Awesome Things We Learned About Birds in 2021

2021 is over, yo! So it's time for the Annual Review Episode! We’ll be looking back at some highlights of bird science in the year 2021. What fascinating things did ornithologists and other biologists discover about birds this year?I’ve picked 5 studies to highlight for you. These are stories that, in most cases, were interesting enough to make the news.~~ Leave me a review using Podchaser ~~Links of InterestVIDEO: A snoozing fox meets a plucky little black-crested titmouseVIDEO: Tapaculos Hunt for TrufflesReferencesBird neurocranial and body mass evolution across the end-Cretaceous mass extinction: The avian brain shape left other dinosaurs behindShape-shifting: changing animal morphologies as a response to climatic warmingFacultative Parthenogenesis in California CondorsLifetime reproductive benefits of cooperative polygamy vary for males and females in the acorn woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus)Global abundance estimates for 9,700 bird speciesDrones and deep learning produce accurate and efficient monitoring of large-scale seabird coloniesA supergene underlies linked variation in color and morphology in a Holarctic songbirdA new genus and species of tanager (Passeriformes, Thraupidae) from the lower Yungas of western Bolivia and southern PeruDiscovering the Role of Patagonian Birds in the Dispersal of Truffles and Other Mycorrhizal FungiWhat the pluck? The theft of mammal hair by birds is an overlooked but common behavior with fitness implicationsLink to this episode on the Science of Birds websiteSupport the show