BirdNote Daily

Every year, thousands of people visit a nesting colony of Atlantic Puffins on England’s northeastern coast. David Craven of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust says the puffins’ comical appearances endear them to visitors. Craven uses people’s love for the puffins as a way to start conversations about saving the species from extinction. Hear more about how the Bempton Cliffs puffins are inspiring conservation efforts on the Threatened podcast. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

Most coffee is grown industrially in wide-open fields with few places for birds and other species to live. But some farmers are returning to a more sustainable method, growing coffee under layers of natural tree canopy. The Smithsonian Institute certifies coffee as Bird Friendly if it meets a rigorous standard for habitat quality. On Bring Birds Back podcast, host Tenijah Hamilton discusses how coffee growing practices can benefit birds. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

In the spring, Rufous Hummingbirds journey from Mexico to the northwest U.S., some as far north as Alaska! That’s almost 1000 miles one way for a bird measuring just under four inches beak to tail, making this the longest migration of any bird relative to body length. Not long after arriving, they bulk up on nectar and bugs for the scenic return trip over the Rocky Mountains. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

Unlike the black and white magpies of the American West, the Indochinese Green-Magpie is vivid green with bright red wings and a red beak. The Sri Lanka Blue-Magpie is rich rusty-brown and dark blue. Altogether, there are five blue-feathered magpies and four green, all living in warm zones of south and east Asia. Part of the same family as crows and jays, they are highly intelligent birds. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

With its awe-inspiring vistas and eons of geologic time on display, the Grand Canyon also offers a unique habitat for birds. What you're likely to see first is a Bronzed Cowbird, strutting on the lawn of a lodge or restaurant. Common Ravens call and squabble. If you're lucky, you may spot the largest of all North American birds, a California Condor! Learn more at BirdNote.org.

As most young male birds get ready to leave the nest, they learn their species’ song by hearing their male parent sing it again and again. They imprint on their father’s song. So how does a Brown-headed Cowbird, raised by parents of a different species, learn to sing the correct song? The “chatter call” of an adult cowbird triggers something in the young bird’s brain. Like a kind of “password,” the chatter call guides the young bird in recognizing what species to identify with, even though cowbirds are fostered by as many as 220 different species! Learn more at BirdNote.org.

The Ramsey Canyon Preserve in the Huachuca Mountains of Arizona is famous for the clouds of hummingbirds that swarm around its feeders in late summer. But the rare and spectacular Elegant Trogon is also found here. A native of Mexico and Central America, it breeds in the United States only in a few of Arizona’s southern canyons. Pairs of trogons set up housekeeping each summer in Ramsey and other canyons. They are surprisingly inconspicuous, as they perch quietly. They nest in natural cavities or old woodpecker nests, mostly in the beautiful white-barked sycamore trees that line the canyons. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

Forty to fifty million years ago, when the climate of the Antarctic was mild and seasonal, some of the largest birds ever known flew and hunted over its waters. They’re known as Bony-toothed Birds. Fossils show that most had wingspans of more than 12 feet. Their beaks were evenly studded tooth-like outgrowths up to an inch long. They likely skimmed fish and squid off of the water’s surface. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

By late summer, most birds hatched in spring are on their own, without help from their parents. Where do they go? Young migratory birds will head south in late summer or fall, in the pattern of their species. But most non-migratory birds born last spring — such as an immature Bewick’s Wren — will need to find an unoccupied territory. So they disperse more widely than the established adults. Newly fledged Bald Eagles embark on a nomadic life. Sometimes they fly hundreds of miles in a day, a journey that may take them across the continent. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

The way that some birds flick, wag, or flare their tails can be distinctive. A flicking or flashing tail might suggest to a predator that a bird is particularly alert or hard to catch, while also warning others in the flock of danger. Tail flicking can also help flush out prey. A Hooded Warbler may flare its tail while foraging low to the ground to cause insects to jump, making them easier prey. Learn more at BirdNote.org.