Imagine an Ostrich, an Emu, a roadrunner, and the world’s fastest man and woman, all lined up for a race. Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt holds the men’s record for the 100-meter dash — 28 mph — and Florence Griffith-Joyner ran it just a shade slower. But in this race, Africa’s Ostrich takes gold, crossing the finish line at an incredible 43 mph. The Emu from Australia takes silver, topping 30 mph. The roadrunner comes in last.

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A captive breeding program has helped set California Condors on the path to recovery. But when biologists reviewed the family tree for the breeding program, they found a big surprise. Two chicks had DNA that linked them perfectly to their mothers but didn’t match a single male. They arose through parthenogenesis, developing from unfertilized eggs without sperm from a male. These condors are the first known case of parthenogenesis in a wild bird species where the females had access to fertile males.

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The sight and sound of the Bare-throated Bellbird—the national bird of Paraguay—inspires wonder and delight. Its presence as an indicator species and seed disperser also bodes well for ecosystem health in the Alto Paraná Atlantic Forests that stretch from Southeast Brazil through eastern Paraguay and into Northern Argentina. The loud, metallic call of the Bare-throated Bellbird also inspires music played on another emblem of Paraguay—the harp. The species is considered Near Threatened because of loss of forest habitat and poaching for cage birds.

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When biologist Danielle Whittaker started studying bird odors, some scientists tried to discourage her, claiming that birds can’t smell. But that only deepened her curiosity. Once, she caught a whiff of a cowbird, which smelled to her like sugar cookies. Danielle and her colleagues studied Dark-eyed Juncos and found that they produce many odors that help influence breeding behavior. Learn more in Danielle Whittaker’s book, The Secret Perfume of Birds: Uncovering the Science of Avian Scent.

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The Black-billed Magpie is a familiar sight throughout much of the west. The magpie's bulky nest is a rough sphere of sticks nearly three feet across, with entrance ports on the sides. Take a field trip with your local Audubon and see what you can see!

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Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022, zookeepers at the Kyiv Zoo shared audio recordings from the animal enclosures with BirdNote. The Zoo staff maintained care for the animals even as they slept in bomb shelters. Two and a half years later, Zoo Program Manager Olga Baratynska shares new audio of animals at the zoo and a report on their animal therapy program, called “The Good Phasmatidae,” which has treated nearly 200,000 people, including children, displaced people, and members of the military.

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Kingbirds are robin-sized flycatchers that excel at plucking insects from the air. They’ll even tackle prey as big as cicadas. Finding naturally-camouflaged cicadas hidden among the leaves is hard work. But two species of kingbirds in Arizona found a shortcut — stealing them from cicada-killer wasps! The female wasps, nearly two inches long, paralyze cicadas and bring them to their burrows for their young to eat. The kingbirds have learned to ambush wasps carrying cicadas on the way back to their burrows.

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The glorious song of the male Sage Thrasher rings out every Spring from tracts of sagebrush throughout the west. Sagebrush was once widespread in the Great Basin region, and so were the thrashers. But huge areas of sagebrush were turned into alfalfa and potato farms, and the songs of the thrasher aren't so common today. Sagebrush badly needs advocacy. The Important Bird Areas program works to protect key habitats for birds.

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House Finches are familiar birds all across North America. Researchers have shown that the red coloration of males is produced from carotenoid pigments in the birds' diet. Male House Finches develop brighter plumage when they are growing in new feathers, if they eat more fruits containing carotenoids. Females prefer more brightly colored males. Redder males also attract females in better condition, and such a pair raises, on the average, more young. You can learn more at AAAS.org.

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A Laysan Albatross named Wisdom has been nesting and raising chicks on the island of Midway for nearly 60 years. She was banded back in 1956 and was rediscovered, still alive and healthy, in 2002. Since that time, scientists have watched Wisdom closely. Every year, she has managed to navigate the many perils facing her species and successfully raise a new chick.

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