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 Ariana Remmel

Flock of Bar-tailed Godwits in flight against a clear sky

Migration Takes Guts — Until It Doesn’t

This Bar-tailed Godwit makes one of the longest migrations of any animal — a 7,200-mile non-stop flight each autumn from western Alaska to New Zealand. In his book A World on the Wing, Scott Weidensaul explores the remarkable transformation godwits undergo to make this migration possible…
An indoor African Gray parrot faces the viewer, making eye contact while its head is turned to its right.

Parrots Using Video Chat to Keep in Touch

Knowing how clever parrots are, researchers wanted to see how they’d respond to another parrot saying hi on a tablet or phone. After being trained how to start a call, many parrots chatted amiably on calls and stayed on for the maximum amount of time. Some birds even seemed to develop…
Closeup of Indigo Bunting's head, showing brilliant blue feathers, dark eye and short pointed back

Migrations: Indigo Bunting, Master Stargazer

The stars appear to rotate in the sky, raising the question of how birds can use stars to navigate during migration. Ornithologist Stephen Emlen brought Indigo Buntings to a planetarium, tracking their movements as the simulated night sky changed above them. The buntings oriented…
A brown and white woodpecker with a touch of red feathers atop his head clings to a vertical branch, and looks over his shoulder to the viewer's right.

Arizona Woodpecker and the Sierra Madre

Found in the Sierra Madre, the Arizona Woodpecker has a special connection to the mountain range. Sharing mid-elevation pine and oaks with fellow border straddlers, these small brown birds with white and brown cheeks stand out from other Woodpeckers with their heavily marked white…
Three Bar-tailed Godwits in flight moving toward viewer's left

Birds Crossing the Pacific

Over 12,000 miles across at its widest point, you might think the Pacific Ocean is a barrier that even high-flying birds can’t cross. Think again – some species make the trip every year as part of their life cycle. During the spring, Bar-tailed Godwits break up their trip from New Zealand…
A slim brown and white bird on a mossy log stands in profile to the viewer while singing.

Some Birds Have Two Voices

The amazing vocal organ found in most birds, the syrinx, has two sides, with different sets of muscles and nerves controlling each side. That lets some songbirds sing two separate melodies at the same time. The Veery, a species of Thrush, can even sing a rising melody and a falling melody…
A Great-Horned Owl stands facing the viewer, showing its bright yellow eyes, and the tufted feathers ("plumicorns") atop its head.

Great Horned Owls in the Neighborhood

Not all owls live in the deep woods. Many Great Horned Owls make their homes in urban areas. Though mostly nocturnal, Great Horned Owls are also active early in the morning and just after sunset, offering a chance to see them hunting for rodents and other prey. Look for their distinctive…
A Red-bellied Woodpecker clinging to a branch laden with berries.

Finding the Links Between Plants and Birds

There are many great tools for identifying birds, some of them right on your phone. If you’re stumped on an unfamiliar plant species, iNaturalist is a great resource. When you upload a photo to iNaturalist’s website or mobile app, it uses AI to make an educated guess on the species ID. A…
A Piping Plover, its head tilted to look skyward, stands on a beach while sunlight casts it shadow beneath it.

Seeing a Chicago Beach in a New Way

Mikko Jimenez is a PhD student doing research on bird migration. Growing up in Chicago, he played beach volleyball at Montrose Beach, a popular spot on the lake shore. At the time, he wasn’t so aware of birds, but as he developed an interest in birding in college, he realized that his old…