BirdNote Daily

Just a couple dozen miles off the Northwest coast, immense dark birds with long, saber-shaped wings glide without effort above the waves. These graceful giants are Black-footed Albatrosses, flying by the thousands near the edge of the continental shelf. Black-footed Albatrosses do not breed until they are at least five years old, and after the young leave their breeding colony, they spend their first three years at sea. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

European Starlings regularly adorn their twig nests with marigolds, elderberry flowers, yarrow leaves, and even willow bark — all of which are full of aromatic chemicals, which fumigate their nests and are thought to discourage pests and parasites. Scientists discovered that starlings hatched in well-fumigated nests tend to weigh more, and live longer, than those raised without fragrant herbs. Learn more at BIrdNote.org.

In many urban areas, collisions are the fate of hundreds of thousands of birds, like this Brown Creeper. But Annette Prince and volunteers with Chicago Bird Collision Monitors are making a difference. Every morning during spring and fall migration, Annette and her team rescue birds that have collided with skyscrapers – and transport the survivors to Willowbrook Wildlife Center for rehabilitation. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

Keeping its talons tightly gripped on a branch, a Barred Owlet will sometimes lie down on its stomach, turn its head to the side, and fall asleep. A young owl doesn't fall out of the tree while it snoozes, because its back toe, the hallux, holds onto the branch. The hallux will not open or let go until the bird straightens its leg. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

After flying all the way from South America, migratory songbirds that fly through cities often seek out urban green spaces such as parks and cemeteries. These modest-sized areas can act as verdant oases in the middle of pavement and metal and can be hidden gems for city dwellers hoping to see migratory birds in their neighborhoods. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

In Africa, where there are dozens of starling species, a quick look reveals a variety of visual stunners. Some of the names hint at their dazzle: Superb Starling, as well as Golden-breasted, Emerald, Purple, Violet-backed, and Splendid Glossy Starlings. Starlings sparkle because they have special extra structures in their feather cells called melanosomes. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

In some years, tawny-colored thrushes called Veeries cut their breeding season short. Researchers discovered that Veeries tend to stop breeding early in the same years that the Atlantic hurricane season is particularly severe. Surprisingly, Veeries are sometimes better at predicting hurricane conditions than computer models! Despite their forecasting prowess, though, Veeries are vulnerable to climate change. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

Composers from Vivaldi to Beethoven have been inspired by birdsong. But how similar is birdsong to the music we create? Two recent studies offer contrasting answers. One analysis used nearly 250 song examples of the Nightingale Wren, pictured here, a tropical bird widely admired for its haunting song. It concluded that Nightingale Wren songs only rarely accord with our harmonic intervals. However, analysis of Hermit Thrush songs revealed a harmonic structure that was similar to human music at least 70% of the time.  Learn more at BirdNote.org.

The Cuban Tody is almost indescribably cute! It’s a "must-see" bird for anyone heading for the West Indies. In woodlands throughout the island of Cuba, todies are terrific foragers. In fact, their Puerto Rican cousins have been known to catch up to one or two insects a minute — hunting from dawn to dusk. Their wings make an audible whirring sound, and you may find a tody just by listening for that sound. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

Ornithologist Drew Lanham visits a wetland that was once a rice plantation built and farmed by enslaved Black people. After the Civil War, many birds continued to rely on these wetlands. Now, biologists manage water levels in the former rice fields to support shorebirds, ducks, and rare species such as the Black Rail. Learn more at BirdNote.org.