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Out in the rainforest of Central and South America there is a family of birds that makes a living by following ants and eating the bugs they disturb. They're the Antbirds and they're pretty neat. In this episode we take a look at what these guys are all about. To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on through to Patreon: www.patreon.com/birdoftheweek Want birds in your inbox? Drop me a line at [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird. Notes: Antbirds: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/thamno3/cur/introduction#genusThamnophilusBicoloured Antbird: https://ebird.org/species/bicant2?siteLanguage=en_AUOcellated Antbird: https://ebird.org/species/oceant1Parasites: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3450647

I've never really been a birder myself. Birding, twitching, getting out in the field and tracking down a bird isn't an activity I've ever taken seriously, mostly because I never really had the time to do. But since going on parental leave I've found myself with hours in the day to fill and a baby who likes getting out and about. So in this episode I present the reflections of a birding novice. To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on through to Patreon: www.patreon.com/birdoftheweek Want birds in your inbox? Drop me a line at [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird. Notes: Aussie Bird Count: https://aussiebirdcount.org.au/ Merlin Bird ID: https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/ eBird Mobile: https://ebird.org/about/ebird-mobile

The show still exists! We are back and this time we are looking at maybe the world's most boring bird, the House Sparrow. These little brown birds live in pretty much every city in the world. Everyone is familiar with them and they have little of interest to offer anyone, ever. Or do they? Well let's find out. To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on through to Patreon: www.patreon.com/birdoftheweek Want birds in your inbox? Drop me a line at [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird. Notes: House Sparrow: https://ebird.org/species/houspaThe War on Sparrows: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/episodes/16461045-the-war-on-sparrowsWestern Australia hates the Sparrow: https://www.dpird.wa.gov.au/siteassets/documents/biosecurity/invasive/birds/sparrows---biosecurity-alert-pf008-23-print.pdfHow Sparrows came to Australia: https://theconversation.com/city-sparrows-came-to-australia-via-india-59730The Sparrow's evolution: https://www.bbcearth.com/news/how-humans-shaped-the-evolution-of-the-worlds-most-common-birdSparrow declining population: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/16/house-sparrow-population-in-europe-drops-by-247m

Today we are going to look at three birds that I think are some of the strangest in the world. Ah... I don't have much more to say about the episodes ... it kinda does what it says on the label.  To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on through to Patreon: www.patreon.com/birdoftheweek Want birds in your inbox? Drop me a line at [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird. Notes: Greater Vasa Parrot: https://ebird.org/species/vaspar1Sungrebe: https://ebird.org/species/sungre1Hoatzin: https://ebird.org/species/hoatzi1Mousebird: https://ebird.org/species/spemou2

The Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo is one of the most instantly recognisable Australian birds. Big, loud and mischievous. Some people love them, some people ... not so much. But they're smart birds that deserve an episode of their own, so let's do it. To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on through to Patreon: www.patreon.com/birdoftheweek Want birds in your inbox? Drop me a line at [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird. Notes: Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo: https://ebird.org/species/succocPowder Down: https://www.birdnote.org/podcasts/birdnote-daily/powder-downEpisode 57 - Parrots: https://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/1733312/episodes/14752840-parrotsVocal mimicry in parrots: https://www.miragenews.com/vocal-mimicry-in-parrots-why-they-repeat-human-1029293/Syrinx: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982222013112Cockatoos raid bins: https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-09-13/cockatoos-cockies-bin-lid-flip-culture-bricks-bird-cognition/101424194

This episodes is not about birds. This is about Australia's electoral system. How's that for coming out of left field? Why is Bird Guy talking about electoral systems? Good questions, it's something I'm interested in, and Australia had a recent election result that I think is worth taking a closer look at. If you don't want to hear about that, this probably isn't the episode for you. So no hard feelings if you want to skip this one. But if you're in the mood for something a little different, join me now.

