Bird of the Week

The Bin Chicken, also known as the Australian White Ibis. It's a bird with a reputation for drinking bin juice. Some people don't really like them. But is that fair? In this episode we take a closer look and see what these bin birds are all about.

Honeyeaters, some people say they're the Hummingbirds of Australia. They are the nectar eating birds of the great southern land. What is there deal? Well this is episode that lays it out.

There is no shortage of Robins in the world. You got some in Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and Australia. Chances are if you're standing somewhere in the world, there is a Robin lurking near by. But of course, almost none of them are related to each other. Is it time for another rant about how useless and silly bird names are? You better believe 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 weekly.bird@outlook.com and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird. Notes: European Robin : https://ebird.org/species/eurrob1 American Robin: https://ebird.org/species/amerob Australasian Robins: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australasian_robin Flame Robin: https://ebird.org/species/flarob1 Rose Robin: https://ebird.org/species/rosrob1?siteLanguage=en_AU Torrent Flyrobin: https://ebird.org/species/torfly1 Japanese Robin: https://ebird.org/species/japrob2 Siberian Blue Robin: https://ebird.org/species/sibrob Indian Robin: https://ebird.org/species/indrob1 Robin Accentor: https://ebird.org/species/robacc1

Hybrids, they're strange. So strange that this may not be the episode for everyone, but hey, I'm not here to tell you what to do.

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 weekly.bird@outlook.com and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird. Notes: Antbirds: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/thamno3/cur/introduction#genusThamnophilus Bicoloured Antbird: https://ebird.org/species/bicant2?siteLanguage=en_AU Ocellated Antbird: https://ebird.org/species/oceant1 Parasites: 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 weekly.bird@outlook.com 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 weekly.bird@outlook.com and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird. Notes: House Sparrow: https://ebird.org/species/houspa The War on Sparrows: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/episodes/16461045-the-war-on-sparrows Western Australia hates the Sparrow: https://www.dpird.wa.gov.au/siteassets/documents/biosecurity/invasive/birds/sparrows---biosecurity-alert-pf008-23-print.pdf How Sparrows came to Australia: https://theconversation.com/city-sparrows-came-to-australia-via-india-59730 The Sparrow's evolution: https://www.bbcearth.com/news/how-humans-shaped-the-evolution-of-the-worlds-most-common-bird Sparrow 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 weekly.bird@outlook.com and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird. Notes: Greater Vasa Parrot: https://ebird.org/species/vaspar1 Sungrebe: https://ebird.org/species/sungre1 Hoatzin: https://ebird.org/species/hoatzi1 Mousebird: 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 weekly.bird@outlook.com and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird. Notes: Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo: https://ebird.org/species/succoc Powder Down: https://www.birdnote.org/podcasts/birdnote-daily/powder-down Episode 57 - Parrots: https://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/1733312/episodes/14752840-parrots Vocal mimicry in parrots: https://www.miragenews.com/vocal-mimicry-in-parrots-why-they-repeat-human-1029293/ Syrinx: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982222013112 Cockatoos 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 weekly.bird@outlook.com and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird. Notes: Pelican eats Pigeon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phUs2kIGY9M Australian Pelican: https://ebird.org/species/auspel1?siteLanguage=en_AU Pink-Backed Pelican: https://ebird.org/species/pibpel1 Spot-Billed Pelican: https://ebird.org/species/spbpel1 Dalmatian Pelican: https://ebird.org/species/dalpel1 Peruvian Pelican: https://ebird.org/species/perpel1 Brown Pelican: https://ebird.org/species/brnpel Pelican finds water: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-19/curious-central-west-why-pelicans-prefer-some-places/9054518 hunting 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 weekly.bird@outlook.com and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird. Notes: Superb Lyrebird: https://ebird.org/species/suplyr1?siteLanguage=en_AU Albert's Lyrebird: https://ebird.org/species/alblyr1 10 cents: https://www.ramint.gov.au/ten-cents Lyrebirds are losing their voice: https://westernsydney.edu.au/newscentre/news_centre/more_news_stories/lyrebirds_are_losing_their_voice_due_to_continued_habitat_loss Bird Life: https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profiles/superb-lyrebird/?srsltid=AfmBOoqwY7ME7qaHqkOv23B2VUUFpxZ_VlL4BIEGim8z85fHyydXH7ax World 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 weekly.bird@outlook.com 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-mbJhVl2Xc Pygmy Nuthatch: https://ebird.org/species/pygnut Venezuelan Troupial: https://ebird.org/species/ventro1 Troupials are nest pirates: https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Icterus_icterus%20-%20Troupial.pdf Fox Sparrow: https://ebird.org/species/foxspa Slate'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 weekly.bird@outlook.com and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird. Notes: Laughing Kookaburra: https://ebird.org/species/laukoo1 Blue-Winged Kookaburra: https://ebird.org/species/blwkoo1?siteLanguage=en_AU Spangled Kookaburra: https://ebird.org/species/spakoo1 Rufous-Bellied Kookaburra: https://ebird.org/species/rubkoo1 Shovel-Billed Kookaburra: https://ebird.org/species/shbkoo1 Kookaburra was Flipper: https://bioacoustics.stackexchange.com/questions/746/is-this-sound-made-by-flipper-dolphin-tv-series-real Kookaburra 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 weekly.bird@outlook.com and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird. Notes: Southern Cassowary: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/soucas1/cur/introduction Northern Cassowary: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/norcas1/cur/introduction?lang=es Dwarf Cassowary: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/dwacas1/cur/introduction?lang=es Kiwi: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/episodes/13777746-kiwis-fruit-people-birds Emu: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/episodes/11406903-the-great-emu-war Cassowary 1926 fatality: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/175730542 Ostrich 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=mb1bbIyF9OU Casque: 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 weekly.bird@outlook.com 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 weekly.bird@outlook.com and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird. Notes Storks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stork Saddle-Billed Stork: https://ebird.org/species/sabsto1 Marabou: https://ebird.org/species/marsto1?siteLanguage=en_AU White Stork: https://ebird.org/species/whisto1?siteLanguage=en_AU Black Stork: https://ebird.org/species/blasto1 Migration: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/episodes/9912409-migration-part-ii Speared Stork: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pfeilstorch Hera: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230119-the-weird-history-of-baby-myths Hans Christian Andersen: http://hca.gilead.org.il/storks.html Work 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 weekly.bird@outlook.com 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-1 Feather 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-why lungs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXuWi_ODAgo feathers: 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 weekly.bird@outlook.com 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-birds Emu: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/episodes/11406903-the-great-emu-war Flightless birds: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/episodes/11317493-flightless-birds The Great Auk: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/episodes/10605634-the-great-auk Penguins: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/episodes/10464354-penguin-extravaganza Notes Flying Snake: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysopelea Archaeopteryx: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeopteryx Huxley's Near Bird: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchiornis Holy Confucius Bird: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confuciusornis Opposite Birds: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enantiornithes

