Birds of a Feather Talk Together
By John Bates, Shannon Hackett, RJ Pole, Amanda Marquart
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Subscribers: 15
Reviews: 0
Episodes: 141
Description
Birds of a Feather Talk Together is a birding and nature podcast for bird lovers of all experience levels. Hosted by professional ornithologists John Bates and Shannon Hackett, curators of birds at the Field Museum in Chicago, alongside birding enthusiasts RJ Pole and Amanda Pole, the show blends expert insight with fresh curiosity.
John and Shannon bring decades of ornithology experience and access to one of the largest bird collections in the United States, while RJ and Amanda represent newer birders—asking relatable questions that open the conversation to beginners without losing depth for seasoned bird watchers.
Each episode explores rare, exotic, extinct, and everyday birds, covering identification, behavior, conservation, and current avian research. From backyard birds to birds of the world, Birds of a Feather Talk Together offers expert knowledge in an approachable, conversational format.
Subscribe and discover the fascinating world of birds—one chirp at a time. 🐦
| Episode | Date |
|---|---|
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137: Eiders - Spectacled, Common, King, Steller's, and Labrador Duck
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Mar 30, 2026 |
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136: Horned Larks with Nick Mason
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Mar 23, 2026 |
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135: Can Birdwatching Help to Slow Aging? We discuss recent study
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Mar 16, 2026 |
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134: Eastern Wood Pewee - So Exciting That We Had A Malfunction :)
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Mar 09, 2026 |
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133: Black-billed Magpie Revisited
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Mar 01, 2026 |
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132: Acorn Woodpeckers - Hoarding Hundreds of Pounds of Acorns?
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Feb 23, 2026 |
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131: Calfbird - Bald Blue Heads - Sounds Like A Chainsaw?
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Feb 16, 2026 |
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130: Cedar Waxwing
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Feb 09, 2026 |
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129: Top Science Stories of 2025
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Feb 02, 2026 |
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128: Wood Duck Revisited
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Jan 26, 2026 |
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127: Harlequin Duck Revisited
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Jan 19, 2026 |
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126: Mallard Revisited
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Jan 12, 2026 |
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125: LISTERS! - Movie Review! Plus a WILD Botfly story
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Jan 05, 2026 |
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124: Snowy Owl - Chicago Sightings, Irruption, and Lemmings
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Dec 22, 2025 |
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123: White-throated Sparrow Revisited
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Dec 15, 2025 |
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122: Flamingos with Ellen Weatherford
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Dec 08, 2025 |
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121: Varied Thrush - The Lone Forest Dweller AND The Occasional Vagrant
|
Dec 01, 2025 |
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120: Mourning Dove Revisited
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Nov 24, 2025 |
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119: Spoon-billed Sandpiper - One Of The Rarest Birds On Earth - Story of Convergence
|
Nov 17, 2025 |
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118: Golden Eagle - One of the largest and fastest raptors in North America
|
Nov 10, 2025 |
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117: Palm-nut Vulture - A Vulture Unlike Any Other!
|
Nov 03, 2025 |
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116: Common Loon - An Eerie and Beautiful Call - Listener Request!
|
Oct 27, 2025 |
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115: Downy Woodpecker and Hairy Woodpecker
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Oct 13, 2025 |
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114: The Feather Thief with Kirk Wallace Johnson - Revisited
|
Oct 06, 2025 |
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113: Kirtland's Warbler Revisited
|
Sep 29, 2025 |
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112: Brown-headed Cowbird Revisited - Laying Eggs In Other Birds' Nests!
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Sep 22, 2025 |
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111: Project Phoenix with Olivia Sanderfoot and Allison Shultz - How Wildfires Are Impacting Birds
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Sep 15, 2025 |
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110: Red-headed Woodpecker - Catching Bugs Out Of The Sky + Paddleboard Sightings
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Sep 08, 2025 |
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109: Olive-sided Flycatcher - John Makes His Case For His Favorite Bird!
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Sep 01, 2025 |
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108: Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - Cute Bird With A Ton Of Personality!
