The Jackass Penguins of Africa

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African Penguins stand just over two feet tall and weigh up to nine pounds. They nest in burrows six feet deep. The African Penguin now faces severe challenges. But even today, at Boulders Beach near Cape Town, it's possible to walk the beach among these charming birds and hear their obstreperous voices.
Watch a video of penguins—walking on Boulders Beach with tourists!—click here.
Learn more about the African Penguin—and the fight to protect it—click here.

Darwin Meets Penguins

Charles Darwin’s insights during his travels on the HMS Beagle in the 1830s revolutionized the natural sciences. And his personal accounts of the journey, such as his encounters with Magellanic Penguins, tell captivating stories. While on the Falkland Islands, Darwin – as an experiment – placed himself between a penguin and the sea. The undaunted bird, rolling its head from side to side, waddled directly into the young naturalist, pushing him aside.
Learn more about the Magellanic Penguin Project and the efforts to save them—click here.

American Bittern

The American Bittern, a member of the heron tribe, spends much of its time in the dense cover of the marsh. Although they are found across the country, you’ll seldom see one. Bitterns are masters of camouflage. Their striped plumage perfectly imitates surrounding vegetation, and they conceal themselves by freezing—holding their heads and necks upward at an angle that mimics the reeds. Have you seen an unusual bird or observed a bird doing something usual? Tell us your story! Write to us at info@birdnote.org.

Former Abundance

On a November day in the late 1960s, flying in a light plane along the Mississippi River, the eminent waterfowl biologist Frank Bellrose came upon a raft of 450,000 Lesser Scaups that stretched for miles. Protection, restoration, and enhancement of habitats used during all seasons are under way to enable the population of ducks—like these Lesser Scaups—to rebound. Learn more about these birds at BirdWeb. There’s more about bird conservation here.

Birds Half Asleep, Half Awake

For birds, a brain that can function while literally half-asleep is important to survival. In flocks of birds at roost, those at the outer edge of the flock often have one eye open. Such birds are truly half-asleep: one brain hemisphere snoozes as the other remains awake and alert. The eye connected to the sleeping half of the brain closes; the eye of the wakeful hemisphere remains open and vigilant. Birds in the middle of the flock are resting the entire brain, sleeping with both eyes closed. Learn more—click here.
Learn more about this Greater Yellowlegs.