• Outdoor Radio: Being a Bird Brain May Not Be Bad

    Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) carrying a seed. / © K.P. McFarland

    Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) carrying a seed. / © K.P. McFarland

    This is the time of year when Black-capped Chickadees congregate at bird feeders, making their distinctive sound. These affable little birds are stashing away thousands of seeds for the winter. This month on Outdoor Radio, biologists Sara Zahendra and Kent McFarland are at McFarland’s feeder in Woodstock. They explain the unique adaptation that allows these birds to remember where they hide all those seeds. We’ll also learn about the hierarchy of Chickadee flocks and how to attract them to you when you’re out in the woods.

    Listen to the show

    For more information on Black-capped Chickadees, check out these sites:

    For more about bird brains:

    Outdoor Radio is produced in collaboration with the Vermont Center for Ecostudies. The program is recorded and produced by VPR’s Chief Production Engineer Chris Albertine.

    Black-capped Chickadee pecking through the shell of a black sunflower seed. / © K.P. McFarland

    Black-capped Chickadee pecking through the shell of a black sunflower seed. / © K.P. McFarland

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    Comments (2)

    1. Gretchen McFarland says:

      Wonderful talk! I learned a lot about black-caped chickadees. Kent and Sara make the listener feel like you are right beside them watching the birds! Thanks.

    2. Great job Sara and Kent. It was fun hearing the results of all that hyppocampus research.

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