Why do rattlesnakes rattle and hummingbirds hum? How do flowers market themselves to pollinators? Why do tarantulas cross the road?

Every week, Nature Notes investigates questions like these about the plants and animals of the Chihuahuan Desert region in the southwestern United States.

Now in its fourth year, Nature Notes is a 4½-minute weekly radio program produced by Marfa Public Radio in Marfa, Texas, in conjunction with the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute in Fort Davis, Texas. This environmental program examines a little-known desert region in the United States and Mexico. But many desert-dwellers featured—such as turkey vultures and prairie dogs—will be familiar to listeners outside this region. Through interviews with scientists and field recordings, Nature Notes reveals the secrets of desert life.