Shows for Educators by Topic

You'll find BirdNote stories for students in the list below, ordered by topic with suggested K-12 grade level.

K+ for kindergarten and above
3+ for third grade and above
6+ for sixth grade and above

These are suggestions only. We encourage teachers to determine the appropriateness of each story for their students.

Baby Birds

K+ Baby Bald Eagles: It takes an eagle a long time to grow up!
K+ Baby Birds Move Out of the Nest: But they’re still pretty clueless and clumsy!
K+ How Nestlings Leave the Nest: From tiny steps to big leaps!
K+ Great Horned Owl – Hungry Young: Hungry.... and noisy, too!
K+ California Quail, Up and Running: “Precocial” chicks are up and away!
K+ Do Parrots Name Their Chicks? A different kind of “name tag”
K+ Chickadees Clean Up After the Youngsters: A simple solution ...
K+ Robins Raise a Brood - In a Hurry: A whirlwind of family activity, again and again
K+ Jacana - Lily-trotter: Those long toes are made for walkin’
3+ Sandgrouse – Desert Water Carriers: An incredible adaptation ...

Birds and People

K+ Highways as Habitat for Hawks: Accidental gifts from the age of the automobile
K+ A Building Manager Shows the Way: Lights Out protects birds and saves energy
3+ If It Weren’t For Birds: What would the world be like without birds?
3+ Purple Martins Change Their Habits: A shift in response to human influence
3+ Crows Recognize Individual Faces: The work of John Marzluff
3+ Finding Your Way Home: Birds convey important messages if we are attuned
6+ How Humans Affect Competition Among Birds: “A potent selective force on birds...”
6+ The Ten Commandments of Subirdia: Tips for a happy coexistence with birds
6+ Wetland Birds Thrive: Human action helps improve the world for birds!

Bird Songs and Calls

K+ Voices and Vocabularies - Great Horned Owls: Listen ...
K+ Singing Like a Bird and Feeling Good: Belt it out!
K+ Birds Talk, People Squawk! Sparky, the famous talking budgerigar!
K+ Silly Willow Ptarmigan: Hard not to smile when you hear this bird!
K+ Turkey Calling - Real or Unreal: Can you tell which is which?
K+ Saw-whet Owls Hoot and Hoot: They kept the neighbors up all night!
K+ Birds That Say Their Own Names: Sometimes they say it over and over!
K+ Laughing Kookaburra: It sounds like a jungle out there!
3+ Raven’s Love Song: These gruff birds have a softer side

Community Science

3+ Radar Ornithology with Dr. Cliff Mass: Millions of birds are on the move!
3+ Annual Great Backyard Bird Count: Who's out there?
3+ The COASST Program - Interview with Julia Parrish: Coastal observation ...
3+ Backyard Bird Science: You don't have to have a PhD to get involved ...
3+ Christmas Bird Count: Put on your parka and binoculars and go!

Eggs

K+ Egg Laying 101
K+ From Egg-Laying to Hatching and Beyond: Eggs are serious business
K+ How Many Eggs to Lay? One flicker laid 71 eggs in 73 days
K+ Walking on Eggshells: Just how fragile are they?
3+ The Secret Stash of Eggshells: She gets calcium from her legbones

Evolution

3+ Northern Hawk Owl: The only living member of its genus
3+ The Superbly Adapted Osprey: A species unique among raptors
3+ Woodpeckers and Forest Fires: What's the connection?
3+ How Evolution Works: Why some thrushes migrate twice the distance as others
6+ Suburbs, Juncos, and Evolution: Humans put birds under intense natural selection ...
6+ Birds Are Evolving Rapidly Today: Changes are occurring all around us!

Fun Bird Facts

K+   Where Birds Sleep: In nests? Not for long!
K+   Common Murres - Nature’s Laugh Track: Sounds ring from a sea cliff!
K+   Consider the Ostrich: Do they really stick their heads in the sand?
3+   Wishbones and Dinosaurs: The wishbone dates back more than 150 million years

Holidays

K+ Father Birds: Happy Father’s Day from BirdNote!
K+ Mother Birds: In honor of Mother’s Day!
K+ The Day of the Turkey: Happy Thanksgiving from BirdNote!
K+ How the Turkey Got Its Name
K+ Valentine Lovebirds: A symbol of enduring love...
3+ Christmas Bird Count for Kids - with Tom Rusert: Make this a family tradition!
6+ Pirates and Parrots: Ahoy, Matey! September 19 is Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Hummingbirds

