Birds on Birds

The Greater Sage-Grouse aka avant-garde turkeys aka 'tig ol biddies' bird.... Join Hannah + Cleo this week as they dive into this spiky, alien level weirdo of a bird and our last episode of the year! We will be taking a break through November & December to work on finishing school *coughs... cleo...coughs* and bringing you more bird (and possibly not a bird) content in 2027. In the meantime, feel free to follow us on Instagram @birds0nbirds and subscribe to the show to get automatic updates for when we return!Music by FknsydSources:https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/saggro/cur/introductionhttps://www.fws.gov/species/greater-sage-grouse-centrocercus-urophasianushttps://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Greater_Sage-Grouse/idhttps://abcbirds.org/birds/greater-sage-grouse/ https://birdallianceoregon.org/our-work/protect/habitat-and-wildlife/central-and-eastern-oregon/greater-sage-grouse/https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/animals-we-protect/sage-grouse/https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/greater-sage-grousehttps://www.youtube.com/shorts/Az4L70b7UG4https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLnbiTkj1TQhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeI8gLMl9Vshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T11rOkgpRnAhttps://www.ndow.org/species/greater-sage-grouse/https://www.audubon.org/magazine/what-heck-lek-quirkiest-mating-party-earth

Following up on our Guardians of Ga'Hoole episode with the real bird behind the Pure Ones: the American Barn Owl. Ghost-white heart face, a scream that could headline a horror movie, hearing good enough to hunt in total darkness, and an 18-egg clutch that horrified us personally. Plus Hannah's 6-year unsolicited owl-gift saga and our celebrity doppelganger picks. Build a nest box. Skip the rodenticide.Music by FknsydSources:https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Barn_Owl/overviewhttps://blog.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barn_Owl/lifehistoryhttps://blog.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Barn_Owl/idhttps://guardiansofgahoole.fandom.com/wiki/Tyto_(genus)https://guardiansofgahoole.fandom.com/wiki/Pure_Ones_(Movie)https://www.owlresearchinstitute.org/species-account/american-barn-owl2024 NACC/SACC proposal to split Tyto furcata as its own species (full text PDF): https://americanornithology.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2024-C.pdfPayne (1971) acoustic-hunting study — contemporary summary in Nature: https://nature.com/articles/232523a0.pdfKonishi, "How the Owl Tracks Its Prey," American Scientist (flight-speed detail): https://www.americanscientist.org/node/2084Flieg (1971), "Tytonidae × Strigidae cross produces fertile eggs," full text via SORA: https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v088n01/p0178-p0178.pdfBoves & Belthoff (2012) Idaho road-mortality study, abstract/full record: https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/bio_facpubs/258Sokoine University of Agriculture (2023–24), Tanzania maize/owl nest-box study: https://journals.eanso.org/index.php/eajab/article/view/4475https://youtu.be/Q9HVhqXI8PY?si=H_o_BXJ2xCXbKPwRhttps://youtu.be/d_FEaFgJyfA?si=4_aoUDktzxGR5Pqg

Another feathered flick is up to bat! The long awaited and strangely good Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole. Join Hannah + Cleo as they go bar for bar on this gorgeous film and talk about an unsettling, yet timely, story of good versus evil. Music by FknsydSources:https://guardiansofgahoole.fandom.com/wiki/Legend_of_the_Guardians:_The_Owls_of_Ga%27HooleLegends of the Guardians: Owls of Ga'Hoole movie, directed by Zack Snyder and based on the book series by Kathryn Lasky

Not Sandra Bullock's bird. Never was. We checked. It's named after a father-son duo who weirdly share the exact same name (no Junior's here). This Oriole also spent 22 years having a full identity crisis with the Baltimore Oriole before science sorted it out. Also: grape jelly feeders, cottonwood "socks," and a very serious debate about whether Nicole Kidman's hair counts as Bullock's Oriole orange. Music by FknsydSources:Cornell Lab – All About Birds, Bullock's Oriole overviewCornell Lab – "One Species or Two? A Winner Emerges in the Great Oriole Debate" (Living Bird)Birds of the World – Bullock's Oriole accountAudubon Field Guide – Bullock's OrioleAnimal Diversity Web – Icterus bullockiiWikipedia – Bullock's OrioleWikipedia – William Bullock (collector)Wikipedia – Egyptian HallWikipedia – Northern OrioleZootaxa – "On the correct name of Icterus bullockii"Archives of Natural History – review of Costeloe's Bullock biographyCornell Chronicle – "Baltimore, Bullock's orioles will retain separate identities"Birds of Nebraska – Bullock's x Baltimore Oriole hybridSacramento Audubon – Meet the Bullock's OrioleEastside Audubon – Bullock's OrioleTechRadar – Practical Magic 2 release date, cast, everything we know

