Birds of a Feather Talk Together

In this special mini-series, we’re diving into The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson, a gripping blend of true crime and cultural exploration. This fascinating story explores the themes of obsession, beauty, and the extreme lengths people will go to in pursuit of something they can’t have. In 2009, a daring thief broke into the British Museum of Natural History and stole hundreds of rare bird...

We’re stepping away from our usual routine to dive into something a bit different— The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson. This is a story of a museum heist, someone who stole rare bird skins from a museum in order to sell them on the dark web to fly-fisherman.  Two of our hosts, John Bates and Shannon Hackett, are curators at the Field Museum in Chicago, making them perfect guides to unravel t...

This week on Birds of a Feather Talk Together , John returns from the Falkland Islands after studying Gentoo Penguins, and we ask him all about the experience. Gentoo Penguins are among the most charismatic and recognizable penguins in the world, known for their bright orange bills, white head markings, and incredible swimming ability. In this episode, we dive into what it’s actually like to study...

We are kicking it off the new year by revisiting an older episode that we did on the Willard’s Sooty Boubou. This was a bird that John and the team at the Field Museum were responsible for describing as a new species. We are doing a mini-series on the book The Feather Thief in a few weeks, so we wanted to share an episode that highlighted what John and Shannon do at the Field Museum before we kick...

We're still down for the holidays but are sharing a segment that we did on the Archaeopteryx at The Field Museum. Birds are the only group of dinosaurs that survived when an asteroid hit the Earth 66 million years ago. A fossil called Archaeopteryx , with feathers, hollow bones, clawed wings, tiny teeth, and a long tail, is the earliest known dinosaur that also qualifies as a bird, and is on...

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! This week we revisit a segment on the Christmas Bird Count. We also answer a question on the book the Feather Thief. We also finish it off with an exciting announcment for 2025 (spoiler, we are going to do a mini-series all about The Feather Thief!) Join John Bates, Shannon Hackett, RJ Pole, and Amanda Marquart for Birds of a Feather Talk Together.  Please send...

We talk about what the four of us have learned so far on our podcast journey. It's a fun reflection from RJ, Shannon, John, and Amanda. Enjoy! Join John Bates, Shannon Hackett, RJ Pole, and Amanda Marquart for Birds of a Feather Talk Together.  Please send us your questions for us to answer as well! You can send them to podcast.birdsofafeather@gmail.com Make sure to follow us on Instagram, Bl...

This week's episode is a little different. John is going on a trip to the Falkland Islands to study Gentoo Penguins, so we ask him all about his upcoming trip. We end up discussing avian influenza a bit as well, as Bird Flu is a major concern for the trip.  Join John Bates, Shannon Hackett, RJ Pole, and Amanda Marquart for Birds of a Feather Talk Together.  Please send us your questions for u...

This week we discuss the Rusty Blackbird. Rusty Blackbird is one of North America’s most rapidly declining species. The population has dropped between 85-99 percent over the past forty years, and Amanda and RJ saw one a few weeks ago so we decided to talk about them. Join John Bates, Shannon Hackett, RJ Pole, and Amanda Marquart for Birds of a Feather Talk Together.  We also answer a mailbag quest...

We revisit an old episode on the Wild Turkey this week. These birds are a major conservation success story. We also talk about John seeing a turkey in the Democratic Republic of Congo, how turkeys got their name, and learn all about their magnificent feathers. Join John Bates, Shannon Hackett, RJ Pole, and Amanda Marquart for Birds of a Feather Talk Together.  This week we are also joined by Jacob...

Join John Bates, Shannon Hackett, RJ Pole, and Amanda Marquart as we discuss the White-throated sparrow. We talk about sparrows in general, and how to differentiate them based on behavior and not just their appearance. We also talk about how they have been shrinking in size over the last 50 years, and how the specimen collection at the Field Museum have helped determine that. We also talk about th...

This week on Birds of a Feather Talk Together , we’re discussing the fascinating wrentit with expert Kevin Burns! Known for its distinctive call featured in countless movies and TV shows, the wrentit is a secretive bird found primarily in California and Oregon. Despite being one of the most sedentary birds in North America, its closest relatives are found in Asia. Join bird experts John Bates, Sha...

