BirdNote Daily

Illustrator and science writer Rosemary Mosco is the author of the new book, A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching. The book explores humanity’s long relationship with pigeons, from domestication thousands of years ago to fancy pigeon breeding in recent centuries. Rosemary's book not only breaks down the variations to look for in feral city pigeons, but also some of the most bizarre fancy breeds. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

Like an expert angler, a tern can read the surface of the water to find where to catch its next fish. Scientists piloted a drone to track the flight paths of terns on the hunt. The terns sought out turbulent water. A vortex formed by colliding currents traps fish near the surface, where terns can snap them up. Terns fly toward bubbly upwellings to see if the rising water brings prey animals along with it. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

The searing cry of a Red-tailed Hawk pierces the air. The distinctive scream is coming from a tree nearby. But when you scan the tree for the form of a hawk, you see only a small, speckled, black bird. You’ve been fooled. It’s a starling giving voice to the hawk’s cry. The European Starling — the continent’s most abundant non-native bird — is an accomplished mimic. Starlings are especially astute imitators of bird sounds that have a whistled feel — like the sound of a Killdeer or quail. They can duplicate a car alarm or phone ring, too.  Learn more at BirdNote.org.

Many birds are remarkably clever. New findings help reveal how they can be so smart. In mammals, intelligence is seated in the neocortex, which has neurons arranged in layers and columns. Birds lack a neocortex and were thought to have a forebrain composed of simple clusters of neurons. Recent research indicates that a part of the bird forebrain, the dorsal ventricular ridge, has neurons layed out similarly to those in the mammalian neocortex. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

Put your winter garden to work as a haven for birds. Leaves and brush left to compost provide foraging and roosting places, smother this year’s weeds, and feed next spring’s plant growth. Watch for juncos and towhees in the leaf litter, and wrens in the brush. Maybe even a Song Sparrow, like this one! With a little planning, your garden can be a haven for birds year round. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

Fruit-doves are forest-dwelling doves of the South Pacific found on island groups like the Philippines and New Guinea. There are 54 species of fruit-doves, most about the size of a Mourning Dove or smaller, and they do indeed eat fruit. The combinations of bold colors in fruit-doves are unmatched by any other group of birds. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

Around this time of year, Common Mergansers cross the US-Canadian border on their way to wintering grounds in the Lower 48. But how do they know when to go? Ducks are well insulated against frigid winter temperatures, but mergansers can find their fishy prey only by diving below the surface of open water. So they’re doing just fine, resting and feeding in southern Canada, until a thin veneer of ice forms on their lake, signaling the time has arrived to head south! Learn more at BirdNote.org.

Sculptor and musician Walter Kitundu first became enraptured by birds in 2005 when a Red-tailed Hawk flew four feet above his head. He named the bird Patch, after the white patch on the back of her head, and kept returning to the park to see her. Patch became used to Walter, accepting him as part of the landscape. He documented her transition from juvenile to adult, learning her quirks and mannerisms. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

Black Scoters are sea ducks that spend the winter on saltwater bays. They are large, strong ducks and buoyant swimmers with a habit of cocking their tails upward. Black Scoters nest each summer on freshwater tundra ponds. Each fall, they can be found on bays all across the Northern Hemisphere. An unmistakable clue to their presence? - their mysterious, musical wail. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

Birds’ four-chambered hearts run larger than those of mammals, relative to body size, and they are coupled with extremely efficient cardiovascular systems. The energy demands of flight require these adaptations. An exercising human has a heart rate around 150 beats per minute. In contrast, an active hummingbird’s heart pumps at 1200 beats per minute; a flying pigeon’s heart beats at 600. Learn more at BirdNote.org.