Last month, a Eurasian Eagle-Owl escaped from the Central Park Zoo in New York City and, despite many efforts to capture him, seems to be doing fine on his own so far. David McArthur, one of Laura's podcast listeners in New York, wonders if he can count this bird on his life list?  

The Eurasian Eagle-Owl recording used in this program was made in France by Dominique Guillerme, XC780278 via xeno-canto.org. And the photo of Flaco is from Wikipedia, taken by Rhododendrites.

Flaco the Eagle Owl: To Count or Not to Count?

"For the Birds" began airing on KUMD in Duluth, MN, in May, 1986, and is the longest continually-running radio program about birds in the U.S. Hundreds more episodes are available for free at http://www.lauraerickson.com/radio/.

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If chickens found their way to Hawaii on their own, things would have worked out okay for everyone. Unfortunately, they brought humans along, too.

Here come the chickens!

During spring migration, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds usually arrive a couple of weeks after Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers do, for a very good reason.

The Sapsucker–Hummingbird Connection

Millions of years ago, Hawaii was off to a rocky start.

Hawaii before chickens and humans arrived

The rules of counting non-native birds are not always consistent.

Chickens, Part 1.5: Kin of Chickens

The most abundant bird on the planet, feeding billions of humans every day, is the chicken. Laura talks about how they became domesticated and some genetic differences between domestic birds and their wild ancestor, the Red Junglefowl. The recording used in this program is of a wild Red Junglefowl in India, recorded and contributed to Xeno-Canto by Lars Lachmann.

Flaco the Eagle Owl: To Count or Not to Count?

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