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!
© Kent McFarland
The Bicknell’s Thrush is known for scarcity… and promiscuity. Unlike most songbirds, the female thrush establishes a territory and then mates with males that happen by. She then lays eggs that have been fertilized by multiple different males. Many of those males will stick around and help feed the young, even if they are not their own. Each year, these little songbirds make the long journey from the Caribbean Islands to the forests of the northeastern coasts of North America.
Today’s show brought to you by the Bobolink Foundation.
BirdNote®
Bicknell’s Thrush
By Bryan Pfeiffer
This is BirdNote.
At a mountain summit in Vermont, among gnarled and stunted spruce and fir, dawn breaks with this unique sound...
[Bicknell’s Thrush ML# 77213 1:12 – 1:15 and 2:00 – 2:03]
...the swirling serenade of a Bicknell’s Thrush.
Corduroy-brown above and pale below, with messy spots on its breast, the thrush isn’t really known for its good looks. It’s known for scarcity… and promiscuity.
[Bicknell’s Thrush ML# 77213 0:06 – 0:12]
Unlike most songbirds, the female thrush establishes a territory and then mates with males that happen by. She then lays eggs that have been fertilized by multiple different males. Many of those males will stick around and help feed the young, even if they are not their own.
Bicknell’s Thrushes are exceedingly rare. And they face an uncertain future with climate change and habitat loss. Yet, each year, this little songbird makes the long journey from the Caribbean Islands to the forests of the northeastern coasts of North America to make a call that a few of us may be lucky enough to hear in person.
[Bicknell’s Thrush ML# 77213 1:12 – 1:15 and 2:00 – 2:03]
For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein.
[Bicknell’s Thrush ML# 77213 1:18 – 1:20]
Today’s show brought to you by the Bobolink Foundation. Find us at BirdNote.org.
###
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Sallie Bodie
Editor: Ashley Ahearn
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. ML77213 BITH Recordist C Marantz
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2020 BirdNote August 2020 Narrator: Michael Stein
ID# BITH-01-2020-08-25 BITH-01
Links:
https://mountainbirds.vtecostudies.org/birds/bicknells-thrush/
· https://vtecostudies.org/projects/mountains/international-bicknells-thr…
·
Bryan Pfeiffer
Writer