Okay, But... Birds

Dr. Scott Taylor
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Naturaleza
  • Cada semana

Hosted by evolutionary biologist Dr. Scott Taylor, Okay, But... Birds explores the drama, brilliance, and science behind bird life. Each snackable 30-minute episode blends smart storytelling, expert interviews, and a touch of humor to reveal how birds shape our world . No jargon. No binoculars required. Just real science, quirky insights, and bird-brained drama you’ll want to share at brunch. Because birds aren’t background. Birds are cool.

  1. Okay, but what about birds that can't fly?

    hace 12 h ·  Video

    Okay, but what about birds that can't fly?

    E24. Flight is the thing we associate most with birds, so what does it mean when a lineage gives it up? Dr. Scott Edwards, Harvard, joins Scott to unpack how flightlessness evolves, why it keeps happening across the bird family tree, and what the genome reveals about how a bird loses the ability to fly. In this episode you'll hear about: How losing flight reshapes a bird's body, from feathers to forelimbs to that one famously enormous eggWhy the answer wasn't where geneticists expected to find itWhat an extinct giant and a tiny tropical relative can tell us about where moa actually came from All audio, video, and images in this episode are either original to Okay, But... Birds (© Okay Media, LLC) or used under license/permission from the respective rights holders. Bird media from the Macaulay Library is used courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as follows: Falkland Steamer-Duck audio contributed by Maurice A. E. Rumboll, ML4114Great Tinamou audio contributed by David L. Ross, Jr., ML57320

    33 min
  2. Okay, but can a bird really cooperate with humans?

    21 may ·  Video

    Okay, but can a bird really cooperate with humans?

    E23. Across sub-Saharan Africa, wild birds and people work together to find honey. No taming, no breeding, no domestication… just a partnership thousands of years in the making. Behavioral ecologist Dr. Jessica van der Wal, FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, joins Scott to unpack what's actually happening when a honey hunter calls and a greater honeyguide answers. In this episode you'll hear about: What each side gets out of one of the only known mutualisms between humans and a wild animal, and why this bird in particular evolved to seek us outThe remarkable signal the honeyguide uses to communicate with people, and what playback experiments revealed when researchers tested it across very different communitiesWhat happens to a partnership built over generations when one side starts buying honey at the store All audio, video, and images in this episode are either original to Okay, But... Birds (© Okay Media, LLC) or used under license/permission from the respective rights holders. Bird media from the Macaulay Library is used courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as follows: Greater Honeyguide audio contributed by Jennifer F. M. Horne, ML55972 Additional media courtesy of Dr. Claire Spottiswoode and Dr. Jessica van der Wal

    33 min
  3. Okay, but can birds predict the weather?

    14 may ·  Video

    Okay, but can birds predict the weather?

    E22. Folklore says birds know a storm is coming before we do. Scott talks with Dr. Gunnar Kramer, Iowa State University, about what's actually happening when a tiny warbler decides it's time to fly, or time to bail. In this episode: Why the question itself might be slightly wrong, and what's really going on inside that birdA storm, some missing warblers, and a discovery nobody set out to makeWhat 300 birds falling out of the sky over Texas can tell you about how much fuel is in the tank Listen, follow, and tell a friend who’s a little superstitious. All audio, video, and images in this episode are either original to Okay, But... Birds (© Okay Media, LLC) or used under license/permission from the respective rights holders. Bird media from the Macaulay Library is used courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as follows: Yellow-billed cuckoo audio, Wil Hershberger, ML94446Barnacle goose audio, Bob McGuire, ML235525Golden-winged warbler video, Benjamin Clock, ML476422Blue-winged warbler video, Eric Liner, ML469433Yellow-billed cuckoo video, Larry Arbanas, ML466566Eastern kingbird audio, Wil Hershberger, ML534398Tennessee warbler audio, Wil Hershberger, ML85236Tennessee warbler video, Eric Liner, ML466381Wood thrush video, Benjamin Clock, ML471755

    34 min
  4. Okay, but can birds smell?

    7 may ·  Video

    Okay, but can birds smell?

    E21. We're talking sense and scents with Dr. Danielle Whittaker, Oregon State, and author of The Secret Perfume of Birds, who spent a decade unraveling a 200-year-old myth that started with John James Audubon and a dead pig under a bush. In this episode: The bird that smells like a fresh-baked sugar cookieWhy preen oil is a dating profile written in chemistry, and how seabirds use the same chemical cue that's now leading albatross parents to feed their chicks plasticThe bonus myth Danielle wants gone New here? Listen, follow, and tell a friend who still thinks birds can't smell. All audio, video, and images in this episode are either original to Okay, But... Birds (© Okay Media, LLC) or used under license/permission from the respective rights holders. Bird media from the Macaulay Library is used courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as follows: Brown-headed Cowbird audio contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML94262Dark-eyed Junco audio contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML94361Red Knot audio contributed by Lucas DeCicco, ML516895Crested Auklet audio contributed by Sampath Seneviratne, ML132014Laysan Albatross audio contributed by Ted Miller, ML117679

    34 min
  5. Okay, but what can we learn from a drawer of birds?

    23 abr ·  Video

    Okay, but what can we learn from a drawer of birds?

