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How the Steller's Jay Got Its Crest: Click here

The Makahs tell a story about how the bird we know as the Steller’s Jay — the bird the Makahs call Kwish-kwishee— got its crest. The mink, Kwahtie, tried to shoot his mother, the jay, with an arrow but missed. Her crest is ruffled to this day. Learn more about the Steller’s Jay at BirdWeb.org. Order your Birds of Birdnote 2010 calendar today!

Bird Feeders and Whaling Ships: Click here

In the opening lines of Moby Dick, the narrator, Ishmael, confesses to “a damp, drizzly November in my soul.” One sure way to brighten November’s damp and drizzly mood is to welcome birds into your yard with birdfeeders. Hang suet in a wire cage to attract a Northern Flicker like this one. Just add water, and you’re all set. Learn how to invite birds to your yard at Cornell's AllAboutBirds. Sign up for the BirdNote podcast!

Birds and Dinosaurs: Click here

What is the connection between the blood-curdling roar of a Tyrannosaurus rex and the gentle song of a robin? A recent bonanza of fossils has intensified debate over how contemporary birds are linked to the extinct dinosaurs. The evidence and theories are complex. Many experts now believe that today’s birds are the surviving dinosaurs, a radical departure from the long-held view that both sprang from much earlier reptilian ancestors. Anchiornis huxleyi is the latest. Learn more at The Daily Mail.

Former Abundance: Click here

On a November day in the late 1960s, flying in a light plane along the Mississippi River, the eminent waterfowl biologist Frank Bellrose came upon a raft of 450,000 Lesser Scaups that stretched for miles. Protection, restoration, and enhancement of habitats used during all seasons are under way to enable the population of ducks—like these Lesser Scaups—to rebound. Learn more about the State of the Birds at Audubon.org.

Bald Eagles Hunt in Tandem: Click here

A Bald Eagle dives suddenly toward the water, huge wings canted, talons outstretched. A merganser floating on the bay is its intended prey, but the duck dives before the eagle can strike. But a second eagle swoops down. After five minutes of repeated passes, one of the eagles plucks the merganser from the water, and the eagles share the results of their cooperative hunting. To see more photos of eagles, visit PaulBannick.com.

American Wigeon: Click here

The American Wigeon is a grazer. Its bill is narrow, with a pointed tip like that of a goose. When feeding on water plants, a wigeon grabs a leaf and rips it off with its strong bill, rather than using the straining apparatus typical of dabbling ducks. Take a field trip with your local Audubon and see if you can spot a wigeon. Start here. Buy your 2010 Birds of BirdNote calendar today!

The Lowly Starling: Click here

Much maligned as a pest and cursed by many as an “invasive species,” the European Starling has had many fans, too. Eugene Schieffelin introduced about 50 pairs into the United States in the 1890s. And Rachel Carson noted that the starling carries “more than 100 loads of destructive insects per day to his screaming offspring.'' No less a figure than Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart kept a pet starling and wrote a poem about it when it died. Read the poem.

Bats - Fear or Appreciation: Click here

Bats.... creatures to regard with superstition and fear? On summer evenings, bats put on an aerial display while eating hundreds of mosquitoes. Kent Woodruff of the US Fish and Wildlife Service spearheaded a project to save Townsend’s Big-eared bats. They preserved an old cabin that the bats had used as a nursery. Then they built an almost identical -- but permanent -- structure nearby, and the bats moved in! Learn more in a BirdNote story. Happy Halloween!

Bats - Fear or Appreciation: Click here

The Amazing, Head-turning Owl: Click here

An owl’s seeming ability to rotate its head in a complete circle is downright eerie. An owl’s apparent head rotation is part illusion, part structural design. Because its eyes are fixed in their sockets, it must rotate its neck to look around. It can actually rotate its head about 270 degrees—a marvelous anatomical feat. Learn more about this Eastern Screech-Owl at Cornell's AllAboutBirds. Would you like to become a BirdNote benefactor? Start here.

Rufous-collared Sparrow - Tico-Tico: Click here

The song Tico-Tico no Fubá, like Carmen Miranda, came to us from Brazil. Believe it or not, the song is about a bird. The Portuguese lyrics tell the story of the tico-tico, a local name for the Rufous-collared Sparrow. Like so many birds, tico-tico was named for its song. In the song, the bird keeps coming back to the singer’s yard to dine on her cornmeal, piled in a backyard granary. Tico-tico loves her cornmeal. Learn more at FireflyForest.net.

