Image: The Ultimate Bird Drawing Throwdown Showdown Graphic featuring images of David Sibley and H. Jon Benjamin

Join BirdNote tomorrow, November 30th!

Illustrator David Sibley and actor H. Jon Benjamin will face off in the bird illustration battle of the century during BirdNote's Year-end Celebration and Auction!

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Shows With Contributions by Conor Gearin

A small songbird with bright yellow throat and black cheek steps across the top of a flowering plant

Common Yellowthroat

Common Yellowthroats are one of the most abundant warblers in North America. They’re adaptable birds, thriving in places that pickier warblers pass over. So it’s easy to find yellowthroats in urban areas. Check for them in marshes, overgrown fields, and brushy areas along streams or trails…
A bright pink-orange flamingo stands in water with wings outstretched, showing the black feathers along their edges

Melanin Makes Feathers Stronger

Many species have black feathers on the trailing edge of their wings, regardless of what color most of their feathers are. Birds as different as gulls, pelicans, storks, and flamingos all have black-tipped wings. These flight feathers are rich in a pigment called melanin. But melanin doesn…
A clear view of the full moon in a black sky

Black Swifts Reach for the Moon

Tracking devices revealed that Black Swifts spent over 99% of their time in the air during the winter, almost never touching the ground for months. What’s more, the swifts flew to incredible heights, reaching the highest altitudes on nights when the moon was full – sometimes over 13,000…
A nest in a tree, surrounded by branches

Field Sparrow Nests Climb Higher and Higher

Field Sparrows make use of all the warm months of the year by building multiple nests each breeding season. Females will build their first, cup-shaped nest near the ground in dense grasses. As shrubs and trees grow their leaves throughout the summer, they will pick new spots higher off the…
A Red-bellied Woodpecker and a Fox Squirrel

Squirrel or Bird?

Identifying birds by ear means getting familiar with each species’ unique voice. And that means learning the other voices in the ecosystem, too. Squirrels and chipmunks make calls that can sound a bit like bird calls at times. With practice, each species’ voice becomes more distinct and…
A male Ruffed Grouse standing on a log, with trees in the background

Poisonous Birds

The world is full of poisonous creatures. Some butterflies, beetles and frogs use bright colors to warn birds and other predators that they’re full of toxins. But you might be surprised to learn that some birds are poisonous, too. Birds called Hooded Pitohuis carry toxins produced by a…
A pair of Tufted Puffins swim in clear blue water

Glimpsing the Future Through Washington's Puffins

Some of the largest populations of Tufted Puffins are in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska and other northern coastlines. But University of Puget Sound professor Peter Hodum says the smaller colonies that breed off the coast of Washington and Oregon could provide key insights to conserve the…
California Condor in flight, its wide wings outstretched against a clear blue sky

Female Condors Have Offspring Without Males

A captive breeding program has helped set California Condors on the path to recovery. But when biologists reviewed the family tree for the breeding program, they found a big surprise. Two chicks had DNA that linked them perfectly to their mothers but didn’t match a single male. They arose…
Upland Sandpiper stands on stump, perched on one leg with wings spread open

Upland Sandpipers Whistling from Fences

Upland Sandpipers are an emblematic bird of grassland habitats in many regions of the Americas. These shorebirds live far from sea with the largest breeding populations in the north central U.S. But Upland Sandpipers are losing breeding ground to row-crop agriculture, pushing some birds to…
European Starling stands in short grass

Starlings Evolving in New Habitats

Invasive European Starlings are one of the most common birds in North American cities. Recent genetic research into European Starlings shows that populations in North America may have become better adapted to thrive in arid environments and colder temperatures compared to the milder…