Episode description

The definition of ‘species’ isn’t as simple as you might think. In this episode, we look at the methods ornithologists use to identify and name bird species. And we discuss the challenges they face in this work.

We begin by highlighting the reasons that scientists need to classify birds as species.

Next, we get into several definitions of ‘species’ and the pros and cons of applying these.

We then look at several case studies of birds to see how they’ve been classified.

Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website

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