Bird of the Week

I'm sure we've all heard some fun facts about birds, a duck's quack won't echo, an Ostrich sticks its head in the sand when threatened. But is there any truth to these statements, or are they straight up lies?

Well on this episode we dive into 5 famous bird myths, break them do and see if there is any truth to the rumours.

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

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Notes

• Quack's quack won't echo: https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2004/05/06/1102602.htm
• Ostrich with its head in the sand: https://www.clevelandzoosociety.org/z/2020/03/11/truth-or-tail-do-ostriches-really-bury-their-head-in-the-sand-when-scared-or-frightened
• Egyptian Plover cleans crocodile teeth: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_plover
• Trochilus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trochilus_(crocodile_bird)
• Don't touch baby birds: https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=426#:~:text=Q%3A%20If%20a%20person%20touches,prevent%20people%20from%20disturbing%20wildlife.
• Birds can't smell: https://www.audubon.org/magazine/january-february-2014/birds-can-smell-and-one-scientist

Who among us hasn't thrown a chip at a seagull or a slice of bread at a duck? Feeding birds is a wonderful way to interact with our feathered friends. Except, if we do it wrong we could literally kill them with kindness. So what are the dos and don'ts of feeding birds? Well good news, we look at the worse consequences that can occur, and how to do it right so everyone is happy.

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 [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.

Links:

• Feeding advice: https://birdlife.org.au/a-guide-to-feeding-wild-birds-in-australia/#:~:text=Seed%2Deating%20birds%20have%20a,oats%2C%20sorghum%20and%20peanut%20pieces.
• Making a bird friendly garden: https://birdlife.org.au/discover-birds/birds-in-your-backyard/bird-friendly-garden/

Eagles are majestic animals, fearsome apex predators that hunt large prey. But then their is that one Kite that only eats snails, the Snail Kite. Today we meet an odd ball bird, and find out how they're adapting to survive in a changing world.

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 [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.

Links:

• Snail Kite: https://ebird.org/species/snakit
• Phenotypic Plasticity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenotypic_plasticity
• Oystercatcher bill: https://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2010/07/11/incredible-bill-of-oystercatcher

Flamingos are kinda freaky. They are a pink, stork-like bird that eats algae and feeds its chicks blood red milk. What is going on with that? Luckily we will be digging into these questions in this episode, to join me as find out a couple of fun facts about Flamingos.

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 [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.

Links:

• American Flamingo: https://ebird.org/species/grefla2
• Colour rant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TtnD4jmCDQ 
• Flamingos related to Grebes: https://www.10000birds.com/exploring-the-relationship-between-flamingos-and-grebes-the-wonderful-birds.htm
• Lamellae: https://asknature.org/strategy/lamellae-filter-food-of-different-sizes/
• Pink!: https://www.newscientist.com/question/why-are-flamingos-pink/
• Milk!: https://thepopularflamingo.com/en-au/blogs/posts/flamingos-produce-milk-yep-and-this-is-how-why
• One leg!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIoE18JYGcM

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: www.patreon.com/birdoftheweek

Want birds in your inbox? Drop me a line at [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.

Links:

• Brushtail Possum: https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/pests-and-threats/animal-pests-and-threats/possums/
• Zealandia: https://www.visitzealandia.com/
• Tui: https://ebird.org/species/tui1
• Saddleback: https://ebird.org/species/saddle2
• Kaka: https://ebird.org/species/nezkak1?siteLanguage=en_AU
• Kereru: https://ebird.org/species/nezpig2
• New Zealand Fantail: https://ebird.org/species/nezfan1
• Tomtit: https://ebird.org/species/tomtit1?siteLanguage=en_AU
• Predator Free Wellington: https://www.pfw.org.nz/
• Takahe previous episode: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/14346484-lazarus-rising
• Kiwi previous episode: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/13777746-kiwis-fruit-people-birds

We interrupt our usual format to bring you a slightly different episode. It's an Australian bird quiz, pretty straight forward, play along at home and see how you go.

