Waterfowl such as this Greater White-fronted Goose have long followed a predictable schedule, flying south in autumn after breeding in the north. But for some birds, climate change may be delaying fall migration. Beginning in 1979, scientists in northern Europe recorded migration dates of…

William John Swainson, ornithologist, author, illustrator, was born in October 1789. He settled in New Zealand, and it's quite likely that he never saw any of the birds named for him. But because of Swainson's reputation and knowledge about birds, the Swainson's Warbler, Swainson's Thrush…

We're looking for teachers who use BirdNote in the classroom. Share your lesson plan or find one to use. Learn more. Then submit your own plan. In classrooms around the country, teachers who love birds and nature are introducing children to a source of life-long enjoyment. Emily Czerwonka…

BirdNote asked listeners to tell us about the bird life around their homes. BirdNote’s Dominic Black met up with Denise Acsay — who lives on San Juan Island in Washington State — to learn more about Denise’s love of birds such as this Barred Owl. Denise says her favorite bird sounds are…

Scientists once believed that Australia’s songbirds — such as this Superb Lyrebird — were the result of lost birds from Asia and Africa colonizing the continent. But recent research has changed that thinking. It turns out that the Australian continent was the evolutionary epicenter of much…

The House Wren presents us with a classic bird image. That jaunty tail, twitching sharply as the wren scolds, puts an exclamation point on the bird's perky voice and attitude. The word "wren" comes to us intact from the Old Norse and Anglo-Saxon languages, where it referred specifically to…

As part of their spring courtship, Downy Woodpeckers perform a spectacular "butterfly flight." The birds seem to dance in the air, holding their wings high, and flapping slowly and lazily like butterflies. It's the smallest woodpecker in North America, and you might miss it, as it pecks…

Brain imaging studies have shown that hearing enjoyable music “lights up” the mesolimbic reward pathway in the human brain. But how does a bird experience a song from its own species? Scientists at Emory University found a similar pattern in the sparrow’s brain. Female White-throated…

One of the most remarkable singers on the European continent is the Bluethroat. Often singing while fluttering aloft, Bluethroats mix their own song elements with imitations of just about every bird within hearing distance. They'll even try their luck with crickets, tree frogs, and train…

Celebrate the earth -- from a canyon in the West, where meadowlarks sing … to the Boundary Waters of Minnesota, where a pair of Common Loons returns to breed and raise their young and spring peepers sing for mates … to an old-growth hardwood forest in North Carolina, where warblers and…