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

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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

Underwater coral reef

How Birds Can Help Coral Reefs Recover

Today kicks off Coral Reef Awareness Week. Coral reefs are hotspots of biodiversity, but they’re threatened by warming ocean temperatures, pollution, and overfishing. One thing to be aware of this week is how these underwater ecosystems are linked to birds in the skies above them. And…
Japanese Tit stands on roof of nest box

Polite Birds Gesture 'After You' with Their Wings

Researchers studying birds called Japanese Tits, relatives of the chickadees and titmice in North America, noticed that mates raising chicks together often fluttered their wings near the entrance of their nest box. After recording hundreds of examples of this behavior, it became clear that…
Warbler stands perched on tree branch

New English Names for Birds

If you’re new to birding, you might be baffled by names like Couch’s Kingbird, Wilson’s Warbler, and Townsend’s Solitaire. These birds were named in honor of scientists and their friends long ago. But the result is a long list of birds named after white men, many of whom took part in…
An adult Mourning Dove sits on a nest with one nestling peeking over the top

Nesting Again

Raising baby birds is a lot of work. You might think that after seeing off their fledged young ones, bird parents would call it a day. But a surprising number of species start again and raise another set of young in the same breeding season — what’s called double brooding. Some birds…
A Dickcissel bird looks to its left, its grey head sporting a yellow streak above its dark eye. Its breast is lemon-yellow and the wing is brown with black edging.

The Dickcissel

In grasslands of the central U.S., birds called Dickcissels sing a quirky song that “spells out” the syllables of their name. Dickcissels are approachable birds, often chirping away while a person walks nearby. But they’re also masters of concealment, hiding their nests from predators in…
A female Wood Duck with a bright blue wing patch swims in a lake

Música de un lago de ciudad

Un lago urbano es uno de los lugares más preciados en un entorno de rápido crecimiento. También suele ser difícil distinguir todos los cantos de los pájaros entre sí. Con un chapoteo de pico, un planeo de ala y un ojo de depredador, escuche atentamente (y de nuevo, una vez más) para…
A male Bobolink perches on a stem in a grassland and sings

The Superpowers of the Humble Bobolink

If you had to pick the bird most like a superhero, the Bobolink might not be an obvious choice. But these quirky blackbirds have abilities that would impress Superman himself. Every year, Bobolinks fly from their wintering grounds in southern South America all the way to grasslands in…
A Common Loon swims through still water, seen from the side, calling with its bill open

A Music Student Inspired by Bird Sounds

Eleven-year-old Zjencès Bell took an early interest in birds after he learned his first bird call. As a piano student, Zjencès soon blended his love of birds with his musical skills by creating piano compositions inspired by bird calls and songs. In this show, hear an excerpt of his…
A Hooded Oriole perches on a bunch of fruits hanging below

All Those Colorful Orioles

The Baltimore Oriole is a standout bird. With adult males’ electric orange and jet black feathers, and females and immature birds in various shades of yellow and orange, it’s no surprise that these birds show up in art, illustrations, and on the uniforms of Baltimore's baseball team. But…
Closeup of a singing Yellow Warbler perched in a tree

Chipes amarillos en un mundo cambiante

En primavera y verano, los chipes amarillos cantan desde lo alto de los árboles hasta las orillas de los arroyos. Si bien sus bellas canciones iluminan normalmente nuestros meses más vibrantes, también enfrentan retos inminentes. Las poblaciones de chipes amarillos se han adaptado…