The Science of Birds is a lighthearted exploration of bird biology. It's a fun resource for any birder or naturalist who wants to learn more about ornithology. Impress your birding friends at cocktail parties with all of your new bird knowledge! Hosted by Ivan Phillipsen, a passionate naturalist with a PhD in Zoology.
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New World and African Parrots
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In this episode—which is Number 103—we enter the fascinating world of parrots, focusing on species in the family Psittacidae, which includes New World parrots and some African species. We look at key parrot traits like their zygodactyl feet, strong beaks, plumage, and vocalizations. We'll also learn about the remarkable intelligence and social beha…
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In this episode—which is Number 102—we dive into the fascinating world of the Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), a small but mighty bird known for its striking blue and orange plumage and remarkable fish-hunting skills. We'll look at this species' behavior, from its iconic plunges into water to catch prey, to how it breeds, including courtship ritu…
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This is Episode 101. Today, we trace the origins of feathers back millions of years, exploring how they evolved from simple filaments to the complex structures we see in modern birds. We delve into the discovery of feathered dinosaurs like Archaeopteryx and the numerous fossil finds in northeastern China during the 1990s. These discoveries revealed…
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Welcome to the 100th episode of The Science of Birds Podcast! I'm thrilled to celebrate this milestone with you. In this special episode, I reflect on the journey of creating this podcast, sharing some insights and gratitude for all of you, my listeners. I also highlight three of my favorite bird species: the vibrant Green Jay, the Torrent Duck, an…
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Cormorants and Shags
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In this episode—which is Number 99—we dive into the fascinating world of cormorants and shags, members of the avian family Phalacrocoracidae. These sleek, hook-billed birds are known for their distinctive silhouettes, often seen drying their wings on seaside cliffs or wetland trees. Cormorants and shags have a long history of varied human interacti…
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This episode—which is Number 98—delves into the fascinating world of the avian brain. Despite the long-standing misconception that "bird brain" equates to being unintelligent, recent scientific research reveals that birds possess remarkably sophisticated brains, rivaling the intelligence of primates and even humans in some respects. By tracing the …
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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 Mountai…
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In this episode—which is Number 96—I’ll be answering questions sent by my listeners. So this is what we call an “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) episode. I enjoy doing these, and it’s so interesting to see what sorts of questions people have about birds. The listeners who get to contribute questions for these Ask Me Anything episodes are members of my commu…
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This episode—which is number 95—is all about spoonbills. There are six spoonbill species in the world, all of which belong to the genus Platalea. The unique beak of spoonbills sets them apart from pretty much all other birds. What is the advantage of having a bill shaped like that? We'll answer that question in this episode. ~~ Leave me a review us…
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This episode—which is Number 94— is all about the Avian Digestive System. That’s right, kids, we’re looking at bird guts today! If you’ve ever wondered what happens to a fish swallowed by a kingfisher or what happened to that piece of bacon swiped off your lunch plate by a cheeky Ring-billed Gull... Well, you're about to find out. I’ll do my best t…
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This episode—which is number 93—is all about the the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), one of the world’s best known and most abundant birds. It expanded across the planet along with humans over the last 10,000 years, with the spread of agriculture. Today, this plucky little bird is a model organism for the study of basic bird biology. Over 7,000 …
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Bird Habitat: Deserts
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This episode—which is Number 92—is all about the value of desert ecosystems as habitats for birds. Deserts are important for the birds that are adapted to live in them—birds that can handle the harsh conditions. Deserts are home to relatively few bird species. Only the polar regions and maybe some parts of the open ocean have less bird diversity. E…
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Chickadees, Tits, and Titmice
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This is Episode 91. It’s all about birds in the family Paridae. These are the chickadees, tits, and titmice—cute little forest-dwelling songbirds known and loved by many people around the world. I’ve had a lot of requests to make a podcast episode about chickadees and their kind. Some species in this family are familiar visitors to backyard bird fe…
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This is Episode 90 and it’s all about the importance of birds as plant pollinators. If I had to use only one word for the topic of this episode, it would be ornithophily. The definition of ornithophily is “the pollination of flowers by birds.” Today, I’ll be focusing mostly on the ecological relationships between plants and the birds that pollinate…
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This is Episode 89. I’m publishing it right at the beginning of 2024, and it's a review of some fascinating things that happened in the world of ornithology and bird conservation over the last 12 months, in 2023. Naturally, this isn’t an exhaustive review of every scientific discovery about birds in 2023. That would be too much. An exhaustive revie…
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This episode—which is number 88—is all about owls. Owls are fascinating birds that have captured our imaginations since the dawn of humankind. They have amazing camouflage that allows them to blend in with their surroundings, and they have several other avian superpowers that set them apart from all other birds. Owls are divided into two families—T…
