Bird of the Week – Details, episodes & analysis

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

Want birds in your inbox? Drop me a line at weekly.bird@outlook.com and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.

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 weekly.bird@outlook.com 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/

In the 1960s the United States of America lost a unique sub-species of bird when the Kennedy Space Centre was developed as part of the space race. Today, Australia is on the cusp of repeating this history, with the home of the endangered Southern Emu-wren being earmarked for the development of a launch site.

Until 2 February 2024 public submissions are open on the site's proposed development. To help protect the Emu-wren visit Birdlife Australia and use their form to voice your opposition: https://www.actforbirds.org/whalersway

Notes:

• Birdlife media release on Whalers Way: https://birdlife.org.au/news/rocket-launch-facility-will-destroy-threatened-bird-habitat/
• Dusky Seaside Sparrow: https://www.fws.gov/species/dusky-seaside-sparrow-ammodramus-maritimus-nigrescens
• Southern Emu-wren: https://ebird.org/species/souemu1?siteLanguage=en_AU
• Australian Government Emu-wren species profile: http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=26006

So if it's one thing we know people are good at it's making other things go extinct. We are living during one of the great mass extinct events. But every now and again, we come across a bird that was thought to have gone extinct, only for them to be rediscovered, sometimes hundreds of years later. Well, this year, we are going to meet three birds that were thought to be extinct only to be found alive and (not so) well many years later.

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 weekly.bird@outlook.com and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.

Notes:

• Lazarus Taxon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazarus_taxon
• Lazarus of Bethany: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazarus_of_Bethany
• It's time to D-D-D-Duel!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFkdcQgNJHo
• Blue-eyed Ground Dove: https://ebird.org/species/begdov2
• Doves raised in captivity: https://abcbirds.org/news/blue-eyed-ground-dove-captive-rearing/
•  Inbreeding depression: https://evolution.berkeley.edu/the-relevance-of-evolution/conservation/inbreeding-depression/
• Bermuda Petrel: https://ebird.org/species/berpet
• David Wingate: https://www.birdnote.org/listen/shows/david-wingate-and-rescue-cahow
• A Tale of Two Islands: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/9071817-a-tale-of-two-islands
• Takahe: https://ebird.org/species/takahe3
• Story of the Takahe: https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/takahe-the-bird-that-came-back-from-the-dead/
• International Union for the Conservation of Nature: https://www.iucn.org/

Last year New Zealand crowned the Puteketeke as their Bird of the Century. This raise a lot of questions: who has the authority to name a bird for the century, why is 2023 the year it happened, and what the heck is the Puteketeke? Join me in this episode to learn more and to find out how John Oliver made a dramatic entry to saw the vote in favour of an underdog.

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 weekly.bird@outlook.com and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.

Notes:

• Great Crested Grebe: https://ebird.org/species/grcgre1?siteLanguage=en_AU
• Forest and Bird: https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/
• Bird of the Century winner: https://www.birdoftheyear.org.nz/
• Previous Bird of the Year winners: https://www.birdoftheyear.org.nz/past-champions/
• Puteketeke: https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/resources/bird-century-winner-announced-puteketeke-pandemonium-prevails#:~:text=The%20p%C5%ABteketeke%20Australasian%20crested%20grebe,atop%20its%20burnt%2Dorange%20mullet.
• Feet for tail feathers: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4070281?seq=2
• Grebe mating dancing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs_3WAfDVsc
• Grebes eat feathers: https://www.audubon.org/news/grebes-their-meals-side-feathers-heres-why#:~:text=Strange%20as%20it%20sounds%2C%20grebes,way%20to%20slow%20down%20digestion.
• John Oliver on Jimmy Fallon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVE1hBzHn3s
• Does John Oliver hate birds?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l2Y6Z-maAU 

As we enter the festive season there is no better bird to feature than the European Robin. These bright little birds have an association with Christmas that extends way waaaaay back. So let's dive in with a short min Christmas stocking stuffer Bird of the Week special to find out what the deal is with Christmas and Robins.

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 weekly.bird@outlook.com and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.

