The Science of Birds - 100th Episode Celebration!

Episode Date: July 18, 2024

Welcome to the 100th episode of The Science of Birds Podcast! I'm thrilled to celebrate this milestone with you. In this special episode, I reflect on the journey of creating this podcast, sharing some insights and gratitude for all of you, my listeners.I also highlight three of my favorite bird species: the vibrant Green Jay, the Torrent Duck, and Egyptian Vulture.Looking ahead, I'm excited to share my plans for the future of The Science of Birds. Thank you for being part of this journey, and here's to many more episodes to come!~~ Leave me a review using Podchaser ~~Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website Support the show

Hello and welcome. This is the Science of Birds. I am your host, Ivan Philipson. The Science of Birds podcast is a lighthearted exploration of bird biology for lifelong learners. I'm thrilled to say that this is episode, 100. That's right. Episode 100, baby. This is a special episode. It's going to be a bit more personal than usual, because I want to share some thoughts and feelings with you about the podcast and about some of my favorite bird species. It's only because I'm so crazy about

birds that I could sustain the energy and enthusiasm for making the show again and again. And what a joy it's been to immerse myself so completely in the world of birds. I've been able to indulge my curiosity and learn heaps of amazing things about bird biology. I gave myself permission to pursue this dream a few years ago, and my listeners, you guys, have helped me turn it into a realistic career path. So thank you. Many of you have been listening since the beginning, since I started back in late 2020. You've cheered me on along the way. Other listeners have discovered the podcast more recently.

Many then went back to the first episode and listened all the way through. And some of you have even listened to all the episodes more than once, which is just incredible. So four years and 100 episodes later, the science of birds is still going strong. I'm super proud of it, and I love making episodes for you. But life is complex and unpredictable, right? many things have changed since I started the podcasts. There have been some major upheavals in my personal life. I could have easily given up on the science of birds. Or as my responsibilities pulled me in other directions, the show could have suffered from pod fade. That's what people

call the gradual decline and eventual abandonment of a podcast, Podfade. Well, that's not happening around here. What's the opposite of Podfade? Pod bloom? Podblaze? Yeah, that's what's going on with this show. Podblaze! Across the 100 episodes, I've tried to have an even balance of my core topics, evolution, ecology, anatomy, behavior, diversity, and conservation. I hope you feel like I've been doing a good job covering all of these. So far, there are episodes covering 30 bird families or other bird groups.

Hummingbirds, flamingos, sunbirds, hornbills, metal arks, and sands. so on. And I've done nine episodes on individual species, such as the Peregrine falcon and Great Blue Heron. But I've only scratched the surface. There are still about 220 bird families for me to cover. And as for species, let's see here, 11,017 minus 9 divided by 8,455 plus zero equals, there are still 11,0008 species for me to cover. Wow. I like to alternate an episode about a general topic in ornithology with an episode about a bird family or species. And this seems to be a good format. And speaking of format, if you've listened to at least a few of my episodes, you've noticed I don't have guests on the show and I don't do interviews. That was a

conscious decision from the beginning. I mean, I could do interviews. I get occasional emails from a publicist who's promoting their client to come on the podcast as a guest. Most of these potential guests are authors who've recently written a book about birds. I'm honored that people think of me for this, seriously. But I still say no. I've said no to some well-known authors, and it feels weird to pass up these opportunities. Like even if David Sibley was begging to be on the show, I would have to say, nope, talk to the hand, Dave. And I love David Sibley's books and his paintings. But yapping with guests is just not my thing. I want to produce a scripted podcast, and that's what I do. Based on the feedback I've gotten over the years, this format seems

to be working for you guys. My rough estimate is that I've written 600,000 words across the 100 episode scripts. That's the equivalent of about 10 young adult novels, or six full-length grown-up novels, which is just kind of crazy. Okay, well, that's enough about me for the moment anyway. It's time to offer up even more words about birds. How about I introduce you to some of my favorite bird species? When people meet me and they hear that I'm a crazy bird nerd, one of the most common questions they ask me is, what is your favorite bird? That's a tough question. I mean, it's impossible to pick just one. So I'm going to present you with my top 100 favorite birds. And this

