This is bird note.

An uncut field of waste-high grass might not seem like a valuable habitat at first.

It doesn't have tall, mature trees like a forest.

It doesn't have a pond full of fish and frogs.

So to a bird, what's so great about a field of grass?

Many birds have adapted to nest in grassland habitats and nowhere else.

In North America, birds such as the Babelink seek out grasslands to raise their young,

deftly hiding their nests within the dense vegetation.

The wildflowers and grasses host countless insects that feed the birds and their hungry chicks.

And there's more to a grassland than meets the eye. While a forest stores carbon within wood,

grassland plants have roots that reach several yards into the soil and deposit carbon within it.

That can help protect birds around the world from climate change.

Very few grasslands and savannas have been protected compared to the area that's been lost,

making them the most at-risk ecosystem on the planet.

That means every acre of grassland remaining is even more precious, to birds, to plants, and to people.

Okay. more precious, to birds, to plants, and to people. To learn how you can support grassland habitats, visit birdnote.org. I'm Ariana Rommel.