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All Episodes

The Science of Birds — 151 episodes

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Title
1

Random Bird Thursday: A Tiny Island Dweller That Likes Vines

2

Red-winged Blackbird

3

Random Bird Thursday: An Alien-Eyed Mountaineer That Sounds Like a Jet

4

Hawks, Eagles, and Kites

5

From the Field: Birding Romania

6

Random Bird Thursday: A Crepuscular Species That Is Not Actually Magical

7

Rivers & Streams as Bird Habitat

8

Random Bird Thursday: A Trans-Andean Ant-Follower with a Complex Social Life

9

The Northern Flicker

10

Random Bird Thursday: A Colorful, Dumpy Bird That Chills With Chimps

11

Vagrancy: Why Some Birds End Up Far From Home

12

Random Bird Thursday: A Large Fat-eater from Patagonia

13

Cuckoos

14

Random Bird Thursday: An Antisocial Bottom-Feeder from the Antipodes

15

Avian Navigation: How Birds Find Their Way

16

Random Bird Thursday: A Fire-Loving Songbird Adorned with Black Oil Drops

17

What We Learned About Birds in 2025

18

Random Bird Thursday: A Worm-slurping Mud-runner From Siberia

19

Herring Gulls

20

Random Bird Thursday: A Species with an Executioner’s Axe for a Face

21

How Birds Breathe: The Avian Respiratory System

22

Random Bird Thursday: A Sparrow-sized Drummer from the Neotropics

23

Mockingbirds and Thrashers

24

Random Bird Thursday: A Fatally Fearless Bird That Seems to Swallow Basketballs

25

Bird Subspecies: Another Layer of Diversity

26

Random Bird Thursday: A Master of the Sky That Flies Fast and Far

27

Sage Grouse

28

Random Bird Thursday: An Orange and Black Species With Females That Like to Sing

29

From the Field: Japan

30

Random Bird Thursday: A Mostly Motionless Bird with Walrus Tusks

31

Ask Me Anything About Birds - Summer 2025

32

Random Bird Thursday: A Naughty Yet Agreeable Seabird

33

From the Field: Mongolia

34

Three of the World's Weirdest Bird Species

35

How to Identify Birds in the Field

36

Nightjars, Nighthawks, and Other Goatsuckers

37

How to Find Birds

38

The Osprey

39

Traditional Field Guides vs. Mobile Apps: A Birder's Dilemma

40

From the Field: Patagonia

41

Crossbills

42

Cooperative Breeding in Birds

43

From the Field: Birding Nepal and Bhutan

44

From the Field: Birding in China

45

From the Field: Birds and Birding in Vietnam and Cambodia

46

From the Field: How My Life Became All About Birds

47

Mergansers

48

Bird Habitat: Rocky Shores and Sandy Beaches

49

New World and African Parrots

50

The Common Kingfisher

51

The Evolution of Feathers

52

100th Episode Celebration!

53

Cormorants and Shags

54

Bird Brains

55

Bluebirds

56

Answers to Your Questions About Birds - AMA - Vol 4

57

Spoonbills

58

The Avian Digestive System

59

House Sparrow

60

Bird Habitat: Deserts

61

Chickadees, Tits, and Titmice

62

Flowers and Feathers: The Importance of Birds as Pollinators

63

Fascinating Things We Learned About Birds Last Year

64

Owls

65

Avian Rebrand: New Names for Many North American Birds

66

Bird Beaks: The Right Tool for the Job

67

Meadowlarks

68

Saving Bird Species From the Brink of Extinction

69

Quails of the New World

70

Tracking Methods: How We Know Where Birds Go

71

Sunbirds and Spiderhunters

72

Earthbound: How Birds Become Flightless

73

Red-tailed Hawk

74

Parental Care: How Birds Raise Their Young

75

Seabirds

76

Answers to Your Questions About Birds - Vol 3

77

Shrikes

78

Where Does Bird's Nest Soup Come From?

79

Cranes

80

Hurricanes and Heatwaves: How Does Extreme Weather Affect Birds?

81

What's the Deal With Birds?

82

Great Blue Heron

83

Bird Bones: The Avian Skeleton

84

Hornbills

85

Awesome Things We Learned About Birds in 2022

86

15 Simple (and Several Complicated) Ways You Can Help Birds

87

Waxwings

88

Bird Habitat: Temperate Grasslands and Prairies

89

The Common Raven

90

Biogeographic Realms and Their Unique Birds

91

Ostriches

92

Feeding Wild Birds: Pros and Cons

93

Ask Me Anything About Birds - Aug 2022

94

Wrens (Family: Troglodytidae)

95

Flocking Behavior in Birds

96

How Bird Feathers Get Their Colors

97

Flamingos

98

Eggs: Incredible and Commendable

99

Avian Flu

100

Giant Birds: Go Big or Go Home

101

The Northern Cardinal

102

Female Birdsong

103

Nests: Types, Construction, and Challenges

104

The Pecking Order: Dominance Hierarchies in Birds

105

Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers (Family: Laridae)

106

Wallace's Line: Where Two Bird Worlds Collide

107

Solving Bird Mysteries with Forensic Ornithology

108

Coffee and Bird Conservation

109

The Common Loon

110

Awesome Things We Learned About Birds in 2021

111

Swallows and Martins

112

Fire and Birds

113

Ask Me Anything About Birds - Nov 2021

114

New World Vultures

115

How Birds Fly

116

Penguins

117

Wetlands as Bird Habitat

118

Roadrunners

119

eBird and Citizen Science

120

Pigeons and Doves

121

The Birds of Alaska

122

The Shoebill

123

Artificial Intelligence in Bird Research

124

New World Warblers

125

Mate Choice and Sexual Selection in Birds

126

Sandpipers

127

Bird Intelligence

128

Vermilion Flycatcher

129

Cats vs Birds

130

Finches

131

How Birds Survive in Winter

132

Kingfishers

133

5 Awesome Things We Learned About Birds in 2020

134

Ducks, Geese, and Swans

135

Bird Party: Mixed-Species Flocks

136

Peregrine Falcon

137

What Is a Species, Really?

138

Pelicans

139

Feathers: Form and Function

140

Brood Parasites Are Devious Birds

141

Woodpeckers

142

How Do Birds Sleep?

143

The Biggest Global Threats to Birds

144

Hummingbirds

145

Vision in Birds

146

Bird Songs - Part 2

147

Bird Songs - Part 1

148

Migration in Birds

149

The Biodiversity of Birds

150

Competition Between Bird Species

151

The Origin of Birds