should take only about nine hours or so. Just kidding. For today, I've whittled my list down for you to just three species. Each is worthy of a full podcast. episode, but for now we'll just get a little glimpse into their natural histories. And I really do keep a list of favorite bird species. I add to it every so often, as I either learn about fascinating new species in books or online, or I'm lucky enough to meet them in the flesh when I'm outburning. What does it even mean, though, when we say my favorite bird is such and such? Is it the species we're always super excited to see more than any other, or the one we find the most impressive in some way? Or is it the bird we think that has the most interesting

behavior? Or perhaps its song brings back happy childhood memories? Like maybe every time you hear a rose-breasted grosbeak singing, it reminds you of that summer in Maine, when you were 10 years old and you and your friends banded together to defeat a malevolent entity that takes the form of a clown named Pennywise. In any case, it's not always easy to articulate why we like something, you know? Sometimes the answer is just because. Okay, here we go. The first of my favorite species is the Green J, Cyanocorax Incas. It's a member of the family Corvody, which includes Jay, crows, ravens, magpies, and all of those guys. Like other corvids, green jays are smart, loud, and mischievous.

I'm a total sucker for colorful birds, and the plumage of the green jay is, in my opinion, just fabulous. C' manifest! The back and wings are lime green, which is pretty much my favorite color. The bird's underside and outer tail feathers are lemon yellow. The head has a bold pattern of black, and vibrant blue, and the central tail feathers are sort of a blue-green teal.

The green jay has a bunch of subspecies, and these are divided into two geographically separated groups, or populations. One population is found across a large part of Mexico and Central America. Jays in this group are also found in southern Texas. Seeing green jays is one of the birding highlights of Texas. Then there's another population down in South America. Jays in this group look and act a bit differently. In fact, these two populations of Green Jay are different enough that ornithologists might someday split them into two species. I've had the pleasure of seeing these birds in Texas, Mexico, and Ecuador, and I'm always super jazzed when I see a Green Jay. But you rarely see just one individual, because these are

social birds. They hang out as a small family group, mom, dad, and a handful of their youngsters. The latter are either yearlings from last year's brood or the most recent batch of fledglings from the current season. The Green Jay is also a cooperative breeder. In the South American population, the one-year-old offspring help the parents feed and generally care for the current nestlings, their younger brothers and sisters. Interestingly, Jay's in the north. northern population do something a little different. The yearlings there still hang out with their parents, but they don't feed the chicks or clean the nest. These northern yearlings just help to patrol the territory. That's kind of their only job. Because, yeah, green jays are highly

territorial. They don't put up with members of their own species that enter their territory. So why is the green jay one of my favorite birds? Because of the colors and its plumage, because of its intelligence, its cheeky antics, and its social behavior. And just because. I love this species so much that I chose it for my first ever bird tattoo. I got it a few months ago. So now I've got a green jay indelibly illustrated on my right forearm. Next up we have the Torrent Duck, Murgoneta Armada. This is an unusual member of the family Anatidae, the family of ducks and geese. The Torrent duck is the only species in the genus Murgoneta.

It lives in fast-flowing rivers and streams of the Andes Mountains in South America. It's found at elevations ranging from 5,000 to 14,000 feet, or about 1,500 to 4,300 meters. In terms of appearance, the torrent duck is a strongly dimorphic species. Males have a striking pattern on their heads and necks, white overall but with some thick black stripes, including one that runs through the eye. A red-orange bill complements this black and white head pattern. Males have dark wings with a green speculum. That's the name of the sort of iridescent patch of feathers in the wings. The female is a little bit of the female is a a pretty good-looking bird as well. She has rusty orange underparts, while her head and upper parts

