BirdNote is an independent nonprofit organization, and this week, we’re asking you to support BirdNote with a donation at birdnote.org. But today, rather than tell you all the great things about BirdNote, we’re going to let our feathered friends do the talking. In this show, enjoy a minute…

Mother Goose was sometimes illustrated as an old country woman wearing a tall hat and riding on the back of a goose. Or sometimes as just a big, motherly goose wearing reading glasses and a bonnet, a friendly figure children could trust. Support comes from Wild Delight Bird Food, offering…

In April 1915, Finnish composer Jean Sibelius wrote in his diary about seeing 16 Whooper Swans overhead. He was entranced by both the sight and the sound of the swans. He watched them depart, “like a gleaming silver ribbon,” and declared the image one of the great experiences of his life…

Birds that historically nested in the cavities of dead trees are finding natural nest holes harder to come by — but people can help. Many of these species will make use of a nest box in parks or near people’s homes. Learn how to build nest boxes tailored to a species of your choice at…

Marbled Godwits stand a foot and a half tall, on slender, dark legs. Their exquisitely long bills are pink, tipped in black, and just slightly up-curved. Altogether, a stunning bird. In April, godwits are on their way north. They have wintered along the coasts, including the Texas Gulf…

The savanna country of northern Australia is one of the most fire-prone natural habitats in the world, and its plants have evolved to thrive with frequent, low-intensity blazes. As flames sweep across the savanna, Black Kites watch for prey like grasshoppers and lizards that flee the fire…

The Canyon Wren and Cactus Wren share common ancestry — and they’re close neighbors in the desert southwest. Yet their songs evolved along divergent acoustic lines. The rough trilled phrases of the Cactus Wren song pulse through the dense cactus, while the clear tones of the Canyon Wren…

The Cinereous Mourner is a small, ashy-gray bird that lives in the forest understory of the Amazon Basin. And it’s taking mimicry to the next level: when viewed from above, lying alone in its cup-shaped nest, its chick is a near match to a highly toxic caterpillar — one that snakes and…

What’s the most colorful bird in the U.S.? The Scarlet Tanager? Maybe the Painted Bunting? Well, consider one more lustrous candidate: the Purple Gallinule. The Purple Gallinule’s feathers are so iridescent that they might not seem real. Despite its bold style, a Purple Gallinule can be…

Birds make a lot of sounds — so many that author and illustrator Becca Rowland had a hard time keeping them straight. That was until Becca began picking up on familiar noises in common bird calls — like when they heard a dog’s squeaky toy in the trees. Now she’s compiled her fun and…