Pelicans! Giant, big beaked birds of the water. Urban legends surrounded these critters, like the fact that they will sometimes eat dogs. Fact or myth? Who can say for sure? But one thing we can say is that they're fascinating birds, so let's get to know them. To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on through to Patreon: www.patreon.com/birdoftheweek Want birds in your inbox? Drop me a line at [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird. Notes: Pelican eats Pigeon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phUs2kIGY9MAustralian Pelican: https://ebird.org/species/auspel1?siteLanguage=en_AUPink-Backed Pelican: https://ebird.org/species/pibpel1Spot-Billed Pelican: https://ebird.org/species/spbpel1Dalmatian Pelican: https://ebird.org/species/dalpel1Peruvian Pelican: https://ebird.org/species/perpel1Brown Pelican: https://ebird.org/species/brnpelPelican finds water: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-19/curious-central-west-why-pelicans-prefer-some-places/9054518hunting practices: https://asknature.org/strategy/cooperative-herding-catches-more-food/Dalmatian Pelican conservation: https://rewildingeurope.com/blog/turning-the-tide-for-the-dalmatian-pelican/Peruvian Pelican conservation: https://discover.silversea.com/destinations/south-america/how-the-peruvian-pelican-reflects-changes-in-the-environment/

Many birds mimic the calls of other birds. But there is no bird that has the repertoire of the Lyrebird, renown for being some of the greatest mimics in the avian world. So, what's they're deal? Let's find out.  To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on through to Patreon: www.patreon.com/birdoftheweek Want birds in your inbox? Drop me a line at [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird. Notes: Superb Lyrebird: https://ebird.org/species/suplyr1?siteLanguage=en_AUAlbert's Lyrebird: https://ebird.org/species/alblyr110 cents: https://www.ramint.gov.au/ten-centsLyrebirds are losing their voice: https://westernsydney.edu.au/newscentre/news_centre/more_news_stories/lyrebirds_are_losing_their_voice_due_to_continued_habitat_lossBird Life: https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profiles/superb-lyrebird/?srsltid=AfmBOoqwY7ME7qaHqkOv23B2VUUFpxZ_VlL4BIEGim8z85fHyydXH7axWorld Wildlife Fund: https://wwf.org.au/blogs/the-superb-lyrebird-helping-these-amazing-mimickers-recover-from-the-2019-20-bushfires/

You know what film doesn't get talked about enough? Charlie's Angels (2000). But wait, this show isn't about middling films from two decades ago, it's about amazing birds, so how is that film connected to birds? Well, let's find out. I promise it's ridiculous.  To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on through to Patreon: www.patreon.com/birdoftheweek Want birds in your inbox? Drop me a line at [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird. Notes: Charlie's Angels: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie%27s_Angels_(2000_film)The Scene in question: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-mbJhVl2XcPygmy Nuthatch: https://ebird.org/species/pygnutVenezuelan Troupial: https://ebird.org/species/ventro1Troupials are nest pirates: https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Icterus_icterus%20-%20Troupial.pdfFox Sparrow: https://ebird.org/species/foxspaSlate's podcast on the issue: https://slate.com/podcasts/decoder-ring/2024/10/how-did-the-big-budget-charlies-angels-movie-get-this-bird-so-wrong

The Kookaburra has to be one of Australia's most famous birds, with a call so iconic and strange that it has been used in a whole swarth of Hollywood films to evoke a feeling of the topics and the exotic, despite the fact that they do not live in that type of environment. But they're a bird of far greater interest than their call alone, so in this episode we'll see what else they have to offer. To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on through to Patreon: www.patreon.com/birdoftheweek Want birds in your inbox? Drop me a line at [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird. Notes: Laughing Kookaburra: https://ebird.org/species/laukoo1Blue-Winged Kookaburra: https://ebird.org/species/blwkoo1?siteLanguage=en_AUSpangled Kookaburra: https://ebird.org/species/spakoo1Rufous-Bellied Kookaburra: https://ebird.org/species/rubkoo1Shovel-Billed Kookaburra: https://ebird.org/species/shbkoo1Kookaburra was Flipper: https://bioacoustics.stackexchange.com/questions/746/is-this-sound-made-by-flipper-dolphin-tv-series-realKookaburra in film: https://soundandthefoley.com/2013/05/30/that-jungle-sound/#:~:text=THE%20KOOKABURRA%20IN%20OTHER%20FILMS,on%20their%20way%20to%20Australia.Kookaburra chicks kill their siblings: https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2000/10/23/201846.htm 

