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The Science of Birds

Ivan Phillipsen

The Science of Birds

Claimed
A Birds, Nature and Science podcast featuring Ivan Phillipsen
 160 people rated this podcast
The Science of Birds

Ivan Phillipsen

The Science of Birds

Claimed
Episodes
The Science of Birds

Ivan Phillipsen

The Science of Birds

Claimed
A Birds, Nature and Science podcast featuring Ivan Phillipsen
 160 people rated this podcast
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Best Episodes of The Science of Birds

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Episode: 1SummaryLearn about the deep evolutionary origin of birds and follow their history up to the great extinction that happened 66 million years ago.First, I discuss what we mean when we say “bird.” What characteristics separate modern bir
SummaryBrood parasitism is a strange and fascinating behavior that we see (in one form or another) in several hundred bird species.This is where a female lays an egg in the nest of another bird. The parasite female flies away and never sees her
Episode: 7SummaryIt can be argued that, of all the animals, birds are the best at seeing stuff. Most species have an excellent sense of sight.In this episode, I’ll first introduce you to the anatomy of a bird’s eye.Then, we’ll look into (see wh
In this episode, we’re going to look at wetlands as habitats for birds.We’ll start with how to recognize—how to define—a wetland ecosystem. Then, we’ll get into why these ecosystems are so important to birds. How do birds use wetlands as habita
SummaryThe feather is one of the most iconic symbols of nature. Feathers are indispensable to birds, serving many critically important functions. In this episode, we explore those functions after looking closely at the anatomy—the structure—of
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 f
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 doin
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
This episode—which is Number 44—is about the relationship between coffee production and bird conservation. We'll get into how do different types of coffee cultivation affect birds, and the conservation benefits of Bird Friendly Coffee.~~ Leave
Ecologists and ornithologists have been studying the effects of wildfire on bird populations all over the world. Their research has resulted in many fascinating discoveries about the relationships between fire and birds.Wildfires have been in t
Birds, probably more than any other aerial creatures, have amazed and inspired us with the grace and power of their flight. So just how do they do it?In this episode, we'll look at the physics and anatomy of bird flight.I’ll start off with the
This episode is all about penguins. All penguins belong to the family Spheniscidae.Penguins are among the most bizarre and specialized birds in the world. Few other birds represent such a departure from what we think of as the standard avian mo
This episode is all about birds in the family Columbidae. These are all the world’s many species of pigeons and doves.These birds are more exotic and interesting than many of us give them credit for. This is a widespread, diverse group that has
The Shoebill is a tall, gray bird that appears more dinosaur-like than most members of the class Aves. You aren’t likely to confuse it with any other bird. It possesses a unique and impressive combination of size, color, and bill shape.The Shoe
New World Warblers are all the birds in the family Parulidae. You’ll sometimes hear these birds referred to as ‘Wood-Warblers.’New World Warblers are among the most celebrated and sought after birds in North America. We love them here. They’re
Our understanding of bird brains and intelligence has grown tremendously in the last couple decades.Thanks to countless scientific studies, we now know that many bird species are highly intelligent. Some of them perform better than primates, do
Winter can be a cold, dark time when food is scarce. Birds fight to stay alive during this season by using a variety of behavioral and physiological adaptations. Many of these are the same things you and I would do. But birds also have some ama
Kingfishers—all the birds in the family Alcedinidae—are the focus of this episode. There are many species of these charismatic birds living across the world.Learn about their key features, global distribution, evolution, feeding, and more.~~ Le
Despite much of human civilization grinding to a halt in 2020, research on birds continued to be published in scientific journals.Through this research, we learned many new things about our avian friends. In this episode, let’s look at 5 intere
SummaryWhen birds disappear at night, where do they go and what are they doing? Most of them are sleeping, of course. But sleep in birds differs greatly from what you and I do.In this episode, we discuss the most important functions of sleep in
Episode: 6SummaryThis episode is Part 2 of 2 about Bird Songs. In the last episode, Part 1, we talked mostly about the “how” and the “who” of bird songs. We haven’t really talked about the “why,” the purpose of all these vocal sounds. This epis
Episode: 5SummaryThis episode is Part 1 of 2 about Bird Songs. The voices of birds dominate nature’s soundscape. Bird songs and calls can be heard in almost every environment on the planet. In this episode, I’ll cover the characteristics of bir
Episode: 2SummaryLearn about the ways that different bird species compete with each other over food and other resources.I first talk about the concept of the ecological niche, since this is so important to this episode's topic.Then, I get into
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 exhaust
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 O
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