35: European Starlings: The Invasive Bird Rapidly Evolving Across North America 🐦

This week on Birds of a Feather Talk Together, we’re joined by Louise Bodt to explore the fascinating and often controversial world of the European Starling.European Starlings are one of the most widespread and recognizable introduced birds in North America, known for their massive flocks, incredible mimicry abilities, shimmering plumage, and rapid spread across the continent. But beyond their reputation as an invasive species, these birds are also helping scientists better understand evolution, genetics, adaptation, and how animals rapidly change in new environments.Louise Bodt is a PhD candidate at the University of Chicago and the Field Museum, where she studies introduced birds and rapid evolutionary change. Before joining the Field Museum birds lab, Louise worked as a science educator in New York City and earned her MS in biology studying the genetics of invasive European Starlings.In this episode, we discuss starling behavior, murmurations, bird intelligence, genetics, invasive species biology, urban bird adaptation, and why European Starlings may be one of the most scientifically important birds in North America.If you love birding, birdwatching, ornithology, bird behavior, evolution, genetics, invasive species, wildlife science, and fascinating bird facts, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.Here are links to our social and YouTube pages, give us a follow:YouTube InstagramTikTokBlueSky