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 [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.

Links:

• Eastern Rosella: https://ebird.org/species/easros1
• Rainbow Lorikeet: https://ebird.org/species/railor5?siteLanguage=en_AU
• Aussie Bird Count: https://aussiebirdcount.org.au/
• Australian Magpie: https://ebird.org/species/ausmag2?siteLanguage=en_AU
• Magpies swoop bald men: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-09/magpies-swoop-bald-more-often-survey-finds/103297520
• Peregrine Falcon: https://ebird.org/species/perfal?siteLanguage=en_AU
• Noisy Miner: https://ebird.org/species/noimin1?siteLanguage=en_AU
• Cockatoos open bins: https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-09-13/cockatoos-cockies-bin-lid-flip-culture-bricks-bird-cognition/101424194
• Raven language: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/wa-afternoons/how-to-speak-raven/13424156 

In the last episode we said there were no parrots in the United States of America. But that was only a half truth. A better truth would have been to say that once upon a time there was a parrot, the Carolina Parakeet that went extinct about 100 years. And in its place today there is an invasive species, the Monk Parakeet. So what is the story of these two birds, why did one die while the other has thrived? Today we are going to try and 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 [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.

Links:

• Carolina Parakeet: https://ebird.org/species/carpar/
• Why the Carolina Parakeet went extinct: https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/carolina-parakeet-extinction-mystery
• Monk Parakeet: https://ebird.org/species/monpar
• Monk nest: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/parrots-are-taking-over-the-world/
• Parakeet panic: https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/cautionary-tales/when-parakeets-plundered-new-york

Have you been hankering for a cracker, well has polly got one for you today as we look at Parrots. This is a big old family of birds, so join me as we do a speed run of parrots and find out what these birds are all about.

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 [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.

Notes:

• Parrot beaks: https://parrotjunkie.com/blogs/health/parrot-beak-anatomy
• Tripedal locomotion: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.0245#:~:text=Our%20findings%20demonstrate%20that%20parrots,substrate%20reaction%20forces%20and%20power.
• Lorikeet Tongue: https://www.psittacology.com/lorikeet-tongue-diet/ 
• Powder Down: https://www.birdnote.org/listen/shows/powder-down
• Old World Parrots: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/psitta4/cur/introduction
• New World Parrots: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/psitta3/cur/introduction
• Cockatoos: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/cacatu2/cur/introduction#:~:text=Cockatoos%20are%20large%20parrots%20of,also%20the%20most%20widely%20recognized.
• New Zealand Parrots: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/strigo1/cur/introduction#genusNestor
• Kea: https://www.firstlighttravel.com/blog/cheeky-kea
• Alex: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_(parrot)
• Burrowing Parrots: https://ebird.org/species/burpar
• Eclectus Parrot: https://ebird.org/species/eclpar4?siteLanguage=en_AU
• Orange-Bellied Parrot: https://ebird.org/species/orbpar1
• Greater Vasa Parrot: https://ebird.org/species/vaspar1

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 inbox? Drop me a line at [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.

Notes:

• Budgerigar: https://ebird.org/species/budger/
• Murmuration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEiuKDEPM5g
• Budgie colour mutation: https://www.budgie-bubble.co.uk/budgie-mutations
• UV feathers: https://budgiesareawesome.blogspot.com/2010/07/glowing-budgies.html

Sadly our world is not populated with magical unicorns. But what we lack in horned horses we make up for with horned birds. Join me this week as we meet one of the strangest birds, the avian equivalent of the unicorn, the Horned Screamer.

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 [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.

Notes:

• Horned Screamer: https://ebird.org/species/horscr1/
• Horned Lark: https://ebird.org/species/horlar
• Horned Parakeet: https://ebird.org/species/horpar2
• Hollow bones: https://www.montananaturalist.org/blog-post/avian-adaptations/#:~:text=Hollow%20bones%20are%20also%20called,areas%20in%20a%20bird's%20bones.