BirdNote Daily

BirdNote Daily® is a two-minute radio show that combines rich sounds with engaging stories, to illustrate the amazing lives of birds and give listeners a momentary respite from the news of the day.

Savannah Sparrow singing, perched on a flowering branch lit by the sun

2304 Results

A black hummingbird with iridescent blue throat and green breast

A Lost Hummingbird is Found Again

September 18, 2025

The Santa Marta Sabrewing is a hummingbird species so rare, they’ve only been documented twice in recent years. Native to the mountains of Colombia, they were officially described in 1946. No one reported another sighting until 2010. They became a “lost” species, eluding every attempt to…

Thick-billed Euphonia – Deceitful Mimic

September 17, 2025

Northern Mockingbirds can learn to mimic the sounds of just about any bird. They mimic to show off, not to deceive. But this Thick-billed Euphonia, a tiny songbird in South America, employs what scientists call “deceitful mimicry.” When frightened by a predator near its nest, a Thick…

Bicknell's Thrush

September 16, 2025

The Bicknell’s Thrush is known for scarcity… and promiscuity. Unlike most songbirds, the female thrush establishes a territory and then mates with males that happen by. She then lays eggs that have been fertilized by multiple different males. Many of those males will stick around and help…

A dapper gray and white shorebird stepping through shallow water. The bird has a short sharp black bill, red eye, and pink legs.

The Delightfully Odd Magellanic Plover

September 15, 2025

The Magellanic Plover is known for being a bit of an oddball. These shorebirds have a round body like a dove and even feed their young with milk produced in a part of their digestive system called the crop — a rare trait they share with doves. But genetic data revealed that Magellanic…

Two Mallard ducklings snoozing on a cement bank by the water, their beaks tucked beneath their wings

Where Birds Sleep

September 14, 2025

All birds need to sleep — or at least snooze — sometime during each 24-hour period. And most sleep at night. A bird, like a Mallard duckling, may turn its head around and warm its beak under its shoulder-feathers. Songbirds find a protected perch, sheltered from rain and nighttime…

Silhouettes of migrating birds cross in front of a full moon in dark grey sky

The Music of Birds Migrating in the Night

September 13, 2025

Ornithologist Bill Evans has helped us better understand the sounds that birds make as they migrate at night. Known as nocturnal flight calls, many species can be identified based on their signature sound. Using special handmade microphones left outside overnight, Evans, his colleagues and…