This is bird note.

Many of our birds can be found in ecotones, the borders between two habitats,

like indigo buntings which breed in the ecotone between forest and meadow.

They use resources available in either habitat.

Indigo buntings are common in Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge in Indiana.

There, grassland and forest are interspersed to produce superb wildlife habitat.

The buntings feed on the ground and nest in shrubs or witty fields.

The males find perfect places for singing from elevated perches at the forest edge.

Female buntings know what they like and arriving from Mexico and Central America

they search for just such an ecotone.

With the right balance of forest and meadow, this beautiful bird will continue to thrive.

For bird note, I'm Mary McCann.

Bird note celebrates the everyday actions of our listeners and the work of our conservation partners

to reverse the alarming decline in North American birds.

Together, we can bring them back.

Learn more and get involved at birdnote.org.