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Aug 25, 2025 |
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107: Club-winged Manakin - Making Robot Noises with its Feathers
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Aug 18, 2025 |
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106: Kingfishers Around The World with Jenna Mccullough
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Aug 11, 2025 |
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105: Mailbag Episode! Birds On The Side Of The Road in Florida, and Sparrows in Pennsylvania
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Aug 04, 2025 |
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104: Guam Kingfisher with Jenna Mccullough
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Jul 28, 2025 |
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103: Inca Tern - Plus we talk about John's trip to Peru!
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Jul 21, 2025 |
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102: Laughing Kookaburras with Jenna Mccullough
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Jul 14, 2025 |
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101: Extremely Accurate Bird Songs with Tommy Siegel and Billy Libby
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Jul 07, 2025 |
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100: Kingfishers with Jenna Mccullough
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Jun 30, 2025 |
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99: Marcel Rochon Interview: The Healing Power of Nature and Birding
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Jun 23, 2025 |
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98: Peter Kaestner Interview - Seeing 10,000 Bird Species In The Wild!
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Jun 16, 2025 |
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97: Orange-tufted Spiderhunter
|
Jun 09, 2025 |
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96: Black-capped Chickadee - Cute Bird with a Mighty Brain
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Jun 02, 2025 |
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95: Ruby-throated Hummingbird Revisited
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May 26, 2025 |
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94: Blackpoll Warbler Revisited - Epic Migration and More About Warblers
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May 19, 2025 |
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93: Great Potoo, we also talk Prothonotary Warbler and Answer A Question on Robin's Eggs
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May 12, 2025 |
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92: Wood Ducks: Nesting Behavior, Baby Ducklings & a Surprise Owl Sighting
|
May 05, 2025 |
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91: How NSF Budget Cuts Are Threatening U.S. Science – A Deep Dive with Ornithologists
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May 05, 2025 |
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90: American Dipper - Bird that Walks Under Water
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Apr 28, 2025 |
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89: Red-Ruffed Fruitcrow
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Apr 14, 2025 |
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88: Spotted Towhee - Bright Red Eyes!
|
Apr 14, 2025 |
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87: Gambel's Quail - Sedona, topknots, and who was Gambel?
|
Apr 07, 2025 |
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86: Hoatzin Revisited with Jacob Drucker - You've Seen It On 'The Americas' on NBC
|
Mar 31, 2025 |
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85: Purple Martins Revisited - Migrating to the U.S. to live in man-made structures
|
Mar 24, 2025 |
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84: Mourning Dove
|
Mar 17, 2025 |
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83: Harlequin Duck - Fascinating Waterfowl with Stunning Plumage
|
Mar 10, 2025 |
|
82: Kirk Wallace Johnson Interview - The Feather Thief - The Shocking True-Crime Tale of a Museum Heist & Rare Bird Feathers
|
Mar 03, 2025 |
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81: The Feather Thief Part 6: Obsession, A Possible Accomplice, Final Thoughts
|
Feb 24, 2025 |
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80: The Feather Thief Part 5: The Crime, The Importance of Museum Collections, also a discussion on Canada and also precious metals
|
Feb 17, 2025 |
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79: The Feather Thief Part 4: The Argus Pheasant and Jason Weckstein Joins Us Again!!
|
Feb 10, 2025 |
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78: The Feather Thief Part 3: Fly-tying with guest Jason Weckstein
|
Feb 03, 2025 |
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77: The Feather Thief Part 2: Walter Rothschild, Feather Fever, and the start of the Audubon Society
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Jan 27, 2025 |
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76: The Feather Thief Part 1 - Alfred Russel Wallace, also the horrific crime that occurred at the museum
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Jan 20, 2025 |
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75: The Feather Thief Prologue - Quick Listen Prior to Starting The Mini-Series :)
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Jan 19, 2025 |
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74: John Returns From The Falklands, Gentoo Penguins, What Do Birds Do In The Rain?
|
Jan 13, 2025 |
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73: Willard's Sooty Boubou Revisited - A New Species Described
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Jan 06, 2025 |
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72: The Archaeopteryx at the Field Museum + An Exciting Announcement
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Dec 30, 2024 |
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71: Christmas Bird Count, The Feather Thief Question, An Exciting Announcement!