Wow, does this podcast even release episodes anymore? Yes it does, and we are back with Albatross, renown as some of the biggest birds in the world. Majestic birds of the open ocean, clumsy buffoons on land. What is it that makes them special? We find out in this episode. 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 weekly.bird@outlook.com and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird. Notes Pelagic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelagic_zone Procellariiformes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procellariiformes The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43997/the-rime-of-the-ancient-mariner-text-of-1834 Wandering Albatross: https://ebird.org/species/wanalb1 Tube nose: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRTRRMwXuEg Waved Albatross: https://ebird.org/species/wavalb?siteLanguage=en_AU Laysan Albatross: https://ebird.org/species/layalb?siteLanguage=en_AU Short-tailed Albatross: https://ebird.org/species/shtalb?siteLanguage=en_AU Smell: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0709047105#:~:text=Wandering%20albatrosses%20(Diomedea%20exulans)%20forage,role%20in%20natural%20foraging%20behavior. Waved Albatross moves egg: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/cd6b/5ba04ee23bec2f62f223216ef97be0d307d8.pdf Mating dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EYNazaodHg Proventriculus: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/proventriculus#:~:text=The%20proventriculus%20is%20a%20glandular,a%20koilin%20layer%20(cuticle). Wisdom: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/wisdom-laysan-albatross-super-mom-is-73-and-still-going-strong/ Plight of the Tristan Albatross: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/episodes/8788007-the-tristan-albatross