Unworldly aerial beagles, seadogs, scissor-bill, cutwater cuties... Join Hannah + Cleo this week as they discuss the black skimmer! Laterally compressed feathered friends that are chock full of exciting evolutionary traits.Music by FknsydSources:https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black_Skimmer/idhttps://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/blkski/cur/introduction?login&continuehttps://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/5234https://abcbirds.org/birds/black-skimmer/https://www.texassaltwaterfishingmagazine.com/fishing/black-skimmerhttps://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Rynchops_niger/https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zvnON2FImOkhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxC6BIzAtGkhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IWAxvWtHC0

Hannah's birthday week means one thing: ducks. This time it's the Harlequin Duck, dressed to impress, squeaking instead of quacking, and living in whitewater rapids on purpose.September 21st is International Day of Peace. Hannah has donated to Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), a UK charity providing emergency medical care, nutrition support, and mental health services to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon, and invites listeners to do the same: https://www.map.org.uk/how-to-help/donate/Music by FknsydSources:https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Harlequin_Duck/overviewhttps://abcbirds.org/birds/harlequin-duck/https://www.ducks.org/hunting/waterfowl-id/harlequin-duckhttps://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/harlequin-duckhttps://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=harlequinduck.printerfriendlyhttps://animalia.bio/harlequin-duckhttps://www.bto.org/learn/about-birds/birdfacts/harlequin-duckhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlequin_duckhttps://share.google/0hGiWicn5XsqUeaCchttps://share.google/FdBZ4ndNQzVnekH8Rhttps://fathersonbirding.com/monotypic-birds-evolutions-survivors/https://www.map.org.uk/how-to-help/donate/

Another Wednesday, another new bird, and this one loves to break the fourth wall! Join Hannah + Cleo this week as they learn all about the tawny frogmouth, the supposed "burly brutes of the caprimulgiforms."  Music by FknsydSources:https://australian.museum/learn/animals/birds/tawny-frogmouth/https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/tawny-frogmouth-podargus-strigoides?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=24147383687&gbraid=0AAAAAD3LNqGZFFKYmABMBAZLpyaKZ0RgD&gclid=CjwKCAjwkaXUBhASEiwAZI3dswVkISQnhUE2ASD3WinqyXyVYE6pxfGRwDFaldQojhIoWJTaSjyxARoC7ZIQAvD_BwEhttps://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/tawfro1/cur/introductionhttps://ebird.org/species/tawfro1?continuehttps://www.lpzoo.org/animals/tawny-frogmouth/https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/podarg1/cur/introductionhttps://www.scu.edu.au/news/2020/hard-to-spot-but-worth-looking-out-for-8-surprising-tawny-frogmouth-facts.php

Join Hannah + Cleo with an "ear-full" of Cedar Waxwings: the bird that looks like it was dipped in silk, courts with a berry-passing dance, and occasionally gets flat-out drunk on fermented fruit. We get into the wax, the mask, and the invasive honeysuckle problem nobody's talking about.Music by FknsydSources:https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cedar_Waxwing/idhttps://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cedar_Waxwing/lifehistoryhttps://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cedar_Waxwing/overviewhttps://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/cedar-waxwinghttps://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Birds/Cedar-Waxwinghttps://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Bombycilla_cedrorum/https://www.birdnote.org/explore/field-notes/2015/05/cedar-waxwings-spring-courtshiphttps://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/category/cedar-waxwing/https://www.audubon.org/news/spring-air-and-so-are-intoxicated-birdshttps://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/141203-drunk-birds-animals-science-winter-global-warminghttps://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/cedar-waxwing-bombycilla-cedrorumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_waxwinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Firehttps://www.treehugger.com/nandina-berries-cedar-waxwing-4863712

The highest flying bird in the world! Join Hannah + Cleo this week for their first vulture (griffon?) in honor of Cleo's birthday and favorite group of birds. Learn about these vital and, if i may say, handsome, birds and if you feel so inclined, head to 4vultures.org to donate to vulture conservation and research. Music by FknsydSources: https://peregrinefund.org/explore-raptors-species/vultures/ruppells-vulturehttps://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Gyps_rueppellii/https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/ruegri1/cur/introduction#sexhttps://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Gyps_rueppellii/https://exoticglobalparrotsfarm.com/product/fertile-authentic-ruppells-griffon-vulture-eggs/https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/ruppells-griffon-vulturehttps://www.forbes.com/sites/scotttravers/2024/08/18/the-highest-flying-bird-was-found-a-tenth-of-the-way-to-space/https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/the-race-to-save-african-vultures/https://www.forbes.com/profile/mackenzie-scott/https://4vultures.org/

A stunning silk-and-feathers hunter who almost paid for her looks with her life... Join Hannah + Cleo this week as they talk through this golden-footed showstopper, THE SNOWY EGRET.Music by FknsydSources:https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snowy_Egret/overviewhttps://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snowy_Egret/lifehistoryhttps://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/snowy-egretStephen Moss, Ten Birds That Changed the World (Basic Books, 2023)