Bird of the Week

There is no shortage of Robins in the world. You got some in Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and Australia. Chances are if you're standing somewhere in the world, there is a Robin lurking near by. But of course, almost none of them are related to each other. Is it time for another rant about how useless and silly bird names are? You better believe it. To support Bird of the Week and gain...

Hybrids, they're strange. So strange that this may not be the episode for everyone, but hey, I'm not here to tell you what to do.

Out in the rainforest of Central and South America there is a family of birds that makes a living by following ants and eating the bugs they disturb. They're the Antbirds and they're pretty neat. In this episode we take a look at what these guys are all about. To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on thr...

I've never really been a birder myself. Birding, twitching, getting out in the field and tracking down a bird isn't an activity I've ever taken seriously, mostly because I never really had the time to do. But since going on parental leave I've found myself with hours in the day to fill and a baby who likes getting out and about. So in this episode I present the reflections of a...

The show still exists! We are back and this time we are looking at maybe the world's most boring bird, the House Sparrow. These little brown birds live in pretty much every city in the world. Everyone is familiar with them and they have little of interest to offer anyone, ever. Or do they? Well let's find out. To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's...

Today we are going to look at three birds that I think are some of the strangest in the world. Ah... I don't have much more to say about the episodes ... it kinda does what it says on the label.  To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on through to Patreon: www.patreon.com/birdoftheweek Want birds in your inbo...

The Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo is one of the most instantly recognisable Australian birds. Big, loud and mischievous. Some people love them, some people ... not so much. But they're smart birds that deserve an episode of their own, so let's do it. To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on through to Patreon...

This episodes is not about birds. This is about Australia's electoral system. How's that for coming out of left field? Why is Bird Guy talking about electoral systems? Good questions, it's something I'm interested in, and Australia had a recent election result that I think is worth taking a closer look at. If you don't want to hear about that, this probably isn't the...

Pelicans! Giant, big beaked birds of the water. Urban legends surrounded these critters, like the fact that they will sometimes eat dogs. Fact or myth? Who can say for sure? But one thing we can say is that they're fascinating birds, so let's get to know them. To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on thr...

Many birds mimic the calls of other birds. But there is no bird that has the repertoire of the Lyrebird, renown for being some of the greatest mimics in the avian world. So, what's they're deal? Let's find out.  To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on through to Patreon: www.patreon.com/birdofthewe...

You know what film doesn't get talked about enough? Charlie's Angels (2000). But wait, this show isn't about middling films from two decades ago, it's about amazing birds, so how is that film connected to birds? Well, let's find out. I promise it's ridiculous.  To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird&apos...

The Kookaburra has to be one of Australia's most famous birds, with a call so iconic and strange that it has been used in a whole swarth of Hollywood films to evoke a feeling of the topics and the exotic, despite the fact that they do not live in that type of environment. But they're a bird of far greater interest than their call alone, so in this episode we'll see what else they ha...

The Bird is back, and we are back looking at a bird with a reputation for being the world's most dangerous. Maybe in a shock twist the bird with the badass reputation is a giant fruit eater from Papua New Guinea, the Cassowary. But is this reputation deserving? Well in this episode we will find out just how dangerous they are, but also what else makes them especially cool.  To support Bird of...

Today we welcome back friend of The Bird, Mr David Clay, as we discuss that one time China tried to eliminate all the sparrows in their nation. Did the plan work, were there unforeseen consequences, is this another tale of human folly? Almost certainly. Join us as we look at another strange avian story from history. To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up...

Bird of the Week special announcement: there is a baby on the way so there's no better time to talk about Storks and what they have to do with baby delivery. Where did that myth of the Stork bringing babies to expectant parents come from? Well, today we are going to find out. To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? c...

In our follow up episode on avian flight we dive deeper into the question of how birds get into the air. In part two we look at the machinery birds have and the physiological attributes they needed to make a flapping wing work. But do we answer the question, 'how do birds fly?', almost certainly not. To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with t...

Flying is basically the most defining thing about what birds do, and yet I've never really spoken about it. Well no more, today we begin the mission to figure out how exactly birds fly. We will begin in the long past and look at the evolutionary journey from lizard to bird, as I refuse to answer the question: how do birds fly. But then I guess that's Part 2 will be for? To support Bird o...

Wow, does this podcast even release episodes anymore? Yes it does, and we are back with Albatross, renown as some of the biggest birds in the world. Majestic birds of the open ocean, clumsy buffoons on land. What is it that makes them special? We find out in this episode. To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on t...

I'm sure we've all heard some fun facts about birds, a duck's quack won't echo, an Ostrich sticks its head in the sand when threatened. But is there any truth to these statements, or are they straight up lies? Well on this episode we dive into 5 famous bird myths, break them do and see if there is any truth to the rumours. To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our seco...

Who among us hasn't thrown a chip at a seagull or a slice of bread at a duck? Feeding birds is a wonderful way to interact with our feathered friends. Except, if we do it wrong we could literally kill them with kindness. So what are the dos and don'ts of feeding birds? Well good news, we look at the worse consequences that can occur, and how to do it right so everyone is happy. To suppor...

Eagles are majestic animals, fearsome apex predators that hunt large prey. But then their is that one Kite that only eats snails, the Snail Kite. Today we meet an odd ball bird, and find out how they're adapting to survive in a changing world. To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on through to Patreon: www.p...

Flamingos are kinda freaky. They are a pink, stork-like bird that eats algae and feeds its chicks blood red milk. What is going on with that? Luckily we will be digging into these questions in this episode, to join me as find out a couple of fun facts about Flamingos. To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on throu...

I recently visited New Zealand, and I had a great chance to see some of their unique birds and travel the country a little. And I came away from the trip with a few impressions about their birds and the environment that I wanted to share. So slightly different, more personal account than the usual, but hopefully will still be of some interests and entertainment. To support Bird of the Week and gai...

We interrupt our usual format to bring you a slightly different episode. It's an Australian bird quiz, pretty straight forward, play along at home and see how you go. To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on through to Patreon: www.patreon.com/birdoftheweek Want birds in your inbox? Drop me a line at weekly.b...

In the last episode we said there were no parrots in the United States of America. But that was only a half truth. A better truth would have been to say that once upon a time there was a parrot, the Carolina Parakeet that went extinct about 100 years. And in its place today there is an invasive species, the Monk Parakeet. So what is the story of these two birds, why did one die while the other has...