BirdNote Daily

On a hot summer’s day, watch a bird such as a crow — or this Purple Martin — very carefully. You’ll never see them sweat, because birds don’t have sweat glands. So how do they keep cool? One way is panting. As the bird breathes rapidly, heat is carried out of its body through the lungs and air sacs. Bare skin on the legs, face, and beak also help with cooling. So do puffing out feathers, fluttering wings, or splashing in a puddle or birdbath. And soaring birds like hawks can simply ride the updrafts far above ground to cooler air. 

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Avian malaria has devastated native Hawaiian birds called honeycreepers. And now, climate change is allowing the mosquitoes that carry the disease to spread into the last mountain refuges of highly endangered honeycreepers on the island of Kauai. However, there’s hope that a new tool could eradicate the disease. Researchers are raising mosquitoes in the lab infected with Wolbachia, a bacterium that makes them infertile. When these males mate with wild female mosquitos, they fail to reproduce. While they wait for the mosquito solution to become available, biologists are carrying out last-ditch efforts to keep the species alive in captivity.

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In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the human fascination with bird feathers went a little too far. Women’s hats and dresses featured extravagant feathers from birds both near and far. The trade in feathers drove several species, from the Little Egret to the Great Crested Grebe, to near-extinction. Fed up with the killing of wild birds for fashion, a group of British women met to put an end to this cruelty. The organization became the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, or RSPB, which continues to be a leader in bird conservation today.

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The Eastern Phoebe (pictured here) is one of the most familiar flycatchers east of the Rockies. Because the Eastern Phoebe repeats its name when it sings, it’s a pretty straightforward voice to identify and remember. But there’s another flycatcher east of the Rockies that whistles its name over and over: It’s the Eastern Wood-Pewee. This bird is more often heard than seen. And it wouldn’t be unusual to hear a pewee and a phoebe at the same spot. With careful listening, though, you can tell them apart by their singing styles.

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When a male Indian Peafowl unfurls its magnificently-colored tail and shakes it, it creates an ultra low frequency sound that we humans can’t hear. But it seems to get the special attention of female birds, called peahens.

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After countless birding adventures of her own, Sharon Stiteler — who’s also known as Birdchick — decided to write a book that could serve as a fun introduction for beginning birders. Sharon compares the size and shape of each bird species in the book to everyday objects as a memory aid. She likens a Ruby-throated Hummingbird to a jalapeno, for example. Handy phonetic pronunciation guides break down how to say each bird’s name. Learn more in Sharon Stiteler’s book, North American Bird Watching for Beginners: Field Notes on 150 Species to Start Your Birding Adventures.

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Hawai‘i is home to many birds found nowhere else. In a stunning example of natural selection, birds called honeycreepers evolved to fill many different roles in Hawaiian ecosystems. Tragically, many native Hawaiian birds have gone extinct, including over half of the honeycreepers. The threats they face include habitat loss, disease, and introduced mammal species that prey on them. But some honeycreepers, such as a bird called the Palila, hang on to survival. Efforts to protect the Palila from invasive species could help the birds thrive again.

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American Goldfinches are one of our most familiar birds, but they lead lives that are anything but ordinary. These birds will sometimes raise two broods a year, have a secret weapon against cowbirds, and have the ability to distinguish between songs that — to our ears — sound the same. Backyard birds they may be, but American Goldfinches never cease to amaze.

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Noah Gomes is an educator and researcher with a life-long love of birds and a passion for Hawaiian culture and language. His research into Native Hawaiian names for birds has shed light on the long-standing connections between people and birds on the islands. Noah helped reconnect the name ʻAlawī to the bird otherwise known as the Hawaiian Creeper. By exploring the links between humans and wildlife, Noah says we can find better ways to live alongside these birds, many of which are at risk of extinction.

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Humboldt Penguins living along the Pacific Coast of Chile and Peru are adapted to cold. But on land, temperatures rise to 100+ degrees, and penguins need to cool off. So these penguins have pink patches of bare skin on their face, under their wings, and on their feet. On hot days, the patches turn a deep, rosy color, as blood rushes to the surface to dissipate heat. They appear to be blushing, but they’re really flushing!

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