The Science of Birds

In each Random Bird Thursday (RBT) episode, the goal is to highlight a bird species that probably isn't going to get featured in a full-length podcast episode. These are birds we might overlook, even though they certainly deserve some appreciation and attention. 
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⚠️ SPOILER ALERT!
The featured species in this episode is the Lesser Antillean Tanager (Stilpnia cuculata).
Sound Citations:
Jesse Fagan, XC42716. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/42716.
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Episode 139 of The Science of Birds takes listeners into prehistory to meet the Terror Birds: giant, flightless predators of the family Phorusrhacidae. Standing as tall as 10 feet, with axe-like beaks and sickle-clawed feet, these birds ruled South America for tens of millions of years after the dinosaurs disappeared.

Host Ivan Phillipsen explores how an isolated continent, some empty ecological niches, and the amazing process of evolution gave rise to these fearsome hunters. Along the way, the episode looks at how they lived, how they hunted, and how the various species ranged from terrifying to surprisingly small.
Links of Interest
Terror Bird scene - Life on Our Planet [VIDEO]
The Time Terror Birds Invaded - EONS [VIDEO]
Terror Birds: The Giant Birds With Guillotine Beaks [VIDEO]
When Giant Terror Birds Were Apex Predators [VIDEO]
Support the show

In each Random Bird Thursday (RBT) episode, the goal is to highlight a bird species that probably isn't going to get featured in a full-length podcast episode. These are birds we might overlook, even though they certainly deserve some appreciation and attention. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
⚠️ SPOILER ALERT!
The featured species in this episode is the Himalayan Prinia (Prinia crinigera).
Sound Citations:
Rajeev Lochan, XC797143. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/797143.
Support the show

👕 Bird Merch —  Get yourself some bird shirts!
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In this episode, host Ivan Phillipsen steps back from bird facts themselves to explore the process behind them: the Scientific Method. He breaks down how scientific understanding is built, from that first spark of curiosity in the field all the way through hypothesis testing, data collection, and peer review.

To provide a simple example, Ivan walks through a real published study on a familiar backyard bird, tracing how scientists questioned a long-standing assumption about how the species finds its food and designed an experiment to get closer to the truth. 

Along the way, the episode touches on hypothesis testing, experimental versus observational study design, and how researchers interpret and discuss their results once the data are in.
Support the show

In each Random Bird Thursday (RBT) episode, the goal is to highlight a bird species that probably isn't going to get featured in a full-length podcast episode. These are birds we might overlook, even though they certainly deserve some appreciation and attention. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
⚠️ SPOILER ALERT!
The featured species in this episode is the White-throated Magpie-Jay (Cyanocorax formosus).
Sound Citations:
Isain Contreras Rodríguez, XC530762. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/530762.
Guillermo Funes, XC198353. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/198353.
Oscar Campbell, XC278635. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/278635.
Support the show