Image: The Ultimate Bird Drawing Throwdown Showdown Graphic featuring images of David Sibley and H. Jon Benjamin

Join BirdNote tomorrow, November 30th!

Illustrator David Sibley and actor H. Jon Benjamin will face off in the bird illustration battle of the century during BirdNote's Year-end Celebration and Auction!

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Shows With Contributions by Michael Stein

Northern Flicker adult and fledgling

The Northern Flicker

The Northern Flicker is a woodpecker, but one that hardly looks the part. Where most woodpeckers are a reliable mix of black, white, and bits of red, the Northern Flicker is buffy tan overall. The undersides of its wings and tail-feathers flash with coppery-red, giving the bird the…
King Rail

Stalking the King Rail

King Rails are the largest rails in North America. And they are also one of the most threatened. American Bird Conservancy is working to save the King Rail by conserving freshwater wetlands and ensuring effective pollution laws. Learn more at ABCBirds.org.
Ruffed Grouse

Ruffed Grouse and Aspen Groves

In spring, the loud wing-thumping of male Ruffed Grouse brings new life to northern forests across the continent. These handsome, wily birds reside in the forest year round. And while their numbers rise and fall cyclically, they average nearly seven million. Still, Audubon lists Ruffed…
Boreal Owl, Denali NP

Denver Holt - On Owls and Field Biology

Denver Holt has spent more than 30 years studying the birds in the field. No wonder he can sound so much like this Boreal Owl! Holt conducts field research on eight species of owls in Alaska and Montana. He says, "I think winter is a blast! We all love trapping and banding in the…
Blackpoll Warbler

Blackpoll Warbler Migration

Blackpoll Warblers make the longest migration of any North American songbird, an annual round trip of eleven to twelve thousand miles. In August, the warblers leave Western Alaska and head east across Canada to the Maritime Provinces and the coast of New England. Then, the tiny songbirds…
Donald and Daisy Duck

Donald Duck

Today, we celebrate Donald Fauntleroy Duck, first sighted in Hollywood in 1934. Despite nearly 80 years on the big screen and more than 150 films and countless comic books to his credit, Donald's plumage has never changed. Donald doesn't migrate, but resides year round in Duckburg. To our…
Joking Steller's Jay

Jay and Martin

Just for a LARK, MARTIN and JAY decided to have a SWALLOW. MARTIN's car, a FALCON, was low on PETREL, so he said, "Let's DUCK into a local tavern - TERN here." They had to show IDs at the door, to prove they weren't TANAGERS. MARTIN and JAY met some cute GULLS - PHOEBE, a RAVEN-haired…
Anna's Hummingbird hovering while feeding

Who Was Anna?

The Anna's Hummingbird is the only hummer that stays in the Northwest and West for the winter. How did this lovely jewel get its name? Anna's Hummingbird was named for Princess Anna de Belle Massena. John James Audubon himself was charmed by her, but it was actually naturalist René…
Gull-billed Terns in flight

Who's Laughing Now? - Gull-billed Terns

During the summer of 1818, German ornithologist Wilhelm Schilling was visiting an island in the Baltic Sea. Out of nowhere came a small flock of seabirds he didn’t recognize. He captured one, but the fortunate others escaped. Schilling later told his friend and colleague, Ludwig Brehm…
Spectacled Eider

Spectacled Eiders Dive in the Ice in Winter

Many Spectacled Eiders spend the winter in ice-free openings in the Bering Sea, above what was once the Bering Land Bridge. In spring, the ducks, which live only along the coasts of Alaska and far eastern Russia, fly to tundra lakes to breed and feed on aquatic insects. After breeding…