The Science of Birds is a lighthearted exploration of bird biology. It's a fun resource for any birder or naturalist who wants to learn more about ornithology. Impress your birding friends at cocktail parties with all of your new bird knowledge! Hosted by Ivan Phillipsen, a professional birding guide and passionate naturalist with a PhD in Zoology.
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This is Episode 90 and it’s all about the importance of birds as plant pollinators. If I had to use only one word for the topic of this episode, it would be ornithophily. The definition of ornithophily is “the pollination of flowers by birds.” Today, I’ll be focusing mostly on the ecological relationships between plants and the birds that pollinate them. Another way to look at all of this would be through the lens of evolution—the fascinating ways that plants and birds have co-evolved with respe...
This is Episode 89. I’m publishing it right at the beginning of 2024, and it's a review of some fascinating things that happened in the world of ornithology and bird conservation over the last 12 months, in 2023. Naturally, this isn’t an exhaustive review of every scientific discovery about birds in 2023. That would be too much. An exhaustive review would be, well, exhausting. Maybe not for you, but definitely for me. Instead, I’ll tell you about a handful of studies and projects that I think yo...
This episode—which is number 88—is all about owls. Owls are fascinating birds that have captured our imaginations since the dawn of humankind. They have amazing camouflage that allows them to blend in with their surroundings, and they have several other avian superpowers that set them apart from all other birds. Owls are divided into two families—Tytonidae and Strigidae—and we'll be discussing both of them today. Links of Interest Owl Notes–Denver Holt Shares the Short eared Owl's Courtship Flig...
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 comes from an announcement made by the American Ornithological Society just a few weeks ago, on November 1st. I couldn’t pass up the chance to talk about this. It’s a hot topic among birders right now. People have been asking me what I think about all these birds getting renamed. And so here we are. If ...
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. And to the delight of us all, those beaks come in a wild variety of shapes and colors. Just picture the mugs of toucans, vultures, ducks, parrots, flamingos, and pelicans. The diversity of beak shapes like these is one of the fascinating things about birds. Birds use their beaks for all sorts of task...
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 call meadowlarks. The other five are found primarily in South America. We’ll be talking about them today, too. Meadowlarks belong to the New World Blackbird family, Icteridae. This family includes birds like Red-winged Blackbird, Baltimore Oriole, and the Great-tailed Grackle. There’s a lot to admir...
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 in captivity. Other familiar examples are the California Condor and the Whooping Crane, whose populations bottomed out at 22 and 23, respectively. Rigorous conservation programs have since given these two North American species a fighting chance at long-term survival. This episode is about species ...
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 that live in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. But those birds all belong to the pheasant family, Phasianidae. New World quails are shy birds ground-dwelling birds that walk or run around in the daytime, looking for tidbits of food in the leaf litter. If they sense any kind of stranger danger, ...
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 technologies used by researchers to study bird behavior—the methods used to reveal the movements of birds. And our focus will be on the tracking of individual birds. There are other methods scientists use to record the mass movements of birds, like using radar to track flocks of migrants. But today we’re looki...
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 Indonesia, you’re probably familiar with sunbirds. Consider yourself lucky. But if you have no idea what a sunbird or a spiderhunter is, or if you have only a vague idea, I’m excited to introduce you to this group of wonderful birds today. Links of Interest These sunbirds keep singin' their song [V...
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 here we are with this episode. Alive on the planet today, there are about 60 bird species that can’t fly. That’s only about 0.54 percent of the world’s approximately 11,000 species. It turns out there were way more flightless bird species out there before humans started exploring and colonizing eve...
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 Redtail is a generalist predator. It can eat many kinds of prey and thrive in a broad range of habitats. Besides seeing these birds along the highway, you’re likely to spot a Red-tailed Hawk circling in the sky over a field, soaring or flapping slowly. In this episode, I cover the key traits of 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 spring and summer seasons and of the annual rejuvenation of nature. To the casual observer, birds generally come across as caring, attentive parents. Similar to the way mammals demonstrate good parenting behavior. We humans approve of this sort of thing. It makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I m...
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 definition, since “seabird” is an informal term, rather than a scientific one. It doesn’t correspond to a single taxonomic category, or to a single evolutionary lineage. Here’s what the authors of the book Oceanic Birds of the World have to say about it: “To our mind, true seabirds are birds of the ocea...
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 ask your own question for a future episode, consider becoming a supporter of this show on Patreon. ...
This episode of The Science of Birds delves into the fascinating world of shrikes, also known as butcher birds, exploring their unique predatory behaviors and biology. It covers their physical characteristics, vocalizations, global distribution, and evolutionary relationships, as well as their conservation status. The episode also examines shrike hunting techniques, impaling behavior, and breeding rituals.
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 called edible bird nests the “caviar of the east,” or “white gold.” Perhaps the primary reason peop...
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, songs, dances, legends, martial arts, heavy construction machinery apparently, and the most iconic animal...
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 weather on the survival of individual birds and their populations. Birds are tough little buggers. They’re toug...
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. Baldassarre. Listen to the episode to find out why I love this paper... Links of Interest Lab Website of Dr. Daniel T. Balda...
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 Dixie Friend Gay Great Blue Heron: Nesting and Mating Behavior [VIDEO] Great Horned Owl attacks Gre...
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] ~~ Leave me a review using Podchaser ~~ Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website 🔥 Bird...
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, much smaller avian family that contains birds we also call hornbills. The name of that family is B...
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 make it into the newsfeed—are just the ones that I found most exciting. Or at least interesting. I deci...
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 of us, anyway, including yours truly. We want birds out there in the wide world to survive and thriv...
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 North America. But their biology is also really interesting. So much of how waxwings live and behave is...
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 of South America are similarly vast temperate grasslands. Many, many bird species around the world de...
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 look at the basic traits of the Common Raven as well as its behavior, habitats, diet, reproduction, ...
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 of where living things are found and why they’re found there—both in the present and the past. Today,...
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 about Ostriches already, but let’s see if we can get a deeper understanding of them. We’ll look at the...
