We all know that birds fly south for the winter ... unless you're in the southern hemisphere, then they fly north. But for for a migrating bird it isn't a simply case of flying from A to B.  A bird not only has to find its way but build up the strength to make marathon flights, and no two birds perform their migration in the same way. So join me this week as in dig into one of the most remarkable bird behaviour. 

Notes

• The  world's largest dyke: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saemangeum_Seawall 
• Operation Migration: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Migration
• No fish besmirches my brand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4pxLHG0Wzs&ab_channel=BBCEarth

The 12 Days of Christmas is an old yuletide favourite, doubly so because of all the birds in its lyrics. But the history of this song is rather long and complex. Just why is that Partridge in a pear tree, and what even is a Calling Bird? Join me this festive season as we break down some birds and get to the bottom of this old, folk carol.

Notes

Frank Kelly's The 12 Days of Christmas
The Greek Myth of Perdix
Bresse Gauloise

Theme music: Jingle Bells, by Scott Holmes Music

 

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 Dove
• Squab
• Pigeons can identify cancer
• Pigeons can (sorta) read
• Pigeons and sea search and rescue
• Project Pigeon
• B. F. Skinner and gambling
• Other B. F. Skinner experiments
• Cher Ami
• Jacobin Pigeons
• English Pouter
• Frill Back
• Saxony Fairy Swallow

The fact that birds have names is an incredibly handy thing. Instead of just pointing and making a grunting noise every time a pretty bird flies by we can label it with a name, which is ever so frightfully convenient.

But how do birds get their names? This there some mysterious bird naming authority? Do they have rules? Can they be broken? Is there any controversy? Well, the answer to all of those questions is yes. And in this episode I would like to take you on journey through the strange world of bird naming conventions that you didn't even know existed.   

Take a step out your front door and you'll be instantly confronted with many species of bird. But have you ever wondered, just how many different ones are there. Simple enough questions, just grab a clipboard and start counting... Except no. It turns out this is one of the trickiest problems in biology, and isn't helped by the fact that we don't even have a consistent definition for a species is. This week we're going to dive in and try to untangle this problem, and see if we can't come up with a count of just how many birds are in this big old  world. Or maybe we'll get side-tracked along the way. Who can say?

Today we know of 42 Birds-of-Paradise, but if we went back to 1930, there were nearly 60 in the family. So where did those 20 or so birds go? They are sometimes known as the Lost Birds-of-Paradise, and still today they're a bit of a mystery. In this week's episode we're going to meet a couple, find out where they went and try to get to the bottom of these forgotten members of this most stunning family.

In New Guinea there is a family of birds that has captured the imagination of naturalists and ornithologists for hundreds of years. They are the Birds-of-Paradise, and when it comes to sheer beauty they are unrivalled in avian world. Not only are they beautiful, but they possess feathers that other birds just don't have: crests, epaulets, flank plumes and tails so exaggerated as to make a Peacock blush. Yet, it has only been in recent years that we have come to understand how these birds use their feathers, and what forces drove them to become so splendid. Join me as we crack the mystery and explore the most remarkable family of birds on earth.   

Thanks to their isolation and unique conditions, islands tend to boast a wide array of biodiversity found nowhere else on earth. But while this makes them special places, it also makes them vulnerable to outside influence. Many island dwelling birds across the globe are at risk of extinction. In this episode we'll look at a two islands, Guam and Mauritius, we'll find out what makes them so fragile, see what happens when things go wrong, but also see that we can always chart a path back to recovery.

Birds come in all shapes and sizes, but once a bird gets on an island all bets are off. They are a hotbed of avian biodiversity, and in this episode we'll find out just what exactly it is about tiny spits of land surrounded by deadly, deadly ocean that causes birds to become radically different from their continental cousins. 

On a windswept, rain-drenched spit of land in the Atlantic Ocean lives the Tristan Albatross. They're a majestic bird that has landed itself in a spot of bother. Join me as we find out what makes these giant birds special, learn how a hoard of mice has pushed them to the edge of extinction, and meet the fine folks working to save them.

And hey, if you've got a spare penny to help out a bird in need why not flap over to https://www.goughisland.com/ and show these birds some love.