Claim OwnershipBird of the Week
Subscribed: 27Played: 723
Subscribe
© 2025 Bird of the Week
Description
A podcast about birds, released on a non-weekly basis.
78 Episodes
Reverse
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, ...
I recently visited New Zealand, and I had a great chance to see some of their unique birds and travel the country a little. And I came away from the trip with a few impressions about their birds and the environment that I wanted to share. So slightly different, more personal account than the usual, but hopefully will still be of some interests and entertainment. 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:...
This will be a different episode. I have also had a strong association between my grandmother and Budgerigars, she owned one and gifted me one of my own for my sixth birthday. So this episode will be part memoir, part eulogy, part ... Budgerigar discussion...? Maybe not one for everyone, but let's give it a spin. 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 ...
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 yo...
The Night Parrot is known as one of the most elusive birds in the world. Between 1912 and 1990 there was no evidence that they lived, and even then it would be another 23 before a living one was even seen. But then in 2013, the Night Parrot was re-discovered to much fanfare. However, it later emerged that much subsequent evidence for their existence was falsified. Just what happened and why is a wild tale, so joy me as we tell the story of the Night Parrot. To support Bird of the Week and ga...
There is a famous Swiss case from 1474 of a rooster that was put on trial for the unnatural crime of laying an egg. It is a silly story of human folly, as is so often the case. But this strange tale does lead to a deeper and more interesting point about avian gender, how it is radically different to mammals, and how in some rare cases a hen can maybe turn into a rooster. How is that possible? Tune in to find out and we even have a little surprise at the start of the show as well. To support ...
The Egg War is the rather bizarre story of how a colony of Common Murres on the Farallon Islands off the coast of San Francisco sparked conflict during the American Gold Rush in the 1850-60s. It is a wild tale of murder, piracy, lighthouse keepers with delusions of grandeur and an awful lot of people wearing hats. Join me for a silly story. 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/...
Because sleep is something we all do it is understandable that we might think the experience would be similar for other animals. And birds have developed a whole range of unique sleep tactics to help them get through their day. In this special episode I am joined by a guest, clinical psychologist Lucienne Shenfield. Join us on a discussion about how people sleep, how birds sleep, and the difference and similarities between the two. To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second ...
Maybe you've heard of the Great Emu War, popularly known as that time Australia declared war on a bird, and lost. But what is the real story? Was in a war, or was it a tokenistic pest control operation ... with machine guns? This week we dive into the misguided story. We learn some fun facts about Emus and meet the mysterious Major G. P. W. Meredith, the officer placed in command of the operation. *Correction, I say the men were armed with Maxim Machine guns, they were actually Lewis Machine...
There are few Australian birds as famous as the Magpie. They are famous/infamous for exactly two things: their beautiful song and their murderous nature. Most people love them, some people loath them. Today I am joined by our old friend Bradly, an avid Magpie hater, as we try to learn something more about this famous bird and see if we can't spread the bird love. 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 Pa...
One summer night in June 2009, Edwin Rist broke into the Tring natural history museum and stole nearly 300 preserved birds worth some quarter of a million pounds. Join us for the second part of our story as we go through the details of how Edwin committed his heist, was eventually caught and then how the court case shook out. It is one wild ride, so strap yourself in. This story was brought to public attention by Kirk Wallace Johnson in his amazing book, The Feather Thief: https://www.pengui...
One summer night in June 2009, Edwin Rist broke into the Tring natural history museum and stole nearly 300 preserved birds worth some quarter of a million pounds. How he pulled off this crime, what motivated him, and how he was caught is one wild story. Join us for part one of this story as we lay the ground work and explain how some quirks of history lead to this crime. This story was brought to public attention by Kirk Wallace Johnson in his amazing book, The Feather Thief: https://www.pen...
There is maybe no bird more polarising than the pigeon. While some people (me) look at these city-dwelling birds and see perfection in avian form, other (wrong) people see disgusting sky rats. Today, I've invited two friends to join me in conversation to see if I can turn a pigeon hater into a pigeon lover. Notes Our friend the Rock DoveSquabPigeons can identify cancerPigeons can (sorta) readPigeons and sea search and rescueProject PigeonB. F. Skinner and gamblingOther B. F. Skinner experime...
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...
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 ...
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'...
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. Not...
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 ...
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 Nam...
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 thro...
Comments
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States