The Science of Birds

Ivan Phillipsen

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. read less

Our Editor's Take

The Science of Birds is an American birding podcast. This show is calling all bird lovers, watchers, and bird biology aficionados. It's fascinating for those craving new facts on their favorite species to general birdlife. The show's host, Ivan Phillipsen, is a natural world enthusiast with a Ph.D. in Zoology. Episode contents range from investigations on bird species to bird-based illnesses. Each episode lasts about 45 minutes, making it a great backdrop for birdwatching in the park.

This podcast has something for every listener. This includes those new to the science of birds as well as experienced bird enthusiasts. The Science of Birds features fantastic facts for ornithologists in training. From physical traits to mating patterns and bird biology galore, there is plenty of knowledge to gain for everyone.

"Artificial Intelligence in Bird Research" showcases Phillipsen's research background. Episodes like "The Birds of Alaska" explain birds' role in regional ecosystems. The podcast leads through the beautiful rainbow of birdlife. Listeners can learn about hummingbirds, songbirds, and many others.

Other episodes are more ecology-focused. "The Biggest Global Threats to Birds" highlights environmental shifts impacting global bird populations. Phillipsen also provides ways to get involved in preservation. Episodes often cite resources, providing ways for action-oriented listeners to help.

The Science of Birds also features special episodes, like a Q&A style “Ask Me Anything” or the best bird facts of the year. Phillipsen presents every segment with fun and variety. The host also asks for listener feedback. They help him decide which birds to discuss in podcast episodes. No bird is too big or obscure, from penguins and ostriches to woodpeckers and warblers. Flying is not a prerequisite for birds on this podcast. The show issues new episodes twice a month. Bird fans of all levels may enjoy this program.

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Answers to Your Questions About Birds - AMA - Vol 4

Answers to Your Questions About Birds - AMA - Vol 4

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 community on Patreon. There are several tiers of support that people can join, and at the Helpful Hornbill and Awesome Osprey level, one perks is getting to ask questions for episodes like this one.So if you’d like to have me answer your bird questions in a future episode, consider signing up on my Patreon page, and become a Helpful Hornbill or an Awesome Osprey. I got lots of participation this time and some great questions. Many of the questions submitted are about things I hadn’t thought about before. Some of them are sort of out of left field… Which is so cool. The curiosity and unique perspectives of my listeners—you guys—drive me to expand my own understanding of birds. And I love that! Links of Interest Male Montezuma Oropendola song and bow display [VIDEO] ~~ Leave me a review using Podchaser ~~Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website Support the Show.

Episodes

Answers to Your Questions About Birds - AMA - Vol 4

Answers to Your Questions About Birds - AMA - Vol 4

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 community on Patreon. There are several tiers of support that people can join, and at the Helpful Hornbill and Awesome Osprey level, one perks is getting to ask questions for episodes like this one.So if you’d like to have me answer your bird questions in a future episode, consider signing up on my Patreon page, and become a Helpful Hornbill or an Awesome Osprey. I got lots of participation this time and some great questions. Many of the questions submitted are about things I hadn’t thought about before. Some of them are sort of out of left field… Which is so cool. The curiosity and unique perspectives of my listeners—you guys—drive me to expand my own understanding of birds. And I love that! Links of Interest Male Montezuma Oropendola song and bow display [VIDEO] ~~ Leave me a review using Podchaser ~~Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website Support the Show.

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 using Podchaser ~~Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website Support the Show.

The Avian Digestive System

The Avian Digestive System

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 to describe in words the anatomical features we encounter today. But I’ve also drawn a diagram for you. You can check that out on the show notes for this episode on the Science of Birds website. ~~ Leave me a review using Podchaser ~~Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website Support the Show.

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 scientific studies of the House Sparrow have been published. In this episode, we’ll get into what this species looks and sounds like, where it lives, its behavior, its breeding biology, and more.Links of InterestWorld Sparrow Day~~ Leave me a review using Podchaser ~~Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website Support the Show.

Bird Habitat: Deserts

Bird Habitat: Deserts

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.Even if a bird species can handle the extremes of heat and cold in a desert, the desiccating winds, and the lack of water, that bird may not find much food. Because where there are few plants, there are few invertebrates. So a bird in the desert can have a hard time finding any leaves, seeds, fruit, or bugs to eat.And yet, an assortment of bird species from many disparate families have managed to carve out an existence in the world’s most arid lands. There may be nowhere near as many of them as in, say, a tropical rainforest or a temperate woodland…BUT, the birds we do find in the desert are, I think, a particularly fascinating and admirable bunch. They’re tough little buggers. They’re resilient. Desert birds have interesting adaptations and behaviors that allow them to survive in places that would kill most other birds in a day.CORRECTIONS: I realized after I recorded this episode that I mispronounced the names of the Namib and Thar deserts. Namib should be pronounced "NAH-mib." Thar is pronounced "Tar." Links of Interest Grayish Miner in the Atacama Desert [VIDEO] ~~ Leave me a review using Podchaser ~~Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website Support the Show.

