BirdNote; Does a Robin Hear Its Worm
- Transcript
BirdNote®
Does a Robin Hear Its Worm?
Written by Bob Sundstrom
This is BirdNote.
[American Robin call]
As a robin hops across a lawn or garden, it cocks its head to one side and then the other. A moment later, it jabs its yellow beak to the earth and comes up with an earthworm.
[American Robin call, https://search.macaulaylibrary.org/catalog?taxonCode=amerob&behaviors=c…, 0.09-.10]
How did the robin know a worm was in that exact spot? Did it see the worm or hear it? Smell it? Or sense its movements through its feet?
[American Robin call, http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/133356, 0.41-.45]
Experiments with captive robins first determined the birds weren’t smelling worms or sensing their vibrations. So the birds must have been seeing or hearing them, right? To learn more, researchers buried worms in soil in a tray. They covered the soil with a thin but opaque sheet of cardboard, followed by more soil, making it impossible for a robin to see the worms. Still, the robin effectively found the worms!
[American Robin call, https://search.macaulaylibrary.org/catalog?taxonCode=amerob&behaviors=c…, 0.09-.10]
The scientists concluded that robins are successfully listening for their prey, even if they can’t see, smell or feel it. [American Robin song, http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/168300, 0.7-.11]
For BirdNote, I’m Mary McCann.
[American Robin song, http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/168300, 0.7-.11]
If you ever miss a BirdNote, you can always get the latest episode. Just tell your smart speaker, “Play the podcast BirdNote.” Learn more on our website, BirdNote.org.
###
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Sallie Bodie
Editor: Ashley Ahearn
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. ML133356 AMRO Recordist G Keller, 0:05 - 1:10. ML168300 AMRO Recordist W Hershberger, 1:10 - end.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2020 BirdNote August 2020 Narrator: Mary McCann
ID# AMRO-18-2020-08-20 AMRO-18
Source: http://web2.uwindsor.ca/courses/biology/dmennill/360/article.pdf
http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=13-P13-00018&segmentID…
https://www.lib.montana.edu/acoustic-atlas/acoustic-atlas-blog/posts/ca…
- Series
- BirdNote
- Episode
- Does a Robin Hear Its Worm
- Producing Organization
- BirdNote
- Contributing Organization
- BirdNote (Seattle, Washington)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip-5e5f825d97e
If you have more information about this item than what is given here, or if you have concerns about this record, we want to know! Contact us, indicating the AAPB ID (cpb-aacip-5e5f825d97e).
- Description
- Episode Description
- How does a robin know a worm is in one exact spot? Does it see the worm or hear it? Smell it? Sense its movements through its feet? To find the answer, researchers buried worms in soil in a tray. They covered the soil with a thin but opaque sheet of cardboard, followed by more soil, so the robin couldn’t see the worms. Still, the robin found them with ease. The scientists concluded the birds are listening for their prey. There’s always more to learn about birds! If you ever miss a BirdNote, you can always get the latest episode. Just tell your smart speaker, “Play the podcast BirdNote.”
- Created Date
- 2020-08-20
- Asset type
- Episode
- Topics
- Science
- Subjects
- Birds
- Rights
- Sounds for BirdNote stories were provided by the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Xeno-Canto, Martyn Stewart, Chris Peterson, John Kessler, and others. Where music was used, fair use was taken into consideration. Individual credits are found at the bottom of each transcript.
- Media type
- Sound
- Duration
- 00:01:45.195
- Credits
-
-
:
Producing Organization: BirdNote
Writer: Sundstrom, Bob
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
BirdNote
Identifier: cpb-aacip-124d53b662f (Filename)
Format: Zip Drive
Generation: Master
Duration: 00:01:45
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- Citations
- Chicago: “BirdNote; Does a Robin Hear Its Worm,” 2020-08-20, BirdNote, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed April 26, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-5e5f825d97e.
- MLA: “BirdNote; Does a Robin Hear Its Worm.” 2020-08-20. BirdNote, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. April 26, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-5e5f825d97e>.
- APA: BirdNote; Does a Robin Hear Its Worm. Boston, MA: BirdNote, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-5e5f825d97e