The Science of Birds

This episode—which is Number 87—is all about some big news in the birding world. The common names for about 150 North American bird species are going to change in the not-too-distant future. This com...

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....

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 ...

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, or...

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 qua...

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 technologi...

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, o...

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 s...

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 ...

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 s...