Welcome to BirdNote!

Birds connect us with the joy and wonder of nature. By telling vivid, sound-rich stories about birds and the challenges they face, BirdNote inspires listeners to care about the natural world – and takes step to protect it.

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Shows With Contributions by Ariana Remmel

A pair of Burrowing Parakeets perched at the entrance of their nest opening on a cliff side

Parakeets Underground

Burrowing Parakeets excavate deep nest tunnels in sandstone and limestone cliffs in Argentina and Chile. The colony’s many tunnels zigzag and interconnect, creating an intricate labyrinth. Their nesting colonies are among the largest of any parrot — one in Argentina has 70,000 birds!
A black hummingbird with iridescent blue throat and green breast

A Lost Hummingbird is Found Again

The Santa Marta Sabrewing is a hummingbird species so rare, they’ve only been documented twice in recent years. Native to the mountains of Colombia, they were officially described in 1946. No one reported another sighting until 2010. They became a “lost” species, eluding every attempt to…
A male Bobolink bird perches on plants in a golden grassy field

What’s a Field of Grass to a Bird?

Although a field of grass might not seem like valuable habitat at first, many birds have adapted to nest in grassland habitats and nowhere else. In North America, birds such as the Bobolink seek out grasslands to raise their young, deftly hiding their nests within the dense vegetation…
A large flightless bird displays glossy black plumage, bright blue neck and head, with large helmet or "casque" formed of bone atop its head

Raising the World’s Deadliest Bird

You might think the first bird species that humans raised in captivity would be a relatively small one, like a chicken. But evidence suggests that people in New Guinea reared the cassowary, often called the world’s deadliest bird, as much as 18,000 years ago, long before the domestication…
A small songbird with bright yellow throat and black cheek steps across the top of a flowering plant

Common Yellowthroat

Common Yellowthroats are one of the most abundant warblers in North America. They’re adaptable birds, thriving in places that pickier warblers pass over. So it’s easy to find yellowthroats in urban areas. Check for them in marshes, overgrown fields, and brushy areas along streams or trails…
A Red-bellied Woodpecker and a Fox Squirrel

Squirrel or Bird?

Identifying birds by ear means getting familiar with each species’ unique voice. And that means learning the other voices in the ecosystem, too. Squirrels and chipmunks make calls that can sound a bit like bird calls at times. With practice, each species’ voice becomes more distinct and…
A small brown-and-white striped bird with bright yellow breast, black bib, and narrow sharp beak is perched on a fencepost

The Chihuahuan Meadowlark

In 2022, ornithologists recognized the Chihuahuan Meadowlark as a separate species rather than a subspecies of the Eastern Meadowlark. Named after the northern region of Mexico where they're easy to find, Chihuahuan Meadowlarks live in dry desert grasslands. They form a distinct population…
A dapper gray and white shorebird stepping through shallow water. The bird has a short sharp black bill, red eye, and pink legs.

The Delightfully Odd Magellanic Plover

The Magellanic Plover is known for being a bit of an oddball. These shorebirds have a round body like a dove and even feed their young with milk produced in a part of their digestive system called the crop — a rare trait they share with doves. But genetic data revealed that Magellanic…
A Common Loon, with just its head breaking the surface of the water as its long legs propel its body underwater

Diving Birds Are Dense

While many birds have hollow bones that make flying a breeze, diving birds are built differently. The bones of divers such as Common Loons are denser than those of songbirds and other expert fliers. With a lightweight skeleton, they’d be too buoyant to dive and chase fish. Instead, loons…
A Pine Siskin protests at an Eastern Bluebird while they are both perched at a bird feeder

Volunteer for Project FeederWatch

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.