About this episode
Kingbirds are robin-sized flycatchers that excel at plucking insects from the air. They’ll even tackle prey as big as cicadas. Finding naturally-camouflaged cicadas hidden among the leaves is hard work. But two species of kingbirds in Arizona found a shortcut — stealing them from cicada-killer wasps! The female wasps, nearly two inches long, paralyze cicadas and bring them to their burrows for their young to eat. The kingbirds have learned to ambush wasps carrying cicadas on the way back to their burrows.
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.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Get every episode summarized
Each time BirdNote Daily publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from BirdNote Daily
Arctic Dispatch: Sandpipers Sing at Teshekpuk Lake
BirdNote Daily
Wilson’s Warbler near Summer’s End
BirdNote Daily
Migration: Long, Short, and In-Between
BirdNote Daily
Arctic Dispatch: Long-tailed Ducks at Teshekpuk Lake
BirdNote Daily