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 Ariana Remmel

A Northern Saw-whet Owl's wing seen under UV light.

Glowing Feathers

When a Northern Saw-whet Owl spreads its wings, many birds can see something our human eyes can’t: the owl’s flight feathers glow with ultraviolet light. It’s invisible to humans without the help of a UV blacklight. While the glowing feathers on parrots might help them attract mates, the…
A Brown-capped Rosy-Finch perched on a stone against a snowy background.

Three Remarkable Rosy-Finches

Rosy-Finches are a family of alpine songbirds. Three species can be found in the US and Canada: Grey-Crowned Rosy-Finch, Black Rosy-Finch and Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (shown above). All wear pink on their bellies and wings. But spotting that namesake hue means trekking up some of the most…
A Western Cattle Egret in breeding plumage with wetlands in the background.

Christian Cooper, Cattle Egrets, and Cinema

Author Christian Cooper is never not birding — even at the movies. For season 8 of the Bring Birds Back, Christian shares the story of a bird out of place in the 2006 film Apocalypto. Listen to the full episode about birds on screen here and in your favorite podcast app.
A male Scarlet Tanager perched on a thick branch against a green background.

Birding 101: Bird Sound Vocabulary

Bird voices can vary tremendously. Learning to describe how a bird sounds will make it easier to figure out who’s singing. This episode shares a few common terms to start birding by ear.
A pair of male and female mallard ducks coming in for a landing in dry wetland vegetation.

Hunting and Conservation Go Hand in Hand

When waterfowl are in decline, hunters are some of the first people to sound the alarm — and fund their recovery. On the Bring Birds Back podcast, Ducks Unlimited project manager Jared Henson discusses the many ways that waterfowl hunters contribute both money and data towards wetland…
A Carolina Wren sings from a low perch.

Delightful Duets

While many songbirds are accomplished soloists, some of the bird world’s most impressive performances are actually duets. Escucha este episodio en español.
A flock of Yellow-billed Magpies drinking at a bird bath.

Yellow-billed Magpie

Yellow-billed Magpies are clever, colorful birds — and they’re only found in central California. Their hefty bodies are boldly patterned in black, white, and iridescent blue. Like their crow and jay cousins, these corvids are adventurous eaters that often forage on the ground in noisy…
A male Black-throated Green Warbler perched on a bare branch against a dull background.

Buzzy, Black and Yellow ... Birds!

Golden-cheeked Warblers, Black-throated Green Warblers, Townsend’s Warblers, and Hermit Warblers share similar songs and plumage. Though they all breed in different areas of North America, they can often be found flocking together on wintering grounds in Central America. Genetic studies…
A pair of Scarlet Macaws perch on a branch with their backs to the viewer, and their colorful wings outstretched

World Rainforest Day

Tropical rainforests are stunning places. Despite covering a small part of the Earth’s surface, they support half of the world’s biodiversity. The variety of lifeforms stands out visually in stunning color, and in sound through the strange and beautiful calls of birds. Today is World…
A Purple Martin flies up to a birdhouse mounted on a pole

Studying Climate Change by Watching Bird Nests

Organized by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and by Birds Canada, volunteers for Project NestWatch observe local nesting birds and track whether they’re successful in raising their young. Because the nest-watching volunteers monitor birds over a huge area, they cover way more ground than a…