Chickadees, Tits, and Titmice

Chickadees, Tits, and Titmice

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 feeders. They’re highly active, vocal, bold, and sometimes quite confiding with people. It’s possible to gain the trust of tits and chickadees of some species by feeding them seeds out of the palm of your hand.These birds not only visit bird feeders regularly, at least in winter, but they’ll also happily lay eggs in artificial nest boxes. All of these traits make birds in the Paridae family great subjects for scientists who want to study bird behavior and ecology.So chickadees, tits, and titmice are among the most well-studied songbirds on the planet. Lucky for us here on The Science of Birds podcast, that means there’s a lot we can learn about them Links of Interest Ground Tit [VIDEO] ~~ Leave me a review using Podchaser ~~Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website Support the Show.

Flowers and Feathers: The Importance of Birds as Pollinators

Flowers and Feathers: The Importance of Birds as Pollinators

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 them. Another way to look at all of this would be through the lens of evolution—the fascinating ways that plants and birds have co-evolved with respect to pollination.I’ll make another podcast episode, at some point, about bird and plant co-evolution. We’ll touch on it today, but the main focus is ecology. Pollination ecology is actually an entire subdiscipline that many scientists have dedicated their careers to studying. It’s really interesting stuff! ~~ Leave me a review using Podchaser ~~Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website Support the Show.

Fascinating Things We Learned About Birds Last Year

Fascinating Things We Learned About Birds Last Year

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 review would be, well, exhausting. Maybe not for you, but definitely for me.Instead, I’ll tell you about a handful of studies and projects that I think you’ll find interesting. These gems were hand-selected by me for your educational pleasure.Links of InterestColossal BiosciencesBirds, Not MosquitoesHow Wolbachia Can Save Forest Birds [VIDEO]Puzzle-solving caracaras [VIDEO]~~ Leave me a review using Podchaser ~~Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website Support the Show.

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—Tytonidae and Strigidae—and we'll be discussing both of them today.Links of InterestOwl Notes–Denver Holt Shares the Short eared Owl's Courtship Flight [VIDEO]Long-whiskered Owlet (Xenoglaux loweryi) [VIDEO]The silent flight of an owl [VIDEO]Pellet.comWhat an Owl Knows [BOOK]~~ Leave me a review using Podchaser ~~Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website Support the Show.

Avian Rebrand: New Names for Many North American Birds

Avian Rebrand: New Names for Many North American Birds

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 this. It’s a hot topic among birders right now. People have been asking me what I think about all these birds getting renamed. And so here we are.If you’re hearing about this for the first time, and you don’t know what I’m talking about, don’t worry—I’ll explain.Yes, this is primarily relevant to birds and the humans who love them in the Western Hemisphere. Mostly North America for now.But similar changes may be on the horizon for your local birds, wherever you live. So I think you’ll find this interesting, even if you don’t live in the US or Canada. Links of InterestAmerican Ornithological Society (AOS) Council Statement on English Bird NamesAOS Community Congress on English Bird Names [VIDEO] ~~ Leave me a review using Podchaser ~~Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website Support the Show.

Bird Beaks: The Right Tool for the Job

Bird Beaks: The Right Tool for the Job

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, flamingos, and pelicans.The diversity of beak shapes like these is one of the fascinating things about birds. Birds use their beaks for all sorts of tasks. These appendages are vital tools, used for getting food, for grooming, for communication, and more. Links of Interest The Mark My Bird Project ~~ Leave me a review using Podchaser ~~Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website Support the Show.

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 Blackbird family, Icteridae. This family includes birds like Red-winged Blackbird, Baltimore Oriole, and the Great-tailed Grackle.There’s a lot to admire about meadowlarks. The 3 yellow-breasted and 5 red-breasted meadowlark species bring color and music to the windswept grasslands of the Americas. ~~ Leave me a review using Podchaser ~~Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website Support the Show.

Saving Bird Species From the Brink of Extinction

Saving Bird Species From the Brink of Extinction

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. Rigorous conservation programs have since given these two North American species a fighting chance at long-term survival.This episode is about species that we almost lost forever, but with great effort we’ve kept them from disappearing. Many of these species, like the California Condor, aren’t out of the woods yet. They may be in better shape now than they were a couple of decades ago, but they still need lots of help.In this episode, we’re first going to look at some of the biggest challenges faced by conservationists as they try to save species on the brink.Second, we’ll talk about the tools and methods used to save birds.~~ Leave me a review using Podchaser ~~Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website Support the Show.

