When climate scientist Sofia Barboza was living in New York City, she found it challenging to connect with the outdoors the same way she had growing up in Pennsylvania. Returning to live in Pennsylvania as an adult, Sofia brought along her new awareness of birds and their effects on mental…

Rosa Malagón creció creyendo que las aves tienen un significado espiritual, gracias a las enseñanzas de su herencia mexicana de su madre. Rosa, que ahora trabaja para la Hispanic Access Foundation, ayuda a conectar organizaciones sin fines de lucro dirigidas por latinos con fondos del…

Rosa Malagon grew up believing that birds hold spiritual significance, thanks to teachings from her Mexican heritage that her mother would share. Now working for the Hispanic Access Foundation, Rosa helps connect Latino-led nonprofits with funding from the U.S. Forest Service. She also…

Brown-headed Cowbirds have a sneaky approach to parenthood. They lay eggs in the nests of other songbirds, and the songbird hosts often raise the cowbird chick as their own. It’s called nest parasitism. But sometimes the hosts throw out the odd-looking egg. And when that happens, the…

Hummingbirds use their long tongues to sip nectar from flowers. They’re able to roll their tongues into a tube-like shape. Since the 1800s, scientists thought those tongues worked through capillary action, like how water instantly rises into a straw in a full cup. But when scientists spent…

With their excellent sense of smell, pigs are renowned for sniffing out truffles, a fungus that grows underground and is prized for its taste. But it turns out that some bird species can also find their way to a truffle treat. Researchers working in the Patagonia region of Chile had…

For birds, learning starts early. Birds listen to their parents’ songs and calls from inside the egg. Recent findings have shown that calls from Zebra Finch parents can even prepare their chicks for warmer temperatures before they hatch. Researchers noticed that Zebra Finches make a…

When woodpeckers drum, they slam their beaks against bark many times per second. Scientists have long hypothesized that woodpeckers have a way of protecting their brains from injury. However, more recent work provides a different picture. High-speed cameras showed scientists that…

Broad-tailed Hummingbirds are small but hardy creatures built for life in the mountains. They survive freezing cold nights by slowing their heart rate and metabolism. And they perform a death-defying stunt for potential mates. Male Broad-tailed Hummingbirds begin their performance by…

Many people take an interest in birds as they get older. But others start very early, like one young BirdNote listener named Ben Bradmon. He has been learning how to identify birds by their calls. His favorite is the Tufted Titmouse. He has also begun deepening his knowledge of birds by…