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Dec 23, 2024 |
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70: Holiday Wrap-Up - What We've Learned
|
Dec 16, 2024 |
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69: John's Trip to the Falkland Islands, also we talk about Bird Flu
|
Dec 09, 2024 |
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68: The Rusty Blackbird - Dramatic population decline, also a question on 'The Big Year'
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Dec 02, 2024 |
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67: Wild Turkey Revisited - with Jacob Drucker
|
Nov 25, 2024 |
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66: White-throated Sparrow
|
Nov 18, 2024 |
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65: Wrentits with Kevin Burns
|
Nov 11, 2024 |
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64: Inti Tanager with Kevin Burns - Also known as the 'Kill Bill' Tanager
|
Nov 04, 2024 |
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63: Kagu - Ghosts of the Forest
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Oct 28, 2024 |
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62: Unlock the Secrets of Mindful Birdwatching with Joan E. Strassmann | New Book 'The Slow Birding Journal'
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Oct 21, 2024 |
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61: Roseate Spoonbill Revisited - The Color Pink
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Oct 14, 2024 |
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60: Double-crested Cormorant, drying their wings, swimming with heavy bones
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Oct 07, 2024 |
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59: Darwin's Finches (they're tanagers!) with Kevin Burns
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Sep 30, 2024 |
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58: Tanagers with Kevin Burns
|
Sep 23, 2024 |
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Teaser: We Are Down This Week - Exciting Episodes On The Horizon!
|
Sep 16, 2024 |
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57: Medley - Warblers, European Goldfinches, Cassowaries, Horse Flies, Oh my!
|
Sep 09, 2024 |
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56: Alpine Accentor - Let's talk about bird sex high in the mountains
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Sep 02, 2024 |
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55: Peg-billed Finch - Elusive bird from Costa Rica, Shannon and John's experience with them
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Aug 26, 2024 |
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54: Black-billed Magpie - Fighting cats, bird funerals, and interactions with humans
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Aug 19, 2024 |
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53: Greater Roadrunner - Adaptations to Live In the Desert, How Fast Are They?
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Aug 12, 2024 |
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52: Burrowing Owls with Aiyana Reissman from Living Coast Discovery Center
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Aug 05, 2024 |
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51: Multiple Topics: Belted Kingfisher Family, CT Scanning Birds, Bird Dialect, and A Movie About Cowbirds?
|
Jul 29, 2024 |
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50: Northern Flicker - Hybridization, CTE From Banging Head?
|
Jul 22, 2024 |
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49: Giant Hummingbird - New Study!
|
Jul 15, 2024 |
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48: Ospreys with Jack Wildlife (Jack Turner) - Memes, Photography, Also Golden-Cheeked Warbler
|
Jul 08, 2024 |
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Happy Fourth of July! - Teaser for Upcoming Episodes + Spreading the joy of birds
|
Jul 01, 2024 |
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47: Light-footed Ridgway's Rail with Aiyana Reissman from Living Coast Discovery Center
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Jun 24, 2024 |
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46: Cicadas with Maureen Turcatel - impact on birds, blue-eyed cicada, and fungus!
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Jun 17, 2024 |
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45: Ruby-Throated Hummingbird - Also a question on feather iridescence and/or mutation
|
Jun 10, 2024 |
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44: House Wren, we also talk about The Archaeopteryx at the Field Museum
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Jun 03, 2024 |
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43: Kirtland's Warbler - Back From the Endangered Species List, Connection to Leopold and Loeb?
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May 27, 2024 |
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42: Brown-Headed Cowbird - Laying eggs in someone else's nest
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May 20, 2024 |
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41: Wes Larson of Tooth and Claw Talks Southern Cassowaries and His Epic Australia Adventure
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May 13, 2024 |
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40: Blackpoll Warbler - Impressive Migration, Also More About Warblers...
