A Hearty Little Bird Nests In Thin Air

A geo-scientist at UMass Amherst has discovered a hearty little bird that likes to nest directly on ice at 19,000 feet. Until now, it was thought the penguin was the only bird to nest on ice. Now comes this one, the white-winged Diuca Finch.

Geo-scientist Douglas Hardy can't take all the credit for discovering the bird. His 14-year-old son, Spencer, is a budding ornithologist. He collaborated with his father on the research that now appears in a scientific journal, "The Wilson Journal of Ornithology."

The father and son team joined us to talk about the Diuca Finch. Douglas Hardy started by telling us about trekking up the Quelccaya Ice Cap, where he first discovered the finch.