The Bird is back, and we are back looking at a bird with a reputation for being the world's most dangerous. Maybe in a shock twist the bird with the badass reputation is a giant fruit eater from Papua New Guinea, the Cassowary. But is this reputation deserving? Well in this episode we will find out just how dangerous they are, but also what else makes them especially cool.  To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on through to Patreon: www.patreon.com/birdoftheweek Want birds in your inbox? Drop me a line at [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird. Notes: Southern Cassowary: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/soucas1/cur/introductionNorthern Cassowary: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/norcas1/cur/introduction?lang=esDwarf Cassowary: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/dwacas1/cur/introduction?lang=esKiwi: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/episodes/13777746-kiwis-fruit-people-birdsEmu: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/episodes/11406903-the-great-emu-warCassowary 1926 fatality: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/175730542Ostrich lethality: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4323753/#:~:text=When%20attacking%20a%20person%2C%20ostriches,wild%20ostrich%20populations%20%5B2%5D.Keystone species: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mb1bbIyF9OUCasque: https://tetzoo.com/blog/2022/4/9/inside-the-cassowarys-casque-updated

Today we welcome back friend of The Bird, Mr David Clay, as we discuss that one time China tried to eliminate all the sparrows in their nation. Did the plan work, were there unforeseen consequences, is this another tale of human folly? Almost certainly. Join us as we look at another strange avian story from history. To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on through to Patreon: www.patreon.com/birdoftheweek Want birds in your inbox? Drop me a line at [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird. Notes Sorry I meant to have notes, but I'm not as organised this time. The story is quite well documented though in numerous online sources.

Bird of the Week special announcement: there is a baby on the way so there's no better time to talk about Storks and what they have to do with baby delivery. Where did that myth of the Stork bringing babies to expectant parents come from? Well, today we are going to find out. To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on through to Patreon: www.patreon.com/birdoftheweek Want birds in your inbox? Drop me a line at [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.   Notes Storks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StorkSaddle-Billed Stork: https://ebird.org/species/sabsto1Marabou: https://ebird.org/species/marsto1?siteLanguage=en_AUWhite Stork: https://ebird.org/species/whisto1?siteLanguage=en_AUBlack Stork: https://ebird.org/species/blasto1Migration: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/episodes/9912409-migration-part-ii Speared Stork: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PfeilstorchHera: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230119-the-weird-history-of-baby-mythsHans Christian Andersen: http://hca.gilead.org.il/storks.htmlWork Without Hope: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43999/work-without-hope

In our follow up episode on avian flight we dive deeper into the question of how birds get into the air. In part two we look at the machinery birds have and the physiological attributes they needed to make a flapping wing work. But do we answer the question, 'how do birds fly?', almost certainly not. To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on through to Patreon: www.patreon.com/birdoftheweek Want birds in your inbox? Drop me a line at [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.   Notes Part 1: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/episodes/16146149-power-of-flight-part-1Feather episode: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/episodes/8438286-the-heck-s-a-feather Keel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keel_(bird_anatomy)#:~:text=A%20keel%20or%20carina%20(%20pl,the%20plane%20of%20the%20ribs.hollow bones: https://www.esc.cam.ac.uk/news/some-birds-have-hollow-bones-and-new-research-helps-us-understand-whylungs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXuWi_ODAgofeathers: https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/feathers-article/wing design: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/k12/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Bird-Wing-Types-Handout.pdf 

Flying is basically the most defining thing about what birds do, and yet I've never really spoken about it. Well no more, today we begin the mission to figure out how exactly birds fly. We will begin in the long past and look at the evolutionary journey from lizard to bird, as I refuse to answer the question: how do birds fly. But then I guess that's Part 2 will be for? To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on through to Patreon: www.patreon.com/birdoftheweek Want birds in your inbox? Drop me a line at [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird. Flightless bird episodes Kiwis: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/episodes/13777746-kiwis-fruit-people-birdsEmu: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/episodes/11406903-the-great-emu-warFlightless birds: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/episodes/11317493-flightless-birdsThe Great Auk: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/episodes/10605634-the-great-aukPenguins: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/episodes/10464354-penguin-extravaganzaNotes Flying Snake: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChrysopeleaArchaeopteryx: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ArchaeopteryxHuxley's Near Bird: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AnchiornisHoly Confucius Bird: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ConfuciusornisOpposite Birds: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enantiornithes