BirdNote Daily

The Cuban Giant Owl, now extinct, was 3½ feet tall and weighed 20 pounds — the largest of all known owls. It had very small wings, running after its prey on long, powerful legs. Similar large owls, with long legs and small wings, have been unearthed in places as disparate as Georgia and Hawaii. Very little is known about why giant owls died out.

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Esha Munshi co-founded the Feather Library, a digital library that collects and documents the feathers of Indian birds. Launched in 2021, the library has high-resolution photographs of about 90 bird species. This library is open to everyone — whether you’re a researcher, birdwatcher, conservationist, or an ordinary person who came across a feather.

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Pigeons — and other birds with eyes on the sides of their heads — have a different view of the world from that of creatures with forward-facing eyes. The images from a pigeon’s eyes overlap slightly, so the bird can see in front of itself, even though it has worse depth perception. But these laterally placed eyes have a big advantage for prey species: they provide a much wider view of the world. A pigeon has a remarkable 340º view without moving its head, including a wide area behind its head!

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The tiny Common Redpoll, one of the smallest members of the finch family, weighs only as much as four pennies, yet it survives the cold and darkness of winter in the far North. Most birds depart in autumn to warmer climes. But redpolls feed on birch and alder seeds that are available throughout the winter, no matter how deep the snow. This little bird typically eats 40% of its body weight in seeds every day to keep itself alive. Redpolls are survivors.

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In temperate climates like North America, it’s often male songbirds that sing the most. Typically the males migrate north before females and establish territories for the short breeding season, using their songs as a way to claim a spot. But many female birds do sing, even in colder climates. And in warm tropic zones, female birds often have a big role in defending a territory, and many of them sing just as loudly and artfully as the males. 

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Birds like male turkeys or barnyard roosters have a wrinkly, bumpy flap of red skin called a wattle. But what are wattles for? Birds can’t sweat, so wattles help release excess heat. Wattles are also key to courtship displays. Many other birds, including some storks and plovers, also have wattles.

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Many jays, including this California Scrub-Jay, store food for sustenance in harsher seasons. An individual bird may cache nuts, insects, and even worms in several thousand spots. If jays visit your yard, here’s a game you can play with them. Each day, preferably when the jays aren’t watching, place a dozen peanuts in different parts of the yard. They should be visible, but scattered. When a jay arrives, watch how long it takes to find the nuts. The next day, place the nuts in a different array and watch again. Do the jays find them quickly? They might already have a mental map of everything in the yard, so anything new — like a peanut in a novel spot — seems to jump out at them.

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Red Warblers only sing on sunny mornings during the breeding season — so hearing their song is as good as checking the weather forecast. Weighing less than a triple A battery, Red Warblers are endemic to the highlands of Mexico and live in humid forests of pine, oak, and fir. 

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A fine woodworker has a chest full of tools, each designed for a specific task. Birds also have highly refined tools-their bills. The size and shape of a bird's bill match perfectly the food they seek and the way in which they obtain their meals. Different species of shorebirds that forage shoulder to shoulder in tidal estuaries (like this Marbled Godwit and Willet) have bills of different lengths. As a result they don't compete for the same food. 

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The Red-backed Fairy-Wren, a tiny songbird living the Australian scrublands, is highly territorial and promiscuous. The male can’t be sure the eggs in his nest are his own. One way to help avoid this problem? The male may rough up a rival who approaches his territory. But research shows when Red-backed Fairy-Wren pairs sing a duet in order to deter rival males from intruding on their territory, those pairs had more of their own genetic offspring in their nests. For the male, aggression might not ensure paternity, but singing a duet could.

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