are gray. As its name suggests, the Torrent Duck is a habitat specialist that's beautifully adapted to life in fast-flowing water. Streams and rivers are kind of my thing, so I'm partial to any bird that makes its home in these habitats. That's why Dippers and Harlequin Ducks are also some of my favorite birds. Anyway, the Torrent Duck has a suite of Attaxie. for life in mountain rivers. Its body is streamlined, torpedo-shaped. It has large, webbed feet and powerful legs for swimming in the strong current and for climbing slippery boulders. The duck's tail feathers are long and stiff. Side-to-side tail movements provide additional propulsion while swimming, sort of like a sculling oar hanging off the stern of a small boat. Baby torrent ducks

are ridiculously cute. As soon as they leave the nest, they plop right into the raging white water of the river. Their fuzzy little bodies are insulated and water-resistant, so they float high in the water. Amazingly, the little buggers can motor around with their tiny feet, paddling against the strong current. They sort of skitter across the surface, skating through the foamy water. Mom and dad keep a close eye on them and teach them the ways of the river. If a duckling, happens to get swept downstream, the parents will typically go after it and escort it back home. But why live in such a challenging environment, in a cold river where your babies could get swept over a waterfall or whatever? Because in those chilly waters, the rocks and boulders are crawling

with aquatic insect larvae. This is a fantastic food source. If you're a bird and you can adapt to this demanding lifestyle, you might have all that food for yourself. Torrent ducks have a specialized bill. It's cone-shaped, narrow, and sort of rubbery. This is the perfect tool for plucking insects from the surfaces of submerged rocks. A section of river with all those aquatic insects is valuable real estate. Torrent ducks are, therefore, highly territorial. A male and female pair will aggressively defend their stretch of river year-round at the upstream and downstream ends. The territory includes pools, rapids, and waterfalls. The first time I saw torrent ducks was in Peru. I was riding the train on my way to visit the archaeological ruins of Machu Picchu.

The train tracks run right along the Urubamba River in a deep canyon. I kept looking and looking out the window, and then, there they were, a pair of torrent ducks. These birds are unmistakable, and the habitat was perfect. I wanted to yell, stop the train, stop the train, Torrent ducks! There are torrent ducks out there, you guys! Stop! But that probably wouldn't have gone over so well, so I kept my mouth shut. But every so often, I would see another pair of ducks down there in the river, and my heart would race again. Maybe my next tattoo should be a pair of torrent ducks right in the middle of my forehead. That'd be a real conversation starter when I meet new people. If they ask what's my favorite bird, I could just point to my forehead.

The third and final bird for today is the Egyptian vulture, Neophron perchnopterus. This species lives in parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Some populations are strongly migratory, while others are resident. The Egyptian vulture is, like all old world vultures, a member of the hawk and eagle family, excipitriti. About the size of an osprey, the Egyptian vulture is the smallest of the old world vultures, and it has a unique appearance. The body is mostly white, but the remedies, the flight feathers and the wings, are black. The naked skin on the bird's face and throat is bright yellow. Unlike other old world vultures, the head is not completely bald. Beginning just behind the eyes and ear holes, the Egyptian vulture has long, white,

hair-like feathers that fluff out into what you'd call a rough, RUFF, or a hackle running all the way down the neck. It's a pretty awesome rock star look. The bill is long, thin, and tipped with a fierce black hook. These birds are opportunistic when it comes to what they eat. Yes, they eat all sorts of dead animals like birds, reptiles, and mammals, including domesticated animals like goats and dogs. When multiple species of vulture are clustered around a carcass, the Egyptian vultures, being smaller, tend to hang back until the big vultures have filled their bellies and cleared out. Then the Egyptian vultures hop in to get the remaining scraps. They also eat rotting fruit and vegetables. One example I came across was rotten pumpkins at a garbage dump.

But the Egyptian vulture isn't just a scavenger. It will sometimes hunt small animals like rabbits and insects. And these vultures are famous for their love of eggs, especially ostrich eggs. But the shells of these massive eggs are too thick for the vulture to crack open with its beak or claws. After all, a full-sized adult human can stand on an ostrich egg and the shell won't break. So, after locating an unattended ostrich egg, the vulture looks around for a rock of just the right shape and weight. Then it picks the rock up in its bill and hammers it on the egg again and again until the shell cracks. Then it's time to slurp up the yummy, gooey yulke inside. That's right, the Egyptian vulture is one of the few bird species, one of the few animal species

that uses tools. So that's a really big deal. Carotenoid pigments in those egg yolks might be the source of color for the yellow skin on the vulture's face. But it seems there's another more reliable source of carotenoids in the diet of the Egyptian vulture.

