#birds
23 segments tagged with birds on Living on Earth.
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May 22, 2026:
Spring "Bursts" Forth
Springtime in the northern hemisphere brings many migrating birds returning from their winter havens, in a series of slowly breaking waves that sweep up from the south to the north. BirdNote’s Mary McCann reports.
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March 27, 2026:
BirdNote®: Meet the Tiniest Owl in the World
At just six inches tall, the desert-dwelling Elf Owl is the smallest known species of owl in the world. As BirdNote®’s Michael Stein reports, despite its tiny stature the Elf Owl is a fierce predator of crickets, scorpions, and mice.
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March 06, 2026:
BirdNote®: The Cuban Tody, A Caribbean Jewel
A “must-see” bird for anyone traveling in the West Indies, the Cuban Tody is a tiny bird with a lot of personality. In this week’s BirdNote®, Michael Stein introduces us to these striking Cuban natives.
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February 27, 2026:
Thirsty Hummingbirds
Hummingbirds are migrating north after a hot, dry winter in sunny Mexico, Central America or the Caribbean. And they’re ready for a drink. BirdNote®’s Mary McCann describes how you can help these thirsty birds by hanging a hummingbird feeder filled with the right kind of nectar.
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February 13, 2026:
BirdNote®: Common Yellowthroat
Common Yellowthroats, one of the most abundant warblers in North America, thrive in places that pickier warblers pass over. BirdNote®’s Ariana Remmel reports that they’re easy to find in urban areas, marshes, overgrown fields and more.
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January 30, 2026:
Punxsutawney Phil and Earlier Springtimes
While Punxsutawney Phil of Groundhog Day correctly predicts when spring will come only around 40% of the time, he has been predicting earlier springs more often in recent decades, trending with the reality of climate change.
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December 12, 2025:
The Unexpected"- Mallards Diving
Living on Earth’s Explorer-in-Residence, Mark Seth Lender provides a refuge for hungry ducks during hunting season. He also observed something remarkable: these “dabbling” ducks have learned to dive for the seed he offers them.
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October 17, 2025:
BirdNote®: Melanin Makes Feathers Stronger
Birds as different as gulls, pelicans, storks, and flamingos all have black-tipped wings. These flight feathers are rich in a pigment called melanin. BirdNote®’s Michael Stein reports that melanin doesn’t just provide color – it also helps make feathers stronger.
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October 10, 2025:
Science Note: Clever Cockatoos use Drinking Fountains
After observing sulfur-crested cockatoos using a drinking fountain, Australian researchers reported that most of the local population of cockatoos attempted to use the fountains, and around half were successful. Living on Earth’s Don Lyman reports on the research findings and hypotheses for why these clever cockatoos have developed this habit.
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October 03, 2025:
BirdNote®: Black Swifts Reach for the Moon
There are all sorts of ways that life on Earth takes advantage of the regular cycles of the moon, from horseshoe crabs and grunion fish that lay their eggs during the high tides of a full moon to corals that spawn en masse in the days afterwards. Michael Stein reports for BirdNote® on how black swifts are also synced to lunar cycles and fly higher during the full moon.
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September 12, 2025:
BirdNote®: The Auspicious Chime of the Bare-throated Bellbird
The exceptionally loud, metallic call of the Bare-throated Bellbird can be heard almost a mile away. BirdNote®’s Nick Bayard reports that the Bare-throated Bellbird is Paraguay’s national bird and has inspired Paraguayan harp music.
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September 05, 2025:
Birdnote®: Poisonous Birds
Nature has been tinkering with biology and chemistry for as long as life has existed on this planet. And as BirdNote®’s Michael Stein reports, some species have evolved to make use of special chemical weapons – a.k.a., poison.
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May 30, 2025:
Listening on Earth: California Coast and Crows
This week, sounds sent in by Living on Earth listeners include the crashing waves at Point Lobos near Monterey Bay on the California coast, and a crow in downtown San Francisco.
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May 16, 2025:
Birdnote®: Toucan - Tropical Icon
In the Peruvian Amazon not far from where Pope Leo XIV lived for many years, you can find a most distinctive bird with a comically huge bill. BirdNote’s Mary McCann reports on the toucan, a tropical icon.
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May 16, 2025:
Oystercatchers Bounce Back
The American oystercatcher is a conservation success story thanks in part to efforts to educate the public and protect their ground nests from unaware beachgoers. Host Aynsley O’Neill shares with Host Steve Curwood the story of how conservationists worked together to boost the numbers of this charismatic species.
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May 16, 2025:
Countermeasures"- Dunlin
On the placid saltpans of Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in coastal Massachusetts, the shorebirds known as dunlin are feeding. Then, just like that, they rise and fly in almost perfect unison to evade an intruder, Living on Earth’s Explorer-in-Residence Mark Seth Lender reports.
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May 02, 2025:
Listener Postcards
We asked you, our listeners, to submit snippets of the sounds around you. Here are a couple more of your submissions.
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April 11, 2025:
Listening on Earth
At Living on Earth we encourage listeners to share glimpses of their world through audio recording. We feature a collage of different audio recordings from across the country.
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April 04, 2025:
Listening on Earth: Cardinal and Robin
Two of the most common birdsongs of the New England springtime are those of cardinals and robins. Host Jenni Doering shares a snippet of a recording from her neighborhood and invites listeners to send in their own audio postcards.
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April 04, 2025:
What I Want to Believe About the Vireos
The songbirds called vireos have increased in number by more than 50 percent in recent decades, while birds overall are struggling. That was the inspiration for Poet Laureate of Mississippi Catherine Pierce’s poem, “What I Want to Believe About the Vireos.” She joins Host Jenni Doering to share and discuss.
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February 07, 2025:
BirdNote®: City Owls
Some owls, like Barred Owls and Great Horned Owls, are happy to call our cities home. There’s plenty of rats and squirrels to eat, and BirdNote’s Michael Stein offers some tips on how to spot these urban owls.
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January 31, 2025:
Birdnote®: Goldeneyes and Whistling Wings
On a still winter afternoon, you may hear Common Goldeneyes flying low across the water. As Ernest Hemingway wrote, their wings make the sound of ripping silk. BirdNote®’s Michael Stein reports.
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January 17, 2025:
BirdNote®: Waxwing Nightlight
Waxwings were once believed to glow in the dark, and Pliny the Elder reported that their feathers were said to “shine like flames” in the dark forests of central Europe. That is, until one sixteenth-century Italian birder decided to take a closer look, says BirdNote®’s Mary McCann.
