This is bird note.

We're hearing the call of a hungry young gull, tagging along as its parent scavenges the beach for tidbits.

Now here's a fledgling great-horned owl, perched in a tree begging its parent to fly in with dinner.

And here's another juvenile.

A young Harry Woodpecker, hitching along behind its parent on a mossy branch.

By this time of year, these young birds are full-sized.

They've left the nest and can fly short distances, but they still follow their parents and

beg for food.

Not only do they squawk and quiver, they also assume a begging posture,

head hunched down with wings drooping.

Some baby birds like ducklings, goslings, and quail feed themselves immediately after

hatching. But most young birds depend on their parents for days, weeks, or even months after leaving the nest.

In some species of jays, like these Mexican jays,

the young birds stay with their family group through fall and winter and into the following breeding season.

They're independent and able to feed themselves, but they help feed their parents new brood.

For Bird Note, I'm Michael Stein.