The Science of Birds is a lighthearted exploration of bird biology. It's a fun resource for any birder or naturalist who wants to learn more about ornithology. Impress your birding friends at cocktail parties with all of your new bird knowledge! Hosted by Ivan Phillipsen, a passionate naturalist with a PhD in Zoology.
138 episodes transcribedThis episode—which is Number 98—delves into the fascinating world of the avian brain. Despite the long-standing misconception that "bird brain&qu...
In this episode—which is Number 96—I’ll be answering questions sent by my listeners. So this is what we call an “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) episode. I enj...
This episode—which is number 95—is all about spoonbills. There are six spoonbill species in the world, all of which belong to the genus Platalea. The...
This episode—which is Number 94— is all about the Avian Digestive System. That’s right, kids, we’re looking at bird guts today!If you’ve ever wondered...
This episode—which is number 93—is all about the the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), one of the world’s best known and most abundant birds. It expa...
This episode—which is Number 92—is all about the value of desert ecosystems as habitats for birds.Deserts are important for the birds that are adapted...
This is Episode 91. It’s all about birds in the family Paridae. These are the chickadees, tits, and titmice—cute little forest-dwelling songbirds know...
This is Episode 90 and it’s all about the importance of birds as plant pollinators.If I had to use only one word for the topic of this episode, it wou...
This is Episode 89. I’m publishing it right at the beginning of 2024, and it's a review of some fascinating things that happened in the world of...
This episode—which is Number 87—is all about some big news in the birding world. The common names for about 150 North American bird species are going...
This episode—which is Number 86—is all about bird beaks.This will be an overview of beak anatomy, function, evolution, and diversity.The head of every...
This episode—which is Number 85—is about the Meadowlarks of the world.And it’s not just those three North American species: the Western, Eastern, and...
This is Episode 84. Our topic today is the challenge of saving bird species that are very close to extinction. Species like the Spix’s Macaw, which ha...
This is Episode 83. It’s all about birds in the family Odontophoridae. These are the New World quails.Why is this the family of "New World"...
This is Episode 82. It's all about the ways that scientists track the movements of individual birds.The focus of today’s episode is not so much a...
This is Episode 81. It’s all about birds in the family Nectariniidae. These are the sunbirds and the spiderhunters.If you live in or have gone birding...
This is Episode 80. It's all about flightless birds, and about the evolutionary processes that lead to flightlessness.Flightlessness in birds is,...
This is Episode 79. It's all about the Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis).This is one of North America’s most common raptors. We find these bird...