Quails of the New World

Quails of the New World

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 ground-dwelling birds that walk or run around in the daytime, looking for tidbits of food in the leaf litter.If they sense any kind of stranger danger, they hunker down and hide in bushes or other vegetation. Their first instinct is to sit still and rely on their camouflage, rather than to fly away.These birds may be shy around strangers, but they’re generally very social with members of their own kind. They’re gregarious little buggers. In this episode, I go into detail about what New World quails look and sound like, about their diversity, and about the ways they live their lives. ~~ Leave me a review using Podchaser ~~Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website Support the Show.

Tracking Methods: How We Know Where Birds Go

Tracking Methods: How We Know Where Birds Go

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 birds. There are other methods scientists use to record the mass movements of birds, like using radar to track flocks of migrants. But today we’re looking at techniques that can reveal the unique paths taken by an individual bird—a sandpiper, a hawk, albatross, pheasant, penguin, or whoever. Links of Interest Motus ~~ Leave me a review using Podchaser ~~Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website Support the Show.

Sunbirds and Spiderhunters

Sunbirds and Spiderhunters

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 have only a vague idea, I’m excited to introduce you to this group of wonderful birds today.Links of InterestThese sunbirds keep singin' their song [VIDEO] ~~ Leave me a review using Podchaser ~~Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website Support the Show.

Earthbound: How Birds Become Flightless

Earthbound: How Birds Become Flightless

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’s approximately 11,000 species.It turns out there were way more flightless bird species out there before humans started exploring and colonizing every corner of the Earth. It wasn’t just the Dodo that was killed off by people.In today’s episode, we’ll look at the wonderful diversity of flightless bird species—in both the present and the past. We’ll also talk about conservation and—perhaps the most interesting thing—the evolutionary process that leads to flightlessness. How does this weird thing happen in nature? What causes a bird species to give up its greatest superpower? ~~ Leave me a review using Podchaser ~~Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website Support the Show.

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

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, you’re likely to spot a Red-tailed Hawk circling in the sky over a field, soaring or flapping slowly.In this episode, I cover the key traits of the Red-tailed Hawk, it's diet, and its breeding behaviors. Links of InterestRed-tailed Hawk ProjectRed-tailed Hawk “kiting” [VIDEO]Red-tailed Hawk and Great Horned Owl fight over a nest [VIDEO]Pale Male, the Famous Central Park Hawk, Is Dead at 32. Maybe. ~~ Leave me a review using Podchaser ~~Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website Support the Show.

Parental Care: How Birds Raise Their Young

Parental Care: How Birds Raise Their Young

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. Similar to the way mammals demonstrate good parenting behavior. We humans approve of this sort of thing. It makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside.I mean, the behavior of birds and mammals is way better than what amphibians and reptiles do, right? Those cold-blooded critters just crank out a bunch of babies and then leave them to fend for themselves. No parental care to speak of. Despicable!But to be fair, birds aren’t always the paragons of parental love that we might think they are. They sometimes do pretty messed up things when it comes to raising their offspring.And this highlights the fact that humans like to project our own cultural values onto animals. If, for example, we see a pair of adult geese dutifully tending to their adorable, fuzzy chicks, we might think, “Aww… What a cute little family. They all love each other.”And when we hear about a female Blue-footed Booby that did nothing and just sat there indifferently while the older of her two chicks murdered its younger sibling… Well, in that case, we’d probably think that booby is a bad mommy. She should be locked up in bird prison, if there were such a thing.I’ll admit I’m often guilty of this sort of thinking. I like to think that birds love their babies. I’m a total sucker for heartwarming scenes of parental care in birds.But I also know it’s not really fair for us to judge birds based on human ideas of right and wrong. Birds are just being birds. They do whatever it takes to survive and reproduce in a challenging and mostly unpredictable world.Support the Show.

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 evolutionary lineage.Here’s what the authors of the book Oceanic Birds of the World have to say about it:“To our mind, true seabirds are birds of the ocean, birds you generally go on a boat to see. Yes, some of these species can be seen from shore (and almost all come ashore somewhere to breed), but the birds we include here are species that make their living from the ocean for all or most of the year, and often not from coastal waters.”Oceanic Birds of the World is a field guide, and it includes about 270 species. Other authorities might say there are between 300 and 350 seabird species. In this episode, we'll talk about the various types of seabirds and what taxonomic groups they belong to. We'll look at how seabirds face the challenges of live on the ocean, how and where they breed, and how they find food.Links of InterestBass Rock - the tiny island that gannets love [video]Far From Land: The Mysterious Lives of Seabirds [book] ~~ Leave me a review using Podchaser ~~Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website Support the Show.