like you. Recu…
1 month, 1 week ago
Making BirdNote
BirdNote Daily is a two-minute show that takes a lot more than two minutes to create. Each episode weaves together an informative script, lively narr…
1 month, 1 week ago
We Are Stronger Together
Birds do lots of things together, including hunting, nesting and raising young. This week, we’re asking BirdNote listeners to come together and suppo…
1 month, 1 week ago