This week on Birds of a Feather Talk Together , ornithologist Kevin Burns returns to the show to discuss one of the most fascinating bird discovery stories in recent memory: the Inti Tanager. Kevin, a professor of biology at San Diego State University and longtime colleague of John and Shannon, walks us through the incredible story of this mysterious bird—from its first sighting in Peru in the ear...

This week on Birds of a Feather Talk Together , we explore one of the strangest and most fascinating birds in the world: the Kagu. Native to the remote Pacific island of New Caledonia, the Kagu is a rare and unusual bird that has evolved in isolation for millions of years. Known for its ghostly gray plumage, dramatic crest displays, and unique vocalizations, the Kagu is unlike almost any other bir...

In this captivating episode, we sit down with evolutionary biologist and acclaimed author Joan E. Strassmann to dive deep into the world of slow birding. Joan's latest release, The Slow Birding Journal , dropped on October 22nd and offers bird lovers a fresh, intentional approach to connecting with nature. This beautifully crafted journal invites bird enthusiasts to embrace mindfulness, patie...

This week on Birds of a Feather Talk Together , we dive into the fascinating world of the Roseate Spoonbill—one of the most colorful and unusual birds in North America. Known for their brilliant pink feathers, long legs, and unmistakable spoon-shaped bill, Roseate Spoonbills are among the most striking wading birds in birding. But beyond their appearance, these birds have incredible feeding behavi...

This week on Birds of a Feather Talk Together , we dive into the fascinating world of the Double-crested Cormorant—one of North America’s most unique and misunderstood waterbirds. Known for their expert diving ability, hooked bills, and signature wing-spreading behavior, Double-crested Cormorants are incredible underwater hunters that thrive in lakes, rivers, wetlands, and coastal habitats. We exp...

This week’s episode with Kevin Burns is on Darwin’s Finches. Kevin and Shannon’s research reclassified Darwin’s Finches as Tanagers, so we hear all about what the process was like, and learn more about Darwin’s Finches in this week’s episode. Kevin, an ornithologist and professor of biology at San Diego State University, goes way back with Shannon and John, and led the research that reclassified w...

This week we talk to Kevin Burns about Tanagers. Kevin, an ornithologist and professor of biology at San Diego State University, goes way back with Shannon and John, and led the research that reclassified what exactly a tanager is and what it isn’t. Many birds which have the common name Tanager, such as the scarlet tanager or western tanager, aren’t actually tanagers, and birds like Darwin’s finch...

Howdy everyone! We are down this week but will be back next week with some new very exciting episodes. Take a listen for the full breakdown! Thanks for your patience and support, we'll be back next week and back on schedule with brand new episodes :) Here are links to our social and YouTube pages, give us a follow: YouTube  Instagram TikTok BlueSky

This week we play some highlights from our previous episodes, including some moments with some of our guest. Topics discussed are the Golden-cheeked Warbler with Jack Wildlife, the Southern Cassowary with Wes Larson, the Christmas Bird Count with our host John Bates, Jack Wildlife is back to tell us about a camera that he gifted a young birder, Maureen Turcatel tells us about bugs, and European Go...

This Eurasian bird is more extreme than it looks, and it may not be for what you are expecting. This bird puts the 'bird' in birds and the bees. Join us this week when we talk about the very sexual Alpine Accentor.  John Bates, Shannon Hackett, RJ Pole, and Amanda Marquart discuss the Alpine Accentor in this week's episode. Please send us your questions for us to answer as well! You...

A bird that not very many people have seen in the wild, but it turns out that Shannon and John have seen a lot of them. They are native to Costa Rica, and only come out when the bamboo is flowering - which is not very often. Hear all about Shannon and John's trip to Costa Rica and learn more about these amazing little birds.  We also answer a listener question on birds and government spies. ...

Discover the Fascinating Black-Billed Magpie – A Deep Dive into These Intelligent, Exotic Birds In this exciting episode, RJ Pole and Amanda Marquart share their personal experiences with Black-billed Magpies from their time living in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. These incredible birds are known for their intelligence, striking appearance, and unique behaviors. Join bird experts John Bates and Sha...

This week on Birds of a Feather Talk Together , we dive into the fascinating world of the Greater Roadrunner—the iconic desert bird made famous by cartoons, but far more incredible in real life. Known for their speed, hunting ability, and unique desert adaptations, Greater Roadrunners are some of the most recognizable birds of the American Southwest. We explore how these birds survive extreme dese...