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This episode—which is Number 87—is all about some big news in the birding world. The common names for about 150 North American bird species are going to change in the not-too-distant future. This comes from an announcement made by the American Ornithological Society just a few weeks ago, on November 1st. I couldn’t pass up the chance to talk about …
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This episode—which is Number 86—is all about bird beaks. This will be an overview of beak anatomy, function, evolution, and diversity. The head of every bird on Earth is adorned with a beak. A bill. And to the delight of us all, those beaks come in a wild variety of shapes and colors. Just picture the mugs of toucans, vultures, ducks, parrots, flam…
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This episode—which is Number 85—is about the Meadowlarks of the world. And it’s not just those three North American species: the Western, Eastern, and Chihuahuan. There are actually 8 bird species we call meadowlarks. The other five are found primarily in South America. We’ll be talking about them today, too. Meadowlarks belong to the New World Bla…
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This is Episode 84. Our topic today is the challenge of saving bird species that are very close to extinction. Species like the Spix’s Macaw, which have tiny global populations—whether in the wild, or in captivity. Other familiar examples are the California Condor and the Whooping Crane, whose populations bottomed out at 22 and 23, respectively. Ri…
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Quails of the New World
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This is Episode 83. It’s all about birds in the family Odontophoridae. These are the New World quails. Why is this the family of "New World" quails? Because there’s a whole mess of birds we call quails that live in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. But those birds all belong to the pheasant family, Phasianidae. New World quails are shy birds gro…
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This is Episode 82. It's all about the ways that scientists track the movements of individual birds. The focus of today’s episode is not so much about the behaviors of birds, but about the technologies used by researchers to study bird behavior—the methods used to reveal the movements of birds. And our focus will be on the tracking of individual bi…
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This is Episode 81. It’s all about birds in the family Nectariniidae. These are the sunbirds and the spiderhunters. If you live in or have gone birding in places like Africa, India, Southeast Asia, or Indonesia, you’re probably familiar with sunbirds. Consider yourself lucky. But if you have no idea what a sunbird or a spiderhunter is, or if you ha…
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This is Episode 80. It's all about flightless birds, and about the evolutionary processes that lead to flightlessness. Flightlessness in birds is, in my opinion, a fascinating scientific topic. And so here we are with this episode. Alive on the planet today, there are about 60 bird species that can’t fly. That’s only about 0.54 percent of the world…
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This is Episode 79. It's all about the Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis). This is one of North America’s most common raptors. We find these birds from sea to shining sea across the continent. The Redtail is a generalist predator. It can eat many kinds of prey and thrive in a broad range of habitats. Besides seeing these birds along the highway, y…
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This is Episode 78 and today we’re doing an overview of parental care in birds. How do birds raise their babies? Parent birds feeding their chicks in a nest is an iconic image. It’s a symbol of the spring and summer seasons and of the annual rejuvenation of nature. To the casual observer, birds generally come across as caring, attentive parents. Si…
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Seabirds
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This is Episode 77. It's an overview of seabirds. Some might call them Oceanic birds or Marine Birds. How do we define what is or isn’t a sea bird? Well, it depends on who you ask. There’s no one definition, since “seabird” is an informal term, rather than a scientific one. It doesn’t correspond to a single taxonomic category, or to a single evolut…
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In this episode—which is Number 76—I’ll be answering some interesting questions sent to me by my listeners. Questions about birds, of course. The questions in today’s episode came from not just any old listeners, but from my supporters on Patreon. At the two higher tiers of support, one perk for my patrons is the chance to send me questions for the…
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This is Episode 75. It’s all about shrikes—birds in the family Laniidae. These are true songbirds—members of the avian suborder Passeri within the order Passeriformes—even though they act (and sort of look like) tiny falcons or hawks. Shrikes are sit and wait predators. They typically sit upright on an exposed, conspicuous perch and then wait for s…
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This episode—which is Number 74—is all about edible bird’s nests and Bird’s Nest Soup. Edible bird nests are a traditional delicacy in east Asia. Especially in China. For centuries, wealthy Chinese people have consumed edible bird nests. Usually in the form of bird’s nest soup. Throughout much of recent history, this dish has been one of the most e…
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This is Episode 73. It’s all about birds in the avian family Gruidae… the cranes. These tall birds are charismatic and super interesting. It’s going to be fun to do a deep dive into all things crane today. Humans around the world have celebrated cranes for thousands of years, for their graceful beauty and their exuberant courtship dances. Across ma…
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This episode—which is Number 72—is about what happens to birds, not just in bad weather, but in really bad weather. We’re talking hurricanes, floods, droughts, heat waves, tornadoes, maybe even the occasional sharknado, and so on. How do birds deal with all these natural disasters? We’ll get into that. We'll be talking mostly about the more immedia…
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This episode—which is Number 71—is about one particular scientific article. An article that’s near and dear to my heart. This study was published in 2020, in the Scientific Journal of Research and Reviews. You already know the title of the study itself. It’s the same as the title of this podcast episode… "What’s the Deal With Birds?" The study's au…
