In this episode we discuss what inspired us to start this series.
0:55 - Why did we create Birdbrain Q&A?
2:20 - What are the most common bird questions you get?
4:50 - Who are the people asking bird questions?
7:45 - How do you start identifying birds?
9:00 - Is it fair to say that there’s a huge overlap between birders and crime detectives?
11:00 - What is an underrated bird?
Other resources mentioned in this episode:
The Merlin Bird ID app: https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/
Some bird feeder live-streams: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/cams/
The Holderness Family Podcast episode featuring Lauryn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3onWvZHcvME
Image credits (used under Creative Commons licenses):
Birds Aren’t Real:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%22Birds_Aren%27t_Real%22_billboard_in_Memphis_(cropped).jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Birds_Aren%27t_Real.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Birds_Aren%27t_Real_sticker_in_Chicago.jpg
Great Horned Owl:
Audio: . https://xeno-canto.org/520429
Northern Cardinals:
Red-winged Blackbird:
American Robin:
Western Tanager:
Black-billed Magpie:
Swallow:
Wren:
House Wren:
Black-capped Chickadee:
Thank you to all the image creators who posted in the public domain!
In this episode we talk about the way birds look: questions about legs and feathers, plus a really big question about Big Bird.
0:45 - Is Pam a black-capped chickadee?
2:40 - Is Big Bird a bird?
4:55 - Why do birds’ knees bend backwards?
6:10 - Why are the birds in Australia and South America more colorful than the ones in Chicago?
11:30 - What is a lek? Is it bird Tinder?
12:15 - Does being super colorful help birds survive?
Other resources mentioned in this episode:
All about Big Bird: https://sesameworkshop.org/our-work/shows/sesame-street/sesame-street-characters/big-bird/
More about Birds of Paradise: https://www.birdsofparadiseproject.org/genera/
A list of bird species you could see in Ecuador: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_birds_of_Ecuador
A list of bird species you could see in Chicago: https://chicagobirdalliance.org/blog/2022/4/birds-of-the-greater-chicago-area-checklist7
Image credits (used under Creative Commons licenses):
Black capped chickadee:
Elephant Bird heights:
Ostriches:
Great Blue Heron:
Colorful birds:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scarlet_Macaws_at_Uvita_Beach,_Costa_Rica_03.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chlorophonia_callophrys_04.jpg
Dull plumaged birds from the Merlin App
Breeding male American Goldfinch (Spring/Summer plumage):
Non breeding American Goldfinch (fall/winter plumage): mentioned at 7:44, no image appears
Blue Jay:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blue_jay_in_PP_(30960).jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cyanocitta_cristata_cyanotephra,_Lubbock,_Texas_3.jpg
Andean Cock of the Rock:
Birds of Paradise:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red_Bird-of-Paradise_0A2A2853.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wilson%27s_Bird_of_Paradise.jpg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Magnificent_Bird-of-Paradise_0A2A2180.jpg
Peacock:
Thank you to all the image creators who posted in the public domain!
You asked for it, you got it: an episode all about bird poop. Yes, this one is totally full of shit.
1:20 - Why is bird poop white?
3:35 - Can birds poop in their sleep?
5:25 - Why do Turkey Vultures poop and pee on themselves?
8:30 - How do birds feel when they poop on you?
10:50 - What’s your favorite book about bird poop? with *Jill Dugan*
12:25 - Have you been pooped on by a bird?
Other resources mentioned in this episode:
Read about a researcher who studied vulture poop: https://www.jsu.edu/news/articles/2023/08/gamecock-scientists-say-vultures-need-love.html
Featured book: Someday a Bird Will Poop on You https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/megan-kellie/someday-a-bird-will-poop-on-you/9780316487764/
Image credits (used under Creative Commons licenses):
Bird poop
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Een_guanotroof_milieu_op_een_kribbe.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Viersen_-_Remigiusplatz_-_St_Remigius_07_ies.jpg
Emus:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gro%C3%9Fer_Emu_Zoo_Landau_2011.JPG
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emu_1_-_Tidbinbilla.jpg
Turkey Vultures:
Black Vulture:
Lab scientists (probably not looking at bird poop, but who knows?):
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Young_and_Upcoming_Scientist_02.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scientists_are_working_in_the_lab.5.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Swine_Gut_Microbiome_-_51405268145.jpg
Common Terns:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Common_tern_2024_04_28.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Gull_Island,_NY_(5913219644).jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tern_at_Monomoy_National_Wildlife_Refuge_(4853166305).jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sterna_hirundo_-hovering_to_protect_nest-8.jpg
Marabou Stork and Chicken images by Elise Benedict
Thank you to all the image creators who posted in the public domain!