K+ A Rufous in the Rain: Rain or shine, baby hummingbirds need to eat!
K+ Ruby-throated Hummingbird: The hummingbird of the eastern states is back!
K+ Why a Gorget Glitters: Like a tiny knight in shining armor!
K+ Decibels per Gram: Sometimes the smaller the bird, the bigger the voice
K+ Spider Silk - Duct Tape for Birds Nests: A flexible, resilient material ...
3+ Western Hummingbirds - East: Why is this colorful explosion happening now?
3+ Banding Hummingbirds: Delicate work!
3+ Hummingbird Migration Myths: On the wings of a goose?
3+ Alex Chadwick in Big Bend: Banding Hummingbirds
6+ Hummingbirds by a Hair: A striking image

Humor

K+ Big Bird - America’s Favorite Flightless Bird: Everyone knows this bird’s song
K+ The Crow and the Gull: What’s that crafty bird up to?
K+ Singing Like a Bird and Feeling Good: Belt it out!
K+ Angry Birds: What are these birds, and why are they so angry?
K+ Waxwing Nightlight: Do Bohemian Waxwings glow in the dark?
K+ Bird Songs Go to Hollywood: What are all those exotic sounds?
K+ Yogi Berra’s Wit and Wisdom: “Little things are big”
K+ “You Need a Mister!” A water mister, that is!
K+ Alex Chadwick in Big Bend - The Roadrunner
K+ The Bushtit vs. Elastic: One determined little bird!
3+ Crows and Chips: This crow couldn’t eat just one!
3+ Precious Poop: Wars were fought over it!
3+ Silly Willow Ptarmigan: Hard not to smile when you hear this bird!
3+ Acorn Woodpecker: The true inspiration for Woody!
6+ Birds on the Menu: Order up! No “eating like a bird” at this diner!
6+ Donald Duck: The duck in the sailor suit
6+ Tweety Bird: Twitiavis superciliosis

Migration

K+ Migration: Innate or Learned? How do these birds know where to go?
3+ Migration - Long, Short and In-Between: And who flies the farthest?
3+ Hummingbird Migration Myths: On the wings of a goose?
3+ Migration to the New World: Perhaps birds lead the First Americans to a new land...
6+ How Young Birds Migrate: Young sandpipers find their way on their own!
6+ How Shorebirds Find Their Way: One of the wonders of migration!
6+ Nocturnal Migration of Songbirds: Hear the sounds overhead?
6+ Navigating by Earth's Magnetic Field: How do they know where to go?
6+ Shorebirds - Masters of Long-Distance Migration: The same routes, year after year
6+ Long-Distance Migration Takes Fuel and Water: It’s a balancing act
6+ Long-Distance Champions of Migration : Arctic Terns defend their title!

Myths

K+ Why the Crow Is Black
K+ Raven and the Sun, A Myth: How Raven stole the sun and placed it in the sky
K+ How Raven Made the Tide: Those clever ravens!
K+ Raven and the Winding River: No surprise - the raven gets his way!
K+ The Crane Wife: The sad tale of a Japanese crane . . .
3+ The Folklore of Owls
3+ Myth of the Thunderbird: What kind of bird was it, exactly? ...
3+ Why Robin Has a Red Breast: According to the Suquamish myth...
3+ How the Steller's Jay Got Its Crest: Northwest Coastal native story
3+ The Nightingale: A beautiful song in the green wood
6+ Cygnus the Swan: From Greek mythology

Nests

K+ Rufous Hummingbirds’ Marvelous Nest: The secret is . . . spider webs!
K+ Are Birds Nests Reused? It depends on the species
K+ Heron Nest - Start with One Stick: Construction begins late winter ...
K+ Raptor Breeding: Why do they nest so early?
K+ Tree Swallows and Feathers: Is it play? Probably competition!
K+ Woodpeckers Carve Out Roost Cavities: Excavation time - again!
K+ Nest Cavities - Book Early: Competition is fierce!
K+ Choosing Where to Nest: Location, location, location!
3+ Trogons Nest with Wasps: A nest few predators would dare disturb!
3+ Woodpeckers as Keystone Species: How woodpeckers benefit many other birds
3+ Birds, Nests, and Camouflage: Blending in to the environment ...
3+ The Great Horned Owl Nest: What’s happening in March?
3+ Great Horned Owls Nest: Why is it these owls nest in winter?

Weather

K+ Superstorm Sandy's Effects on Birds and Habitat: How do birds fare?
K+ Hurricanes and Birds: Given time, bird populations are resilient!
K+ Burrowing Snowbirds: Turns out snow is a good insulator
K+ Ospreys Weather the Storm: How can birds survive such severe weather?
3+ White Ibis’s Tricky Nesting Schedule: It all depends on the weather!
6+ A Northern Gannet Meets Superstorm Sandy: A bird with a transmitter!

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