BirdNote Daily

The catchy name “Jackdaw” belongs to a European bird that looks like a compact crow drawn in shades of light and dark gray. They are comfortable around people, which helps explain their place in folklore. Some cultures saw the Jackdaw as a predictor of rain, others as a savior of crops. Or possibly an omen of death. They flourish in urban landscapes, making them familiar to many people. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

Hurricanes bring tragedy not only to people, but also to birds and other wildlife. Severe storm winds may kill many birds and blow others far from their normal range. Although many individuals die, most populations of birds are resilient, able to spring back from disaster if conditions allow. Many small birds, like this Carolina Wren, breed twice in a season. Fortunately, the effects of natural disasters are usually local, and bird populations on a grand scale can, literally, weather the storm. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

In 2017, researcher Sunny Tseng traveled from her home in Taiwan to the Arctic tundra to record the calls of the birds that breed there. She learned that navigating the wind-blown, marshy tundra is no easy task. Yet Tseng found and recorded one of her target birds: the Ross’s Gull, a rare, rosy-pink gull that nests on the tundra.

Hear more about the birds of the Siberian tundra, and hear the birds themselves, on the Threatened podcast. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

A fine woodworker has a chest full of tools, each designed for a specific task. Birds also have highly refined tools-their bills. The size and shape of a bird's bill match perfectly the food they seek and the way in which they obtain their meals. Different species of shorebirds that forage shoulder to shoulder in tidal estuaries (like this Marbled Godwit and Willet) have bills of different lengths. As a result they don't compete for the same food.  Learn more at BirdNote.org.

A flight of White-collared Swifts, huge swifts the size of small falcons, wing their way toward a small waterfall in Southern Mexico. Flying up to 100 miles per hour, they slice right through the waterfall into the cave beyond. White-collared Swifts are found from Mexico to Brazil. By day, they fly high above ground, in search of flying insects, gliding and soaring on outstretched wings, rarely flapping. And not once do they perch until returning through the veil of water and into the cave. Here they also nest, on a ledge just beyond the waterfall, their nests enshrouded by mist. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

Two eagles locking talons high above the ground might look like they’re risking injury, but it’s a normal courtship behavior called the “cartwheel display.” Fully entangled, the two birds begin spinning to the earth, disengaging just before they smack the ground. Their clasp could last for hours. At last, the eagles unlock talons and fly off. Rival adults sometimes perform the same flight. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

Pterosaurs—the giant, leathery flying creatures of the age of the dinosaurs—were giant reptiles, NOT dinosaurs. The pterosaurs had slim bodies and thin-walled, lightweight bones, ideal for flying. They thrived for 160 million years, passing into history after the same asteroid strike that finished off the large dinosaurs. Today’s birds are modern-day dinosaurs, descended from creatures similar to the terrifying T-Rex. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

We tend to favor clean-cut lawns and non-native plants, but that’s a real problem for our ecosystems and the birds that live in them. Tenijah Hamilton, the host of Bring Birds Back podcast, joins volunteers planting native flowers and grasses on the Atlanta BeltLine, a converted “Rail Trail”. Trees Atlanta Co-Executive Director Greg Levine explains how native plants can reconnect wild animals to urban areas. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

The song of this Field Sparrow was the first bird song Aldo Leopold awoke to on his Wisconsin farm in the 1940s. Sadly, Field Sparrow populations are declining rapidly. You can learn more about "The State of the Birds" from National Audubon, and the plight of the Field Sparrow in particular. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

The Vulturine Guineafowl is a striking bird. It lacks feathers on its head and neck and has a blue breast with silvery plumes. The species has a complex social structure. Distinct groups, similar to high school cliques, mingle but don’t change membership. Such a multilevel society was previously only known in large-brained mammals such as primates, dolphins, and elephants. Learn more at BirdNote.org.