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

An adult Sandhill Crane on its long thin legs lowers its head toward two small fuzzy Sandhill Crane chicks

Sandhill Crane Families Stick Together

Sandhill Crane families form a close bond. A pair of adults might travel north with their young from the previous summer, along with grown-up offspring from several years ago. After the breeding season, families will stick together for the journey south and the winter, even in large flocks…
A small brown and white bird with its eyes closed rests on a loop of rope on a ship out at sea.

Stowaway Birds

When they migrate, tiny songbirds that spend most of their lives on land fly hundreds of miles over the ocean at a stretch – and they get tired. A recent study suggests that birds migrating over busy shipping routes in the Mediterranean Sea may use the decks of sea vessels as places to…
A small brown bird, its white breast streaked with brown, perched on a twig while singing

Song Neighborhoods

Birds of the same species don’t always sing exactly the same as each other. But those that live near each other sometimes have similar songs. Scientists refer to this pattern as a song neighborhood. It’s less like a regional dialect among people that’s found over a large area. It’s more…
Close up of a light brownish red feather, showing the closely aligned individual barbs that grow out from the shaft

What Makes Feathers Both Strong and Light

Bird feathers are famously light, but they’re also strong, holding up under tricky flying and high winds. They’re made of beta keratin, a tougher version of the keratin that makes up human fingernails and hair. They also have an intricate branching structure that makes them highly flexible…
Three Least Auklets, dark gray and white seabirds, looking to viewers' right while sitting on rocks

Seabirds Thriving on Volcanic Slopes

In August 2008, Kasatochi Island erupted in the middle of auklet breeding season, burying tens of thousands of chicks in hot ash. At first, the auklets’ future on the island appeared bleak. But in just a few years, the birds had returned in force. Thousands nested within the innumerable…
A female Wood Duck swims across smooth water, her soft brown plumage accented by blue feathers on her wings

Music of a City Lake

A city lake is one of the most prized places in a fast, growing environment. It’s also often difficult to distinguish all of the bird calls from each other. With a splash of a beak, a glide of a wing, and an eye of a predator — listen closely, and then again to sharpen your bird ear…
A bright yellow bird with brown streaks on its breast is singing while perched on a branch

Yellow Warblers in a Changing World

In spring and summer, Yellow Warblers sing from treetops to stream sides. While their beauty and songs commonly light up our most vibrant months, they face imminent challenges. Yellow Warbler populations have adapted genetically to their local climates. That makes them vulnerable to…
A pair of Scarlet Macaws perch on a branch with their backs to the viewer, and their colorful wings outstretched

World Rainforest Day

Tropical rainforests are stunning places. Despite covering a small part of the Earth’s surface, they support half of the world’s biodiversity. The variety of lifeforms stands out visually in stunning color, and in sound through the strange and beautiful calls of birds. Today is World…
Four Burrowing Owls standing on light grayish brown soil, one owl poking its head out from the burrow in the ground.

An Unlikely Burrowing Owl Boomtown

The Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon, a landscape dotted with a thousand concrete bunkers, may not look like an ideal haven for birds. But the site has taken on a new life — as a luxury subdivision for Burrowing Owls. That’s thanks in part to David H. Johnson, the founder of the Global…
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…