The Science of Birds
Ivan Phillipsen
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Top 10 The Science of Birds Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Science of Birds episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Science of Birds for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Science of Birds episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Female Birdsong
The Science of Birds
04/19/22 • 21 min
This episode—which is Number 50— is all about Female Birdsong.
Songs are one of the things we love most about birds. They define the soundscapes of the natural world.
Even though humans have been surrounded by singing birds for millions of years, we still have some misconceptions about birdsong. Today’s episode is about a misconception of sex differences in birds... Of who sings and who doesn’t.
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Links of Interest
- The Forgotten Female: How a Generation of Women Scientists Changed Our View of Evolution
- Female Bird Song Project
- Video of Superb Fairy Wren female Singing
- Singing female Cerulean Warblers [Video]
4 Listeners
1 Comment
1
Bluebirds
The Science of Birds
06/03/24 • 53 min
This is Episode 97. It’s all about bluebirds: the three North American species in the genus Sialia: The Eastern Bluebird, Western Bluebird, and Mountain Bluebird.
For centuries, these beloved birds have been celebrated in paintings, poems, songs, and Disney cartoons.
The Eastern Bluebird is the state bird of Missouri and New York, while the Mountain Bluebird is the state bird of Idaho and Nevada.
And, apparently, the Mountain Bluebird was the inspiration for the original Twitter logo.
But bluebirds aren’t just cultural icons. They’ve also become valuable study subjects for scientists in the fields of ornithology and general biology. Research on these little birds has led to insights about the way the natural world works—from evolution, to ecology, behavior, diseases, and genetics.
Links of Interest
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3 Listeners
Coffee and Bird Conservation
The Science of Birds
01/20/22 • 18 min
This episode—which is Number 44—is about the relationship between coffee production and bird conservation.
We'll get into how do different types of coffee cultivation affect birds, and the conservation benefits of Bird Friendly Coffee.
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Links of Interest
2 Listeners
The Origin of Birds
The Science of Birds
09/19/20 • 25 min
Episode: 1Summary
Learn about the deep evolutionary origin of birds and follow their history up to the great extinction that happened 66 million years ago.
First, I discuss what we mean when we say “bird.” What characteristics separate modern birds from other animal groups?
Then I discuss the evidence—both historical and recent—that scientists have used to determine the evolutionary history of birds.
Finally, we arrive at the answer of where birds fit on the tree of life.
Research Citations
- Discovery of collagen protein in Tyrannosaurus femur (Asara et al. 2007. Science)
- Archaeornithura, the earliest known true ancestor of birds (Wang et al. 2015. Nature Communications)
Errors and Clarifications
Error - 05:39 min: I say that scientists have genome sequences for 'all living birds.' What I meant was that we have genome sequences for representative species within each of the living bird families.
2 Listeners
Migration in Birds
The Science of Birds
09/22/20 • 31 min
Episode: 4
Summary
The annual long-distance movements of birds are amazing feats of endurance and navigation.
Learn about the various forms of migration and other annual movements in birds. We’ll cover many concepts related to migration, including timing and orientation, staging areas, and flyways.
Research Citations
Links to Some Things Mentioned in this Episode
2 Listeners
Giant Birds: Go Big or Go Home
The Science of Birds
05/26/22 • 28 min
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 explanations for why these critters got so big in the first place.
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Links of Interest
2 Listeners
The Northern Cardinal
The Science of Birds
05/06/22 • 32 min
This is Episode 51. Our bird of interest today is the Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis.
This species is widespread across the eastern and southern US. It’s so well-known and loved that it’s the state bird for 7 states—more than any other species.
Northern Cardinals are among the most abundant birds in North America. They’re familiar denizens of backyards that visit feeders all year long. So it shouldn’t be surprising to hear that ornithologists have done a lot of research on this abundant and conspicuous species.
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2 Listeners
The Biodiversity of Birds
The Science of Birds
09/22/20 • 23 min
Episode: 3
Summary
Birds are an incredibly successful and diverse group of animals.
In this episode, you’ll get an overview of the origin of avian species diversity and its present-day distribution across the planet.
I offer some definitions of ‘biodiversity’ with respect to birds. We’ll discuss why this diversity is important.
Links to Some Things Mentioned in this Episode
Research Citations
- Genetic research leading to the species split between the Winter Wren and Pacific Wren (Toews and Irwin. 2008. Molecular Ecology)
Errors and Clarifications
Clarification - 07:25 - I say that the Clements Checklist has 10,721 bird species. This is true. However, this number includes about 160 extinct species. So this means there are 10,561 extant (i.e. living, non-extinct) bird species on the planet today.
2 Listeners
Competition Between Bird Species
The Science of Birds
09/22/20 • 23 min
Episode: 2
Summary
Learn about the ways that different bird species compete with each other over food and other resources.
I first talk about the concept of the ecological niche, since this is so important to this episode's topic.
Then, I get into the different forms of competition between bird species and present the possible outcomes of that competition.
Lastly, I briefly touch on the general approaches that scientists take in studying interspecies competition in birds.
Links to Some Things Mentioned in this Episode
Research Citations
- Competition among scavenging birds in Peru (Wallace and Temple. 1987. The Auk)
- Red-winged Blackbirds vs. Yellow-headed Blackbirds (Weller and Spatcher. 1965. Special Report)
- Birdfeeder dominance hierarchy among 136 bird species in North America (Miller et al. 2017. Behavioral Ecology)
- Competition among tits in Swedish Winter (Alatalo et al. 1987. Ecology)
Errors and Clarifications
Error - 23:04 min: I say that the second type of competition between species is "exploitation interference". I meant to say exploitation competition. I make this error repeatedly in this section. My apologies!
2 Listeners
Bird Songs - Part 2
The Science of Birds
09/22/20 • 19 min
Episode: 6
Summary
This episode is Part 2 of 2 about Bird Songs.
In the last episode, Part 1, we talked mostly about the “how” and the “who” of bird songs. We haven’t really talked about the “why,” the purpose of all these vocal sounds. This episode begins by looking at the functions of bird songs and calls.
Then we get into variation in bird songs, at several levels, including among species and among geographic regions.
You’ll also learn about some interesting subtopics like the dawn chorus and female songs.
Research Citations
- White-throated Sparrow viral dialect study (Otter et al. 2020. Current Biology)
Links to Some Things Mentioned in this Episode
Attributions
- White-crowned Sparrow singing - Recording XC565001 on Xeno Canto
- White-crowned Sparrow singing - Recording XC99572 on Xeno Canto
- Black-capped Chickadee singing - Recording XC70185 on Xeno Canto
- Red-tailed Hawk - Recording XC71575 on Xeno Canto
- Northern Mockingbird - Recording XC538537 on Xeno Canto
2 Listeners
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FAQ
How many episodes does The Science of Birds have?
The Science of Birds currently has 111 episodes available.
What topics does The Science of Birds cover?
The podcast is about Life Sciences, Nature, Podcasts, Science, Birds, Biology and Birding.
What is the most popular episode on The Science of Birds?
The episode title 'Female Birdsong' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on The Science of Birds?
The average episode length on The Science of Birds is 42 minutes.
How often are episodes of The Science of Birds released?
Episodes of The Science of Birds are typically released every 14 days.
When was the first episode of The Science of Birds?
The first episode of The Science of Birds was released on Sep 19, 2020.
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Comments
@podi
Jun 4
someone online said a male eastern bird had 2 nests going. One in the back yard and one in the front yard with deferent females
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