That source is dung. Yes, poop. These vultures love to eat the caca of ungulates like cows, goats, and sheep. There was actually a study on this. published in the journal Nature in 2002. The researchers discovered that the carotenoid pigment Lutian, found in the feces of cows, goats, and sheep

contributes to the yellow skin of Egyptian vultures. Now, I know this is gross, to us, but Egyptian vultures have a super important job in nature. A job I sure wouldn't want, but these birds cheerfully clean up the dead animals and excrement lying around. Scavengers like this help to reduce the spread of disease, They're an essential part of the circle of life.

Once upon a time, Egyptian vultures were actually treated as sacred in ancient Egypt. They were a symbol of royalty among the pharaohs. But I guess times have changed since then. In the popular handbook of Indian birds, published in 1949, the author writes that the vulture, quote, haunts towns and villages, and while ready to eat any form of garbage or carrion, appears mainly to live on human excrement. Hence the detestation in which this species is commonly held by all classes. End quote. Detestation, huh? Wow. Also, for the record, I want to point out that I could not find any scientific evidence that these vultures eat human excrement. Today, the Egyptian vulture

is, unfortunately, an endangered species, as designated by the International Union for the conservation of nature. Its populations have declined significantly because of habitat loss, poisoning, hunting, and collision with power lines. Thankfully, I'm not the only one who thinks these weird, yellow-faced vultures are wonderful and deserve protection. There are several ongoing conservation efforts in Europe and Asia to help the species recover. So there you go, the green jay, torrent duck, and Egyptian vulture. In my experience, each of these species was kind of challenging to find. They were a bit elusive and uncommon in the places I was birding.

So when I finally saw them, I was super excited, and I still carry that feeling with me. Other favorite species on my list include The Razor Bill, Acorn Woodpecker, Varyed Thrush, Little Penguin, Greater Roadrunner, Wandering Taddler, Willow Tarmigan, Many Colored Rush Tyrant, and on and on. No doubt many of you listening have your own favorite bird species. I have a little bit of insight into what my audience likes because I put a post on my Patreon page asking my supporters to share their favorite bird species. And if you don't know, Patreon is a third-party website where anyone can sign up to be a

member of my community. You can choose to support my work on a monthly or annual basis. And this has been enormously helpful to me. Financial support through Patreon is a big part of what allows me to keep doing this. So if you're interested, you can check it out at patreon.com slash science of birds. Anyway, there's this post where over 80 people have chimed in to share their favorite bird species. I haven't done a quantitative analysis or anything, but there are some kinds of birds that many people seem to love. These include woodpeckers, owls, chickadees, hummingbirds, kingfishers, wrens, corvids, and thrushes. But I found some of the species that people listed a bit more surprising. Species like the magnificent frigate bird, black swift, spotted partilote,

King Rail, and Flame Bowerbird. It's been really interesting to see the broad diversity of birds that my listeners hold in high esteem. Good stuff. Another thing that motivates me and keeps me going with the podcast is the sense of community and connection I have with you guys, with my listeners. from my Patreon community to those of you on my email list, to the people I've connected with on Instagram, and quite a few of my listeners who I've met IRL in real life. It's been so amazing to tap into all this enthusiasm for birds and science around the world,

and people of all ages. I'm so deeply honored to provide something valuable to you on your journey of learning about birds. And thank you so much. to all of you who have emailed me with kind words about the podcast. Again, that sort of thing brings me a lot of joy and gets me all excited to keep going. I've got quite a few reviews now, hundreds, I think, on both Podchaser and Apple Podcasts. The vast majority are highly positive. So thank you to everyone who has taken the time to write me a five-star review. That's very helpful.

Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to share a few of these reviews with you. I really treasure these things, seriously. Okay, here we go. The first review is by Permian Boy. There are a ton of podcasts about birding as a hobby, many of which are quite excellent, but not as many focused on the actual science of ornithology. Ivan wonderfully fills that void with his informative but welcoming and accessible podcast, a must listen for all bird lovers.

Review number two by Emila. To be honest, I started listening to this podcast for, or light-hearted background noise to fall asleep to. Wow, did that backfire. It's so funny and interesting, it kept me up. Now I listen to it while I'm actually awake. Review number three is by Olivia Hubrick. Ivan reignited my passion for birds in an instant.

He is delightfully funny, well-spoken, and most importantly explains scientific terminology and concepts in detail. It is so rare to find a good science podcast that takes the time to define big words, and make sure the audience understands slash remembers the basics before diving into the nitty-gritty. This guy makes ornithology

fun and digestible for both the avid birder and the casual avian enjoyer. You will walk away with a smile and at least 10 fun facts to tell your friends and will start to love our feathered friends more and more after every episode. Review number four is by Dr. Rick Lofthus.

What a great podcast. Ivan makes love learning a lot of science, in this case about bird species, effortless and pretty funny. I'm impressed that he can be such a great educator while coming across as an affable goofball. What a gift for all of us. Yeah, now that's what I want engraved on my tombstone. An epitaph that reads, here lies Ivan Philipson. He liked birds and he came across as an affable goofball.

Okay, one more review, and this one is by Hank Baskin. This is a master class in podcasting. The content is thoughtfully presented, engaging, and super high quality. Ivan turned me into a birder with just this podcast. I dread the day that he quits making these excellent podcasts for us. Wow, how cool. I love that I'm turning people into birders. And hey, speaking of quitting, let's finish up today by talking about my future plans for the science of birds. We've reached episode 100, and that is an exciting milestone.

But where do we go from here? Well, I'm definitely not quitting. I see no end to the possible podcast episode topics. We have a lot more to learn about birds together. Making this show is a major time commitment for me. It's a serious part-time job. But as long as I have enough support to make ends meet and I can carve out the time, I want to keep cranking along.

The other big thing I have in the works is making videos. I've been talking about this for a couple years, but it's finally happening. I plan to launch the Science of Birds YouTube channel in a serious way later this summer. I've been recording and editing videos, and it's been super fun. Challenging, but fun. The videos will be sort of like condensed versions of the podcast episodes, maybe 10 to 15 minutes long each, but with lots of bird visuals, right?

Photos, video clips, maps, graphics, etc. And you'll get to see my face, too, for better or worse. Anyway, I'm super excited about adding a visual dimension to the science of birds, and I hope you will be too. I've got other crazy ideas bouncing around, and we'll see what else I can do. For example, I'm thinking it would be super fun to do live stream bird trivia events on YouTube or something, with a bunch of you guys participating

and testing yourselves on your bird biology knowledge. We'll see. The future holds many possibilities. I realize this is kind of a short episode. I mean, I was mostly talking about myself. I could go on and on, but you don't want me to do that. I know that you're here for the birds. You want dump truck-sized loads of ornithological knowledge poured into your ear holes and thus into your brain. And that is my mission to keep bringing you this podcast, this light-hearted exploration of bird biology for years and years. I'd like to give a dump-truck-sized thank you to the newest members of my Patreon community. Shawna Event, Alison Kreis, Marissa Christensen Lortzger, Dr. Kay, Emily, Clifford Hentz, Colton, and Weston.

Welcome all of you, and thanks so much for the generous support. I am generally reachable by email if you have a nugget of wisdom to share with me. Or maybe you'd like to tell me about the detestation in which I am commonly held by all classes. Whatever you'd like to say, send your message to Ivan at Science of Birds.com. You can check out the show notes for this episode, which is, again, Episode 100, including some hand-selected photos of bird species I talked about today on the Science of Birds website, Science of Birds.com. This is Ivan Philipson, wishing you a lovely day and looking forward to bringing you the next 100 episodes. Peace.

Thank you.