The Science of Birds

This episode—which is Number 86—is all about bird beaks.

This will be an overview of beak anatomy, function, evolution, and diversity.

The head of every bird on Earth is adorned with a beak. A bill. An…

This episode—which is Number 85—is about the Meadowlarks of the world.

And it’s not just those three North American species: the Western, Eastern, and Chihuahuan.

There are actually 8 bird species we …

This is Episode 84. Our topic today is the challenge of saving bird species that are very close to extinction. Species like the Spix’s Macaw, which have tiny global populations—whether in the wild, o…

This is Episode 83. It’s all about birds in the family Odontophoridae. These are the New World quails.

Why is this the family of "New World" quails?

Because there’s a whole mess of birds we call quails…

This is Episode 82. It's all about the ways that scientists track the movements of individual birds.

The focus of today’s episode is not so much about the behaviors of birds, but about the technologie…

This is Episode 81. It’s all about birds in the family Nectariniidae. These are the sunbirds and the spiderhunters.

If you live in or have gone birding in places like Africa, India, Southeast Asia, or…

This is Episode 80. It's all about flightless birds, and about the evolutionary processes that lead to flightlessness.

Flightlessness in birds is, in my opinion, a fascinating scientific topic. And so…

This is Episode 79. It's all about the Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis).

This is one of North America’s most common raptors. We find these birds from sea to shining sea across the continent.

The Red…

This is Episode 78 and today we’re doing an overview of parental care in birds. How do birds raise their babies?

Parent birds feeding their chicks in a nest is an iconic image. It’s a symbol of the sp…

This is Episode 77. It's an overview of seabirds. Some might call them Oceanic birds or Marine Birds.

How do we define what is or isn’t a sea bird?

Well, it depends on who you ask. There’s no one defin…

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 ol…

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…

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 pe…

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 t…

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 o…

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 Re…

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…

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. 

…

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 …

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 …