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May 05, 2024 |
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39: Bald Eagles - Massive Nests, Aerial Cartwheels, and Coming Back From DDT
|
Apr 29, 2024 |
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38: Florida Trip - Osprey, Brown Pelican, Shorebirds, and we also talk about the Eclipse
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Apr 22, 2024 |
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37: European Roller - Migration Across the Sahara, Vomiting for Self-Defense
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Apr 08, 2024 |
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36: The Brown Creeper, How Animals Evolved to Fly, and Round 2 of Round Robin Voting!
|
Apr 01, 2024 |
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35: European Starlings with Louise Bodt + Round Robin Tourney First Round Voting :)
|
Mar 25, 2024 |
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34: European Goldfinches with Louise Bodt - European birds introduced in the U.S.
|
Mar 18, 2024 |
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33: Tufted Puffins - Shannon's Favorite Puffin
|
Mar 11, 2024 |
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32: Common Puffin (Or Atlantic Puffin) - John's Favorite Puffin
|
Mar 04, 2024 |
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31: Limpkins Interview Part 2 with Marky Mutchler
|
Feb 26, 2024 |
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30: Limpkins Interview Part 1 with Marky Mutchler
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Feb 20, 2024 |
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29: Flame Bowerbird - Building A Bower and Attracting A Mate
|
Feb 12, 2024 |
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28: Blue Jays - Acorns and Oak Trees
|
Feb 05, 2024 |
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27: Birds of a Feather Talk Together Backstory - Our Origin Story
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Jan 29, 2024 |
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26: Mallard Duck - We Also Talk About Christmas Bird Count
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Jan 22, 2024 |
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25: Puteketeke or Great Crested Grebe - Thanks John Oliver for Making This 'Bird of the Century'
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Jan 15, 2024 |
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24: The Hoatzin - A Link To The Dinosaurs?
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Dec 18, 2023 |
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23: Rock Pigeons (Rock Doves) - You see them everywhere in the city, but did you know how amazing they are?
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Dec 11, 2023 |
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22: Hawaiian Honeycreepers with Jacob Drucker - Part 2
|
Dec 04, 2023 |
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21: Hawaiian Honeycreepers with Jacob Drucker - Part 1
|
Nov 27, 2023 |
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20: Wild Turkey - Conservation success, magnificent feathers, sexual dimorphism
|
Nov 20, 2023 |
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Teaser: Sticker Giveaway + Update on New Episodes
|
Nov 10, 2023 |
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19: Ravens - How Smart Are Birds? Using Tools and Imitating Calls
|
Oct 30, 2023 |
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18: The Shoebill - A Large Bird With An Even Larger Bill - Also A Beginners Guide To Birding
|
Oct 23, 2023 |
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17: Bloodsucking Birds! Vampire Finches, Oxpeckers, and Egyptian Plovers - Oh my!
|
Oct 09, 2023 |
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16: Bird Collisions in Chicago - Nearly 1,000 Birds Die In A Single Night
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Oct 09, 2023 |
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15: Ring-Billed Gull - Not A Seagull! Also, That Diet is Trash...
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Sep 23, 2023 |
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14: Willard's Sooty Boubou - A New Species Discovered; John and The Field Museum's Involvement
|
Sep 11, 2023 |
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13: Killdeer - The 'Broken Wing' Display, Also a Discussion on Wildfire Smoke Impacting Birds
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Sep 04, 2023 |
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12: Roseate Spoonbill - The Color Pink, Birds Going Bald
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Aug 28, 2023 |
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11: Oilbirds - Using Echolocation and Living in Caves
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Jul 31, 2023 |
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10: Northern Cardinal - What Causes That Bright Red Color? Is This Your State Bird?
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Jul 24, 2023 |
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9: Great Horned Owl - An Elusive Predator! Also, What Is A Species?
|
Jul 17, 2023 |
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8: Purple Martin - Living in Man-Made Homes + A Killer Grackle
|
Jul 10, 2023 |
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7: Mailbag + Teaser
|
Jun 27, 2023 |
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6: Frigatebird, The Gular Pouch, and Flying High For Fun?
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Jun 19, 2023 |
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5: Sandhill Cranes - Migration, and Mating for Life (a myth?)
|
Jun 12, 2023 |
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4: American Woodcock - Dancing and Peenting
|
Jun 05, 2023 |
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Teaser: Upcoming Episodes!
|
Jun 01, 2023 |
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1: Ivory Billed Woodpecker
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May 16, 2023 |
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2: Birds of Paradise
|
May 16, 2023 |
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3: Mailbag! Travel, Genetic Mutations and Color
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May 16, 2023 |