    E20. Less than 1% of what's in a museum is actually on display. So what's happening with the other 99%? Scott talks with Dr. Sushma Reddy, Breckenridge Chair of Ornithology at the Bell Museum and Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota, about the extraordinary scientific afterlife of a specimen in a drawer. In this episode: How birds collected 150 years ago are answering questions their collectors never imagined, from air pollution to insect declineWhy falcons turned out to be closer to parrots than hawks, and what other surprises fell out of the bird family treeThe case for making museum collections more open, especially to scientists from the places these specimens originally came from If you have a few seconds, please follow, rate, and leave a review for the show. It makes a huge difference in helping others discover it. Thanks for listening! All audio, video, and images in this episode are either original to Okay, But... Birds (© Okay Media, LLC) or used under license/permission from the respective rights holders. Bird media from the Macaulay Library is used courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as follows: Bald eagle sound contributed by Gerrit Vyn, ML 200943Red-tailed hawk sound contributed by David McCartt, ML 229578Gyrfalcon sound contributed by Lucas DeCicco, ML 516973Kea sound contributed by William V. Ward, ML 8523Small ground finch sound contributed by Robert I. Bowman, ML 86711Iiwi sound contributed by Doug Pratt, ML 5888Sickle-billed vanga sound contributed by Anonymous, ML 100013

    35 min
  6. Okay, but are bird feeders helping or hurting?

    16 abr ·  Video

    Okay, but are bird feeders helping or hurting?

    E19. More than 55 million Americans feed birds, and it's not exactly clear the birds asked us to. Dr. Olivia Sanderfoot, Research Scientist and Project Leader of FeederWatch at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, joins Scott to unpack what four decades of data tell us about whether feeding birds helps them, hurts them, or is really just for us. In this episode you'll hear about: Why bird feeding is mostly for us, and the handful of moments when it actually tips the scales for birdsWhat forty years of FeederWatch data reveal about shifting ranges, feeder dominance, and the bird that definitely should not be bossing everyone aroundHow to keep your yard from becoming an ecological trap, plus the best way to feed birds that doesn't involve a feeder at all Ready to join the longest-running winter bird monitoring program in North America? Sign up for Project FeederWatch's 40th season at feederwatch.org. You don't even need a feeder. Want more exclusive clips from this and future episodes. Signup for our newsletter, Bird Droppings, at okaybutbirds.com to get bonus content not available anywhere else! All audio, video, and images in this episode are either original to Okay, But... Birds (© Okay Media, LLC) or used under license/permission from the respective rights holders. Bird media from the Macaulay Library is used courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as follows: European robin audio contributed by Matthew D. Medler, ML140049Cooper's hawk audio contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML94518American crow video contributed by Jay McGowan, ML472843

    33 min
  7. Okay, but what's in a bird's toolbox?

    9 abr ·  Video

    Okay, but what's in a bird's toolbox?

    E18. Turns out "bird brain" is less of an insult and more of a compliment. Scott sits down with Dr. Alex Kacelnik, Emeritus Professor at the University of Oxford, to dig into one of the most mind-bending questions in animal behavior: are birds actually building and using tools, or are we just projecting? In this episode you'll hear about: The experiment that left researchers completely flabbergasted and rewrote what we thought we knew about animal intelligenceWhy flexibility, not raw smarts, is the real test of a thinking mindWhether the drive to use tools is something birds are born with, learn, or some surprising combination of both All audio, video, and images in this episode are either original to Okay, But... Birds (© Okay Media, LLC) or used under license/permission from the respective rights holders. Bird media from the Macaulay Library is used courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as follows: Woodpecker Finch audio contributed by Robert Bowman, ML82522New Caledonian Crow audio contributed by Lucas DeCicco, ML188764Hawaiian Crow audio contributed by Tim Burr, ML218670Hawaiian Crow video contributed by Timothy Barksdale, ML425081Kea audio contributed by William V. Ward, ML8523

    32 min
  8. Okay, but do birds have culture?

    2 abr ·  Video

    Okay, but do birds have culture?

    E17. From sparrow songs that go viral across a continent to cockatoos that watch each other to learn how to open bins, Dr. Lucy Aplin, Australian National University / University of Zurich, studies how birds learn from each other and why it matters. Doing it for the culture? Yep. Birds are that impressive! In this episode you'll hear about: How a new white-throated sparrow song spread over 3,000 kilometers in just two decades, replacing a tune that had been stable since the 1950sThe experiment that proved wild great tits can establish lasting cultural traditions through their social networksWhy losing a population of birds might also mean losing knowledge that took generations to build All audio, video, and images in this episode are either original to Okay, But... Birds (© Okay Media, LLC) or used under license/permission from the respective rights holders. Bird media from the Macaulay Library is used courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as follows: White-throated Sparrow audio contributed by Bob McGuire, ML219799White-throated Sparrow audio contributed by Jocelyn Lauzon, ML121581051Great Tit audio contributed by Arnoud B. van den Berg, ML36198Eurasian Sparrowhawk audio contributed by Ben F. King, ML335224Regent Honeyeater audio contributed by Vicki Powys, ML223277Pink-footed Goose audio contributed by Bob McGuire, ML235508

    35 min
Ver todo (25)

Tráiler

Acerca de

Hosted by evolutionary biologist Dr. Scott Taylor, Okay, But... Birds explores the drama, brilliance, and science behind bird life. Each snackable 30-minute episode blends smart storytelling, expert interviews, and a touch of humor to reveal how birds shape our world . No jargon. No binoculars required. Just real science, quirky insights, and bird-brained drama you’ll want to share at brunch. Because birds aren’t background. Birds are cool.

Información

  • Creador
    Dr. Scott Taylor
  • Años de actividad
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodios
    25
  • Clasificación
    Apto
  • Copyright
    © Okay Media
  • Mostrar sitio web
    Okay, But... Birds

También te podría interesar