The Science of Birds

In this episode—which is Number 76—I’ll be answering some interesting questions sent to me by my listeners. Questions about birds, of course. The questions in today’s episode came from not just any old listeners, but from my supporters on Patreon. At the two higher tiers of support, one perk for my patrons is the chance to send me questions for these “Ask Me Anything” episodes. So if you’d like to...

This is Episode 75. It’s all about shrikes—birds in the family Laniidae. These are true songbirds—members of the avian suborder Passeri within the order Passeriformes—even though they act (and sort of look like) tiny falcons or hawks. Shrikes are sit and wait predators. They typically sit upright on an exposed, conspicuous perch and then wait for something tasty to come along. Some small animal, l...

This episode—which is Number 74—is all about edible bird’s nests and Bird’s Nest Soup. Edible bird nests are a traditional delicacy in east Asia. Especially in China. For centuries, wealthy Chinese people have consumed edible bird nests. Usually in the form of bird’s nest soup. Throughout much of recent history, this dish has been one of the most expensive foods in the world. No wonder people have...

This is Episode 73. It’s all about birds in the avian family Gruidae… the cranes. These tall birds are charismatic and super interesting. It’s going to be fun to do a deep dive into all things crane today. Humans around the world have celebrated cranes for thousands of years, for their graceful beauty and their exuberant courtship dances.  Across many cultures, cranes have inspired paintings, song...

This episode—which is Number 72—is about what happens to birds, not just in bad weather, but in really bad weather. We’re talking hurricanes, floods, droughts, heat waves, tornadoes, maybe even the occasional sharknado, and so on. How do birds deal with all these natural disasters? We’ll get into that. We'll be talking mostly about the more immediate effects of storms and other extreme weathe...

This episode—which is Number 71—is about one particular scientific article.  An article that’s near and dear to my heart. This study was published in 2020, in the Scientific Journal of Research and Reviews . You already know the title of the study itself. It’s the same as the title of this podcast episode… "What’s the Deal With Birds?" The study's author is Doctor Daniel T. Baldassa...

This episode—which is Number 70—is all about the Great Blue Heron. The scientific name for the Great Blue Heron is Ardea herodias . This species is one of the most familiar large birds in North America. So it was inevitable that I’d make a podcast episode about it. The Great Blue Heron is a beautiful, fascinating, and ecologically important bird. Links of Interest ‘Great Heron’ sculpture by artist...

This episode—which is Number 69—is all about the avian skeleton. Bird bones. So this is an episode about some basic anatomy of birds. Bird bones and the avian skeleton are elegant, strong, and rigid.  Let’s put on our x-ray goggles, and peer inside the body of a bird, to see what’s going on with all those beautiful bones... Links of Interest Cranial kinesis in the skull of a Hyacinth Macaw [VIDEO]...

Today’s episode is number 68. It’s all about the family of birds called Bucerotidae. These are the hornbills. Maybe you’ve heard about hornbills and know a few facts about them. Or maybe you’ve never even heard about these birds. Either way, I think you’ll enjoy today’s podcast episode. Hornbills are just so cool! The family Bucerotidae includes several dozen hornbill species. But there’s a second...

This is Episode Number 67. It’s the last episode of 2022, so that means it’s the Annual Review! We’re going to look back at 2022, at some of the most interesting scientific studies of birds that were published this year.  Will this be a painstakingly thorough review of everything that scientists learned about birds in 2022?  No. Not so much. The studies I’m telling you about today—while they did m...

This episode—which is Number 66—is all about the ways you can help birds. How you can make a difference in their conservation. It’s one thing to enjoy learning about birds in an objective, scientific way. They’re fascinating organisms. But does our interest in the biology of birds also come bundled with a care and concern for them? With warm and fuzzy feelings?  I’d say heck yes, it does! For most...

This is Episode 65, and it’s all about waxwings—birds in the family Bombycillidae. The Cedar Waxwing is one species, and there are two others that we’ll talk about. These beautiful, elegant songbirds are loved by people across the Northern Hemisphere. Waxwings are easy on the eyes, for sure, and that’s great. I mean, personally, I think they’re just about the most gorgeous songbirds we have in Nor...