Responsible Birdfeeding: Click here

A clean feeder is a life-and-death matter to some birds. Pine Siskins are especially prone to salmonellosis, a bacterial disease. To protect the birds at your feeder, clean it at least once a week, more often if necessary. Rake the ground underneath, too. Learn more about feeding backyard birds at Cornell's AllAboutBirds. To receive photos of the birds featured in the week to come, sign up for Weekly Preview.

Why the Crow Is Black: Click here

Out of the 810 species of North American birds, only two are completely black: the American Crow and the Common Raven. Here’s a story that explains why the crow is black, according to Native American tradition. When Crow came into the world, he wore all the colors of the rainbow, but the other animals and birds were black. To look more like them, Crow shook himself until all the colors flew out and landed on all the other birds and animals. The only color left on Crow was black, and he has stayed black to this day. Sign up for the BirdNote podcast!

Shift Change - Swallows to Bats: Click here

As darkness grows, bats—like this western long-eared bat—replace swallows in the business of catching flying insects. The night shift has come on duty. Both swallows and bats consume vast quantities of insects. Both are critical components of healthy environments. But the way they fly is strikingly different. Learn more at AnimalDiversityWeb. Learn about native plants that attract bats at BatConservation.org. Thanks to Michael Durham of OregonWild for this composite photo. (Click Enlarge under photo)

Paul Bannick - Owls and Woodpeckers: Click here

Photographer and naturalist Paul Bannick, whose photos appear frequently on this website, has spent a lot of time observing woodpeckers and owls, including this Great Horned Owl. Paul notes: “Woodpeckers are called ‘keystone’ species…a species which alters its habitat to the benefit of other species...” Visit PaulBannick.com to see more of Paul's photos. Learn more about his book, The Owl and the Woodpecker: Encounters with North America’s Iconic Birds.

Birders and their Special Places: Click here

Some birders specialize in a particular species. Others are drawn to a special place. Michael Hobbs took note when a Lazuli Bunting (like this one) turned up at Marymoor Park, an unusual sighting for Western Washington. Connie Sidles knows when to expect the American Pipit at the Union Bay Natural Area. BirdNote celebrates those who keep watch over such special places—and share their knowledge with others. To learn more about special birding places in Washington, visit BirdWeb.

Tropical Wake-up Call: Click here

If you lived along the forest’s edge in Central Americ a, every morning might begin with a cacophony of rhythmic guffaws, whistles, screeches, and screams. Plain Chachalacas and Great Kiskadees —like this one—join in the chorus. View a series of photos of the Plain Chachalaca taken by Texan Greg Lavaty. Travel near and far with Audubon — Find out how. Or find your local Audubon chapter and sign up for a field trip.

Cove Island Wildlife Sanctuary: Click here

For decades, Cove Island in Stamford, Connecticut, on the shore of Long Island Sound, was a dumping ground for construction debris. Today, it’s Cove Island Wildlife Sanctuary, an oasis for birds (like this Bonaparte’s Gull) and other wildlife, as well as for humans. Thanks go to Mike Moccio and Patrick Dugan, committed individuals who made a difference. Visit your local Audubon chapter or other environmental advocacy organization, and find out what you can do. Good luck — and thanks!

Bird's Eye View II: Click here

Some birds, like this Red-tailed Hawk, possess amazingly highly developed eyesight. Just what makes birds’ eyes so special, their eyesight so remarkable? It has to do with the muscles that give them an astonishing ability to focus and to change focus. Birds have muscles that carry out both jobs, plus other muscles that change the shape of the cornea, too. And birds have exceptionally large eyes located on the sides of their heads, so they have a bird’s eye view of almost all of their surroundings, almost all the time. Learn more at StanfordBirds.

Swallows and Mud - A Myth?: Click here

The swallows that make mud nests in spring and catch flying insects all summer are now far south in Mexico, and Central and South America. It’s only as recently as the end of the nineteenth century that ornithologists agreed that swallows, including this Cliff Swallow, migrate. Many formerly believed that swallows and swifts spent the winter hibernating in mud, awakening each spring to dart through the skies again. For more about these small, sleek fliers, visit Cornell's AllAboutBirds.