Birds have many ways of showing affection for their partners. One way is allopreening, where a bird uses its bill to groom a mate, twirling each individual feather in its beak (like these Macaws). Other birds present their partners with gifts like moss or sticks. A female Arabian Babbler might reciprocate with a gift of her own — or just cut to the chase and lead her suitor to a rendezvous spot in the shrubbery.
More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.
Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks.
BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible.
David Shepard’s Aloha Shirts
Indigo Bunting - Bird of the Ecotone
Emily Raboteau on New York City's Bird Murals
Migrations: Tiny Bird, Epic Journey
The African American Heritage Water Trail
Deja Perkins on Gaps in Bird Observations
Spark Bird: Dara Wilson and the Blue-gray Tanager
The Robin Rescue
What the Niagara River Means to Birds and People
If Someone Calls You 'Birdbrain,' Say Thanks
Introducing Black Birders Week 2024
Celebrating Female Bird DayEducating people on female bird ID.
Saving Snags for Red-headed Woodpeckers
Night Voices – Nightjars
BirdNoir: The Catbird That Wasn't
From Egg-laying to Hatching and Beyond
Singing Under Streetlights
Seabirds Drink Salt Water
Habitat Defined
The Noisy Willet
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Sasquatch Chronicles
Radiolab
The Confessionals
Sasquatch Odyssey
Science Friday