BirdNote Daily

Grammy-winning musician Rickie Lee Jones has performed on stages around the world. At home in New Orleans, she found a new audience: backyard birds! Rickie welcomes wildlife to her yard with feeders and bird baths. She loves watching her feathered friends and learning their calls. You can help songbirds at home by keeping feeders clean, growing native plants, and turning off outdoor lights at night. You can even show your appreciation in song!

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.

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When you go birding, sometimes you’re in the right place at the right time and there are more species than you can count. Other times, not so lucky. Striking out when looking for birds is frustrating. But a bad day of birding can teach you a lot. Try doing some research into the conditions that day and talking to people that know about birds in your area – they’ll probably commiserate with their own stories about striking out.

BirdNote is supported by Wild Delight Bird Food, with special blends designed to attract the extraordinary. Available at Chewy.com. 

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.

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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.

This episode is brought to you by Wild Delight Bird Food, which aims to support wild bird populations with clean, nutritious ingredients in every blend. Available at Chewy.com. 

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.

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The amazing vocal organ found in most birds, the syrinx, has two sides, with different sets of muscles and nerves controlling each side.  That lets some songbirds sing two separate melodies at the same time. The Veery, a species of Thrush, can even sing a rising melody and a falling melody simultaneously with the two halves of the syrinx!

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.

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Some of Hollywood’s most iconic beasts owe their signature sounds to the squawks, tweets, and even hisses of birds.

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The American Robin and the Baltimore Oriole both have cheery, upbeat songs. At first, you might think there’s no way to tell these two singers apart. But there are a couple of differences. American Robins usually have a longer song, while Baltimore Orioles usually stop after a phrase or two. Plus, Baltimore Orioles sound sweeter and more melodic than American Robins, who can come across a little screechy at times.

This episode is brought to you by Wild Delight Bird Food, which aims to support wild bird populations with clean, nutritious ingredients in every blend. Available at Chewy.com.  

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.

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Scientists have long thought that new species took a very long time to emerge. This thinking has now changed dramatically. On an island in the Galápagos, researchers Rosemary and Peter Grant discovered that a hybrid union of two distinct species of finch produced descendants different from any of the island’s known species — and the speciation happened in just two generations.

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.

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Whistling as they fly, Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks are gorgeous waterfowl with bright pink bills and legs, chestnut necks and backs, and black underparts. Though most whistling-ducks live in the tropics, Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks are found in the U.S. along the western Gulf Coast and Florida. But they’re expanding their range and have been spotted nesting as far north as Wisconsin.

Support comes from Wild Delight Bird Food, offering a variety of blends designed to mimic the natural resources wild birds crave, available at Chewy.com.

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More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.

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The Bearded Reedling is a wetland songbird that’s enjoying a boom in both population and popularity. Barely larger than a chickadee, the male reedlings are often photographed with their feathers puffed out to near spherical proportions, earning them the nickname of “the roundest bird in the world”. Reedlings breed across much of Europe and central Asia. But in the United Kingdom — where they’re called Bearded Tits — the little birds were nearly wiped out in the 1940s. Thanks to decades of intensive reedbed restoration — and the bird’s capacity to rear several broods in a season — there are now more than 600 breeding pairs of Bearded Readlings in the UK today.

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.

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Any hobby or special interest has its own jargon. You’ll pick up on the silly slang that birders use as you go – like calling the Yellow-rumped Warbler, “butterbutt.” Still, learning a few basics of bird vocab is useful when you’re starting out. It’ll help you ask better questions when you’re confused. Check out the opening pages of a bird field guide for general info about what to call the different parts of a bird, basics on bird behavior, and birding tips.

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.

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