Podcast Episodes

An April Fool's Birdsong Quiz

In this April Fool’s Day quiz from BirdNote, we play the sounds of three birds — only one of which is real. See if you can tell which one, and let us know here!

More info and transcript at BirdNote.or…

Published on 1 year, 8 months ago

Flying with Birds and Bats

Bats and birds have evolved very different ways of flying. Birds have stiff feathers projecting from lightweight, fused arm and hand bones; bats have flexible wings of membranes stretched between elo…

Published on 1 year, 8 months ago

The Warbler That Loves Pines

The Pine Warbler is one of the few warblers that make appearances at bird feeders. They live year round in pine forests of the southeast U.S. and several Caribbean islands. Early spring is a good tim…

Published on 1 year, 8 months ago

Listen for Tapping

Woodpeckers are our most familiar bird carpenters, but other birds also chip out nests in trees and wood structures. Nuthatches — like this Red-breasted Nuthatch — are exceptional wood carvers, with …

Published on 1 year, 8 months ago

Using Sound to Bring Rails Back into Wetlands

Rails are secretive marsh birds, and they’re on the decline. But a researcher playing their recorded calls over a loudspeaker could help bring them back – by tricking them.

More info and transcript at…

Published on 1 year, 8 months ago

BirdNoir: A Dark and Stormy Night

In this episode of BirdNoir, Private Eye Michael Stein gets a call from his friend Billy, a mail carrier. Billy says he hasn’t seen a single bird on his route since the storm came into town, even tho…

Published on 1 year, 8 months ago

Birds on the March with Army Ants

As thousands of army ants march through a rainforest in Panama looking for food, countless insects try to escape. Antbirds follow the ants, waiting for flying insects to leave their hiding spots so t…

Published on 1 year, 8 months ago

In the Dark with Boreal Owls

Boreal Owls are highly adapted to hunt in long hours of winter darkness. Uniquely, one ear opening in the skull is set high and the other much lower, an asymmetry that helps to pinpoint the sound of …

Published on 1 year, 8 months ago

Do Penguins Blush?

Humboldt Penguins living along the Pacific Coast of Chile and Peru are adapted to cold. But on land, temperatures rise to 100+ degrees, and penguins need to cool off. So these penguins have pink patc…

Published on 1 year, 8 months ago

Songs and Calls – They're Not the Same

To our ear, the haunting song of this Hermit Thrush is musical, even ethereal. To another Hermit Thrush, the song signals that a male is laying claim to a territory and seeking a mate. These thrushes…

Published on 1 year, 8 months ago