This episode—which is Number 64—is all about the importance of temperate grasslands as habitat for birds. When we say “temperate grasslands,” we mean those generally occurring in the middle latitudes. Temperate grasslands exist in several parts of the world. Some of them cover vast areas. Here in North America, we have the Great Plains as a “great” example. The steppes of Mongolia and the Pampas o...

This episode—which is Number 63—is about the Common Raven, Corvus corax . This species is also known as the Northern Raven. Few bird species in the world are as geographically widespread as the Common Raven. And few are as familiar and iconic. This is a really amazing bird. Ornithologists and other scientists have studied ravens extensively, so we know quite a lot about this species. Today, we’ll...

This episode—which is Number 62—is all about the major geographic divisions among birds across the planet. Why are bowerbirds found only in Australia and on the islands of New Guinea? Why are the birds you see in India so different from those in China? Does North America have any unique, endemic bird families? Questions like these fall within the domain of biogeography. Biogeography is the study o...

This is Episode 61, and it’s all about Ostriches. These are the birds in the avian family Struthionidae. Ostriches are among the most recognizable and charismatic birds. No living bird is bigger than an ostrich. If you’ve ever seen one up close, you know how impressive these giants can be. They’re amazing. So I’m excited to dig into their biology with you today. You probably know a thing or two ab...

This episode—which is Number 60—is about Feeding Wild Birds. As in, humans providing supplemental food for wild birds. This typically involves a contraption called a birdfeeder. When you or I hang up a birdfeeder, we’re feeding wild birds intentionally. This intentional feeding is what today’s episode is about. Millions and millions of people all around the world feed wild birds intentionally. At...

This episode—which is Number 59—is a bit different. Today, I’m going to be answering questions from my listeners. More specifically, these questions come from my supporters on Patreon. I have several “tiers” or “membership levels” on my Patreon page. Each level comes with perks. One perk for the “Helpful Hornbill” and “Awesome Osprey” tiers is getting to submit questions for episodes like this. So...

Today’s episode—which is Episode 58—is all about birds in the family Troglodytidae. These are the wrens. Wrens are small, perky songbirds, most of which are some shade of brown. All the species in this family of birds are found in the New World—In North, Central, and South America. All of them, that is, except for one species found in the Old World. In this episode, we'll cover many aspects o...

This episode—which is Number 57— is all about the flocking behavior of birds. Birds of many species spend at least part of their yearly cycle hanging out in groups. This could be just a handful of individuals or it could be a gathering of millions of birds. Today, we’ll look at some explanations for why —as the saying goes—birds of a feather flock together. What benefits do birds get from forming...

This episode—which is Number 56— is all about the colors of birds. The diversity of color in bird plumages is one of the things we love most about these animals. But bird plumages are impressive not only when they display vibrant colors plucked from the rainbow. Thousands of species aren’t what we’d call colorful, but they do have gorgeous, intricately patterned feathers in combinations of black,...

This is Episode 55. It’s all about birds in the avian family Phoenicopteridae. These are the flamingos. No doubt you already know a fun fact or two about flamingos. These birds are crowd pleasers that get a lot of attention. But today we’re doing a deep dive into their biology. I’m hoping that along the way, you’ll pick up some new flamingo trivia that you can impress your friends with. ~~ Leave m...

This episode—which is Number 54—is all about bird eggs. This is an important topic. Eggs are a fundamental aspect of bird biology. Recently, in Episode 49 of the podcast, I covered the topic of nests. So it seems like a logical next step for us to get the lowdown on eggs. Oology is the science of studying bird eggs. So today, we are all honorary oologists. We’re egg-heads on a mission to better un...

This episode—which is Number 53—is all about Avian Influenza . Or colloquially what we call the Avian Flu or Bird Flu. Depending on where you live, you might have noticed news headlines in recent months about the frightening spread of Avian Flu among both domestic and wild birds. I thought you might have some questions about this emerging disease, and so here we are with an entire podcast episode...

This is Episode 52. Today, we’re talking about bird species that are way, way bigger than your average chickadee or finch. Our focus will be on evolutionary lineages that spawned some very large bird species. Species whose ancestors had been much smaller, millions of years earlier. We’ll look at a bunch of interesting giant birds throughout history. Then we’ll talk about some scientific explanatio...