This is Bird Note.

The whirling, flute-like song of the Viery rings through the trees of the northern United

States and southern Canada during its summer breeding season.

These tawny-colored thrushes raise only one brood of chicks each year, and they'll

try as many times as it takes to successfully fledge offspring.

But in some years, the Vieries cut their breeding season short.

Birds that still haven't raised chicks give up on breeding altogether.

But why?

With some clever data sleuthing, researchers discovered that Vieries tend to stop breeding

early in the same years that the Atlantic hurricane season is particularly severe.

Instead, they prepare for their fall migration over the Gulf of Mexico to the Amazon

region of South America.

In fact, Vieries are sometimes better at predicting hurricane conditions than computer models.

And that's particularly intriguing to scientists because the birds seem to forecast storms months

in advance.

It's still a mystery how these songbirds became such incredible meteorologists.

As climate change increases the number and intensity of Atlantic hurricanes, many songbirds

like the Viery could suffer the consequences.

Not only do they have less time to breed, but their safety is compromised as they're

forced to fly through Fierce Tempest during fall migration season.

To learn more about what you can do to support migratory birds at home, start at our website

birdnote.org.

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