Tweet of the Day

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Black Drongo Oct 09, 2014

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Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.

Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the black drongo of Southern Asia. What looks a like a small crow crossed with a flycatcher is riding a cow's back in an Indian village. Black drongos are slightly smaller than European starlings, but with a much longer tail. They feed mainly on large insects: dragonflies, bees, moths and grasshoppers which they will pluck from the ground as well pursuing them in aerial sallies. Although small, these birds are famous for being fearless and will attack and dive-bomb almost any other bird, even birds of prey, which enter their territories. This aggressive behaviour has earned them the name "King Crow" and in Hindi their name is Kotwal - the policeman.

Producer : Andrew Dawes

Variable Pitohui Oct 08, 2014

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Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world. Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the poisonous variable pitohui from New Guinea. This jay sized, black-and-tan bird hides a dark secret. Named for their voice, pitohui is a representation of their song and 'variable' refers to their plumage colour which varies across their range. What is striking about this bird is that it is poisonous: its skin and feathers contain powerful neurotoxic alkaloids similar to those of South American poison-dart frogs. For the pitohui, this chemical defence is unlikely to be fatal to predators which prey on them; rather it discourages further attacks. People who've handled have suffered burning sensations in the mouth, numbness in fingers and bouts of sneezing. It is not recommended.

Producer : Andrew Dawes

Andean Cock-of-the-Rock Oct 07, 2014

Show notes

Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.

Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the Andean Cock-of-the-rock from Peru. Deep in a cloud forest a female awaits the display of her displaying males. Gathered in front of her several head-bobbing wing-waving males, these males are spectacularly dazzling; a vibrant orange head and body, with black wings and tails, yellow staring eyes, and ostentatious fan-shaped crests which can almost obscure their beaks. Male cock-of-the rocks gather at communal leks, and their performances include jumping between branches and bowing at each other whilst all the time calling loudly. Yet, for all the males' prancing and posturing, it is the female who's in control. Aware that the most dominant and fittest males will be nearest the centre of the lekking arena, it's here that she focuses her attention.

Producer : Andrew Dawes

Hawaiian Crow Oct 06, 2014

Show notes

Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.

Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the now extinct in the wild Hawaiian Crow. It's hard to imagine any crow becoming endangered, but only a hundred or so the formerly widespread Hawaiian crow survive and all of them in captivity. Also known by its Hawaiian name 'Alala' these sooty black brown crows produce a chorus of caws and screeches. Early settlers in the Hawaiian archipelago reduced their numbers, leaving the remaining populations vulnerable to introduced predators; feral pigs further reduced the fruit-laden understory plants favoured by the crow. The species was last seen in the wild in 2002. All may not be lost. A captive breeding programme overseen by San Diego Zoo is hoping to reintroduce the crows into the wild, so perhaps the Hawaiian forests will once again resound with their calls.

Swainson's Hawk Oct 03, 2014

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Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world. Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the North American Swainson's hawk. About the size of the European buzzard, Swainson's hawks are dark-brown birds, rusty brown on the chest and white on the belly, and a familiar sight across open farmland and prairies of western North America where they soar effortlessly in search of prey. Most winter in South America, this epic round-trip of around 20,000 kilometres is probably the longest regular migration made by any American bird of prey. When they reach their wintering grounds they switch diet. In North America they feed mainly on mammals, but in South America, they gather in flocks to hunt dragonflies and grasshoppers in the vast pampas plains.

Producer : Andrew Dawes

Shoebill Oct 02, 2014

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Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world. Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the mysterious shoebill of Uganda. Reaching almost one and a quarter metres in height and looking like a hefty-looking blue-grey stork, ornithologists remain unsure which birds are their closest relatives. As its name suggests, the Shoebill's most outstanding feature, is its enormous clog-shaped bill. Up to 20cm long, half as wide and ending in a nail-like hook. They live in central and east African swamps where they feed on reptiles, fish, amphibians and even young crocodiles. Their bill is also useful in the baking heat of the African sun, when the adults scoop up beak-fulls of water and shower it over their chicks to help them keep cool.

Producer : Andrew Dawes

Brown Kiwi Oct 01, 2014

Show notes

Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.

Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the New Zealand brown kiwi. A piercing wail can be heard in a forest at night. A brown kiwi is calling. Only found in New Zealand, kiwi are flightless birds and the brown kiwi, which is about the size of a domestic chicken, lays an egg weighing as much as a quarter of its own bodyweight – proportionally; the largest egg for its size of any bird. More mammal like than birds; their tiny eyes are of little use, but they have an excellent sense of smell, using their nostrils located unusually for birds near the end of the bill. Held in great affection, brown kiwi appear on coins, stamps and coats-of- arms as well as providing a nick-name for New Zealand's national rugby team.

Producer: Andrew Dawes

African Jacana Sep 30, 2014

Show notes

Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world. Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the wetland loving African Jacana. Being rich chestnut coloured above, with black heads, white throats, each has a patch of blue skin above the bill, known as a shield, Jacanas are waders with very long slender toes which allow them to walk on floating plants giving them the name lily-trotters. Widespread in wet places south of the Sahara desert they may become nomadic moving between wetlands as seasonal water levels change. They have an unusual mating system. Females mate with several males, but leave their partners to build the nest, incubate the eggs and bring up the chicks. With up to 3 or 4 mates rearing her different broods, her strategy is to produce the maximum number of young lily-trotters each year.

Producer : Andrew Dawes

African Southern Ground Hornbill Sep 29, 2014

Show notes

Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.

Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the African southern ground hornbill. Ground hornbills live in south and south east Africa. They're glossy black birds, as big as turkeys with huge downward-curving bills. The bird produces a deep booming sound that reverberates over long distances, sometimes as much as 5 kilometres, across its grassy habitat. Preferring to walk rather than fly, they strut about in the long grass, searching for prey. Snakes are a favourite: even deadly puff adders are no match for the birds' bludgeoning beaks.

Emperor Penguin Sep 26, 2014

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Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world. Sir David Attenborough presents the emperor penguin from the Antarctic Peninsula. With temperatures down to minus 50oC, midwinter blizzards scouring one of the most inhospitable places on the planet, this is not an obvious location for raising young. Yet at the heart of this landscape, the world's largest penguin, the emperor, stands guard over their young. Tightly-packed colonies of hundreds or sometimes thousands of birds huddle together, to conserve heat. The male broods the single egg on his feet, protected under folds of bare abdominal skin. Females travel up to 100km from the colony in search of food, using a technique called tobogganing which is far more efficient than walking on their short legs. Harsh though the landscape is in midwinter, all this activity is co-ordinated to allow the young to fledge into the relatively warmth of an Antarctic summer.

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