Okay, But... Birds

E46. Crows and ravens fill our oldest stories, and plenty of us want one as a friend. Dr. Claudia Wascher, professor of behavioral biology at Anglia Ruskin University, explains what makes corvids seem so clever, when clever turns out to be something simpler, and why befriending them is a bad idea. In this episode, you'll hear about: The crow named Hugo, and what his flock started saying once he was gone Why a walnut dropped at a red light may be less clever than it looks What a goose's heartbeat reveals about how birds feel 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. Media from the Macaulay Library is used courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as follows: American Crow audio contributed by Bob McGuire, ML229089 Common Raven audio contributed by Gerrit Vyn, ML132161 Steller's Jay audio contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML539738 Hawaiian Crow video contributed by Timothy Barksdale, ML425081 Rook audio contributed by James (Jim) Holmes, ML635593051 Eurasian Jay audio contributed by James (Jim) Holmes, ML32278971 Carrion Crow audio contributed by Bob McGuire, ML231022 Australian Magpie audio contributed by Emma Greig, ML218159 House Crow video contributed by Raphaël Nussbaumer, ML241917321 Red-tailed Hawk audio contributed by David McCartt, ML229578 Graylag Goose audio contributed by Bob McGuire, ML233387

E45. Lyrebirds can copy a chainsaw, a car alarm and a camera shutter, so it is easy to call them liars. Dr. Anastasia Dalziell of Western Sydney University has spent years recording them in the wild, and she explains what the famous Attenborough clip left out and some of the most surprising evolutionary reasons for mimicry. In this episode, you'll hear about: Why a female lyrebird starts sounding like an eagle when you get too close to her nest What a male does when the female he has been courting tries to walk away The other lyrebird, and the hooked rainforest vine it plays like an instrument 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. Media from the Macaulay Library is used courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as follows: Red-tailed Hawk audio contributed by David McCartt, ML229578 Killdeer audio contributed by Mike Andersen, ML129054 Superb Lyrebird audio contributed by Vicki Powys, ML229691 Albert's Lyrebird audio contributed by Robert C. Stein, ML309505 Gray Shrikethrush video contributed by Ramit Singal, ML641225345 Gray Shrikethrush audio contributed by Vicki Powys, ML229649 Golden Whistler video contributed by Ramit Singal, ML641948342 Golden Whistler audio contributed by Ramit Singal, ML272346391 Wedge-tailed Eagle audio contributed by Vicki Powys, ML223274 Gray Goshawk audio contributed by Ramit Singal, ML246142551 Albert's Lyrebird video contributed by Fiona Backhouse, ML615390207 Albert's Lyrebird audio contributed by Ramit Singal, ML141465291 Albert's Lyrebird video contributed by Fiona Backhouse, ML615390194 Albert's Lyrebird video contributed by Fiona Backhouse, ML615390209 Satin Bowerbird audio contributed by Newton Hobbs, ML16236 Albert's Lyrebird video contributed by Fiona Backhouse, ML615390211 Superb Lyrebird audio contributed by James (Jim) Holmes, ML463586881 Superb Lyrebird recordings (2024 films): Justin Welbergen, Jaden Thompson, Elle Heiser, Yoon Lee, Fiona Backhouse and Anastasia Dalziell, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Australia, and Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, USA.

E44. An adult eagle has no natural predators, so why are birds of prey declining? Dr. Todd Katzner, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, explains the surprising dangers facing golden eagles and their kin, from spinning wind turbines to a threat small enough to fit on a grain of rice. In this episode, you'll hear about: Why an eagle that can clearly see a wind turbine still flies into one How a hunter's choice of bullet ends up inside an eagle The flap count that tells a vulture whether to risk crossing the sea 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. Media from the Macaulay Library is used courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as follows: Bald Eagle audio contributed by Darrell Peterson, ML145265541 Golden Eagle audio contributed by W. Douglas Robinson, ML612942188 Golden Eagle audio contributed by Kathy Groschupf, ML57165 American Goshawk video contributed by Dan J. MacNeal, ML297994251 Harpy Eagle audio contributed by Curtis Marantz, ML81101 Ruby-throated Hummingbird audio contributed by Trenton Voytko, ML604314061 Ferruginous Hawk audio contributed by Gerrit Vyn, ML172487

E43. For millions of years, South America’s top predators weren’t cats or bears. They were birds, some taller than a person. Paleontologist Dr. Federico "Dino" Degrange of the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba joins us to ask whether terror birds really earned their name. In this episode, you'll hear about: The surprising weapon a terror bird actually used to bring down its prey What left bite marks on one of the biggest terror birds ever found Why the last terror bird standing was one of the smallest 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. Media from the Macaulay Library is used courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as follows: Black-legged Seriema video contributed by Pablo Hernan Capovilla, ML662237304 Red-legged Seriema audio contributed by Matthew D. Medler, ML189557 Black-legged Seriema audio contributed by Steven L. Hilty, ML83854

E42. Birds get sick too, and a lot of what happens next looks surprisingly familiar. Dr. Andrea Townsend of Hamilton College has spent two decades following American crows through outbreaks, and she walks Scott through what illness really does to a bird, from the family it belongs to down to the clever brain it depends on. In this episode, you'll hear about: The surprising way crows choose their partners, and what it costs them when disease comes around What a stomach bug does to one of the cleverest birds you'll ever meet Why going it alone can be the riskier move while a virus is spreading 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. Media from the Macaulay Library is used courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as follows: American Crow video contributed by Jay McGowan, ML472843 Common Raven audio contributed by Gerrit Vyn, ML137574 Burrowing Owl audio contributed by Bob McGuire, ML188805