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This episode—which is Number 70—is all about the Great Blue Heron. The scientific name for the Great Blue Heron is Ardea herodias. This species is one of the most familiar large birds in North America. So it was inevitable that I’d make a podcast episode about it. The Great Blue Heron is a beautiful, fascinating, and ecologically important bird. Li…
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This episode—which is Number 69—is all about the avian skeleton. Bird bones. So this is an episode about some basic anatomy of birds. Bird bones and the avian skeleton are elegant, strong, and rigid. Let’s put on our x-ray goggles, and peer inside the body of a bird, to see what’s going on with all those beautiful bones... Links of Interest Cranial…
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Today’s episode is number 68. It’s all about the family of birds called Bucerotidae. These are the hornbills. Maybe you’ve heard about hornbills and know a few facts about them. Or maybe you’ve never even heard about these birds. Either way, I think you’ll enjoy today’s podcast episode. Hornbills are just so cool! The family Bucerotidae includes se…
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This is Episode Number 67. It’s the last episode of 2022, so that means it’s the Annual Review! We’re going to look back at 2022, at some of the most interesting scientific studies of birds that were published this year. Will this be a painstakingly thorough review of everything that scientists learned about birds in 2022? No. Not so much. The stud…
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This episode—which is Number 66—is all about the ways you can help birds. How you can make a difference in their conservation. It’s one thing to enjoy learning about birds in an objective, scientific way. They’re fascinating organisms. But does our interest in the biology of birds also come bundled with a care and concern for them? With warm and fu…
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This is Episode 65, and it’s all about waxwings—birds in the family Bombycillidae. The Cedar Waxwing is one species, and there are two others that we’ll talk about. These beautiful, elegant songbirds are loved by people across the Northern Hemisphere. Waxwings are easy on the eyes, for sure, and that’s great. I mean, personally, I think they’re jus…
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This episode—which is Number 64—is all about the importance of temperate grasslands as habitat for birds. When we say “temperate grasslands,” we mean those generally occurring in the middle latitudes. Temperate grasslands exist in several parts of the world. Some of them cover vast areas. Here in North America, we have the Great Plains as a “great”…
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This episode—which is Number 63—is about the Common Raven, Corvus corax. This species is also known as the Northern Raven. Few bird species in the world are as geographically widespread as the Common Raven. And few are as familiar and iconic. This is a really amazing bird. Ornithologists and other scientists have studied ravens extensively, so we k…
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This episode—which is Number 62—is all about the major geographic divisions among birds across the planet. Why are bowerbirds found only in Australia and on the islands of New Guinea? Why are the birds you see in India so different from those in China? Does North America have any unique, endemic bird families? Questions like these fall within the d…
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This is Episode 61, and it’s all about Ostriches. These are the birds in the avian family Struthionidae. Ostriches are among the most recognizable and charismatic birds. No living bird is bigger than an ostrich. If you’ve ever seen one up close, you know how impressive these giants can be. They’re amazing. So I’m excited to dig into their biology w…
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This episode—which is Number 60—is about Feeding Wild Birds. As in, humans providing supplemental food for wild birds. This typically involves a contraption called a birdfeeder. When you or I hang up a birdfeeder, we’re feeding wild birds intentionally. This intentional feeding is what today’s episode is about. Millions and millions of people all a…
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This episode—which is Number 59—is a bit different. Today, I’m going to be answering questions from my listeners. More specifically, these questions come from my supporters on Patreon. I have several “tiers” or “membership levels” on my Patreon page. Each level comes with perks. One perk for the “Helpful Hornbill” and “Awesome Osprey” tiers is gett…
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Today’s episode—which is Episode 58—is all about birds in the family Troglodytidae. These are the wrens. Wrens are small, perky songbirds, most of which are some shade of brown. All the species in this family of birds are found in the New World—In North, Central, and South America. All of them, that is, except for one species found in the Old World…
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This episode—which is Number 57— is all about the flocking behavior of birds. Birds of many species spend at least part of their yearly cycle hanging out in groups. This could be just a handful of individuals or it could be a gathering of millions of birds. Today, we’ll look at some explanations for why—as the saying goes—birds of a feather flock t…
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This episode—which is Number 56— is all about the colors of birds. The diversity of color in bird plumages is one of the things we love most about these animals. But bird plumages are impressive not only when they display vibrant colors plucked from the rainbow. Thousands of species aren’t what we’d call colorful, but they do have gorgeous, intrica…
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This is Episode 55. It’s all about birds in the avian family Phoenicopteridae. These are the flamingos. No doubt you already know a fun fact or two about flamingos. These birds are crowd pleasers that get a lot of attention. But today we’re doing a deep dive into their biology. I’m hoping that along the way, you’ll pick up some new flamingo trivia …
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This episode—which is Number 54—is all about bird eggs. This is an important topic. Eggs are a fundamental aspect of bird biology. Recently, in Episode 49 of the podcast, I covered the topic of nests. So it seems like a logical next step for us to get the lowdown on eggs. Oology is the science of studying bird eggs. So today, we are all honorary oo…
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