Notes:

• European Robin: https://ebird.org/species/eurrob1?siteLanguage=en_AU
• Robins and Christmas: https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/2019/12/why-do-we-associate-robins-with-christmas/
• Robins and the nativity: https://www.birdspot.co.uk/culture/the-legend-of-robin-redbreast
• The Six Birds of Christmas, previous Christmas special: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/9782095-the-six-birds-of-christmas
• Dead Wrens on Christmas cards: https://culturacolectiva.com/en/art/design/victorian-christmas-cards-weird-dead-birds/

The Night Parrot is known as one of the most elusive birds in the world. Between 1912 and 1990 there was no evidence that they lived, and even then it would be another 23 before a living one was even seen. But then in 2013, the Night Parrot was re-discovered to much fanfare. However, it later emerged that much subsequent evidence for their existence was falsified. Just what happened and why is a wild tale, so joy me as we tell the story of the Night Parrot.

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 weekly.bird@outlook.com and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.

Notes:

• Night Parrot: https://ebird.org/species/nigpar2
• Ground Parrot: https://ebird.org/species/gropar1/
• Dick Smith: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Smith_(entrepreneur)
• Walter Boles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5OSiN_6Lr0
• Robert Cupitt: https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.308723421800147
• John Young and the Night Parrot: https://www.audubon.org/news/john-young-rediscovered-australian-night-parrot-did-he-lie-about-his-later
• John Young and the Blue-Fronted Fig Parrot: https://www.smh.com.au/national/new-parrot-species-found-in-queensland-20061108-gdos73.html
• Penny Olsen: https://reporter.anu.edu.au/all-stories/the-truth-behind-the-quest-to-find-the-elusive-night-parrot 
• Future of the Night Parrot: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/04/science/night-parrot-ghost-bird-australia.html 

It's a common story throughout the world: when people turn up we tend to kill things, with many animals being driven to extinction. So join me today as we do a review of the Australian birds that have gone extinct since European colonisation. But would you be shocked if I told you there was only one? It's true, the Paradise Parrot is the only Australian bird that has gone extinct. So let's find out who they were, what happened, and if we can stop their close cousin from going the same way.

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 weekly.bird@outlook.com and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.

If you're interested in the work of Artemis and their efforts to save the Golden Shoulder Parrot check out: https://artemis.org.au/

Notes:

• Paradise Parrot: https://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=723
• Red-Rumped Parrot: https://ebird.org/species/rerpar1?siteLanguage=en_AU
• Hooded Parrot: https://ebird.org/species/hoopar1?siteLanguage=en_AU
• Golden Shouldered Parrot: https://ebird.org/species/gospar1?siteLanguage=en_AU
• John Gilbert: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gilbert_(naturalist)
• John Gould: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gould
• Gilbert's Whistler: https://ebird.org/species/gilwhi1?siteLanguage=en_AU
• Gilbert's Honeyeater: https://ebird.org/species/whnhon3?siteLanguage=en_AU
• Gilbert's Potoroo: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/episodes/new
• Gilbert's Dunnart: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert%27s_dunnart
• Alec Chisholm: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Hugh_Chisholm
• Story of the Paradise Parrot: https://theconversation.com/100-years-ago-this-man-discovered-an-exquisite-parrot-thought-to-be-extinct-what-came-next-is-a-tragedy-we-must-not-repeat-171939

We finally got to the TAXONOMY episode. Join me as we explain what taxonomy is, how it works, and how we use it to arrange a big old family tree that contains every bird and maps how they're all related to each other. It's an overview of bird family tree from the dinosaurs to today.

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 weekly.bird@outlook.com and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.

Notes:

• Bird Taxonomy: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species
• Morphology: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphology_(biology)
• Convergent Evolution: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convergent_evolution
• Therapod: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theropoda
• Feathered dinosaurs: https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/dinosaurs-among-us/feathers
• Opposite birds: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enantiornithes
• Neoaves: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoaves
• Hoatzin: https://ebird.org/species/hoatzi1

Without a question, the Kiwi is one of the most unusual birds in the world. A lifetime of isolation on New Zealand has lead to a bird that is doing an impersonation of a rodent. This week we will find out who the Kiwi is, where they came from, how they live and where they're going.

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 weekly.bird@outlook.com and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.

Notes:

• Flightless Birds: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/11317493-flightless-birds
• Island Birds: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/8978808-island-bird
• Southern Brown Kiwi: https://ebird.org/species/sobkiw1/
• Northern Brown Kiwi: https://ebird.org/species/nibkiw1/
• Okarito Kiwi: https://ebird.org/species/okbkiw1/
• Little Spotted Kiwi:https://ebird.org/species/liskiw1/
• Great Spotted Kiwi: https://ebird.org/species/grskiw1/
• How Kiwis got to New Zealand: https://savethekiwi.nz/about-kiwi/kiwi-facts/how-kiwi-came-here/