The Northern Parula is a tiny bird with a big personality. These colorful warblers spend their days in search of tasty insects high up in the forest canopy of woodlands in North America. To get a good look, first try listening for their unmistakable vocal feats!

This episode is sponsored by Gary and Liz Kennedy Ketcheson, who are grateful to BirdNote for introducing us to wonderful stories about birds from around the world, like the beautiful Northern Parula.

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The feathers of a bird are, for their weight, among the strongest structures in the world. The bones of this Magnificent Frigatebird weigh less than its feathers! To further reduce weight while maintaining strength, many bird bones are fused. In addition, the pectoral and pelvic girdles and ribs are joined to make a rigid box that supports those long wings, just as the wings support the bird.

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In summer, the thick tangles of streamside vegetation in many canyons echo with an uncanny sound — the Yellow-breasted Chat. You may find it in willow thickets, brushy tangles, and other dense, understory habitats, usually at low to medium elevations around streams. The male Yellow-breasted Chat may sing all night during breeding season. The chat winters in Mexico and Central America.

Support for this episode is provided by Sarah Merner and Craig McKibben from Seattle, Washington, and generous listeners around the world.

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.

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Bird song caught the ear of Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi. And he even named a 1729 flute concerto for a bird — the goldfinch. The source of inspiration for Vivaldi's Goldfinch concerto, or Il Gardellino, was the European Goldfinch, a tiny bird found throughout much of Europe, where it frequents gardens and roadsides. No wonder Vivaldi found the goldfinch irresistible.

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Many birds have common names that refer to their dominant body color, like the Gray Catbird. Yet some species of gray birds received more colorful descriptors than others. Silvered, plumbeous, glaucous, and slate are just some of the bird world’s many shades of gray!

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In 1907, a German pharmacist named Julius Neubronner invented the pigeon camera. It was a small camera strapped to a pigeon’s breast — like a photographic baby-bjorn. A timer let the camera take multiple snapshots throughout the bird’s flight. This allowed for some of the earliest aerial photography, and even seemed promising for military reconnaissance.

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In this episode, environmental educator and nature enthusiast Nicole Jackson tells the story of an unexpected backyard birding experience when she visited her mom in 2021. When she arrived, Nicole saw typical birds such as robins and jays, but then saw something less common: a brightly colored Blackburnian Warbler! Nicole’s mom asked what she was looking at, and Nicole showed her pictures of all the nearby birds on her phone. Nicole helped her mom create an account on Merlin Bird ID and document her first bird sighting.

This week is Black Birders Week. Learn how to participate in Black Birders Week here and by following #BlackBirdersWeek on social media.

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Deja Perkins, an urban ecologist and co-organizer of Black Birders Week, remembers seeing House Sparrows all over Chicago as a kid. These little brown birds are native to Eurasia and North Africa, but were forced to adapt to many places around the world where they were introduced. Though many people consider House Sparrows to be urban pests, Deja admires them and draws parallels between their natural history and the story of her own ancestors.

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.

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