Birds of a Feather Talk Together

In this episode of Birds of a Feather Talk Together, we revisit one of our favorite deep dives on the White-throated Sparrow, a fascinating and familiar North American bird. Join John Bates, Shannon Hackett, RJ Pole, and Amanda Pole as we explore what makes this species so unique—and why sparrows are often tricky to identify.

We discuss sparrow identification, focusing on how behavior, song, and movement patterns can be just as impo...

This week we’ve got a seriously fun one for you. We are joined by the wonderful Ellen Weatherford from the podcast Just the Zoo of Us.

John and Shannon are guests on her show later this month, so we asked Ellen to come chat with us about the bird of her choice. She came back with flamingos—and boy, were we thrilled.

It turned into such a bright, lively, surprisingly deep conversation about one of the most iconic birds out there. From...

This week we’re diving into a fascinating forest bird—the Varied Thrush. If you’ve ever wandered through the deep, mossy conifer forests of the Pacific Northwest, you might’ve heard their haunting, single-note whistles echoing through the understory. These birds are usually right at home along the West Coast, from Alaska down through northern California… which is why things got very interesting when a Varied Thrush recently showed ...

Happy Thanksgiving from Birds of a Feather Talk Together!
We’re taking the week off for the holiday, but we didn’t want to leave you bird-less—so we’re re-sharing one of our favorite episodes, all about the mourning dove, one of North America’s most familiar and fascinating backyard birds.

Fun fact: mourning doves can store an unbelievable amount of food in a specialized throat pouch before flying off somewhere cozy to digest i...

This week on Birds of a Feather Talk Together, we’re exploring one of the rarest, most extraordinary birds on the planet: the spoon-billed sandpiper—a tiny shorebird with one of nature’s most fascinating evolutionary surprises.

If you caught our recent YouTube video where John compared a Roseate Spoonbill at the Field Museum to the delicate spoon-billed sandpiper specimen, you already know we love a good convergent evolution story. ...

The Golden Eagle — one of North America’s largest, fastest, and most powerful raptors — takes center stage in this week’s episode of Birds of a Feather Talk Together! Married ornithologists Dr. John Bates and Dr. Shannon Hackett from Chicago’s Field Museum join hosts RJ Pole and Amanda Pole, who recently spotted Golden Eagles during their honeymoon in Arizona, to share insights about these majestic hunters of the sky.

From breathtak...

Welcome back to Birds of a Feather Talk Together. Hosted by ornithologists and curators of birds at the Field Museum John Bates and Shannon Hackett, who are married, and also new birders RJ and Amanda Pole. 

Today we’re focusing on a fascinating species — the palm-nut vulture.

This is a bird John has been eager to highlight, and once you learn more about it, it’s easy to see why. Found in Africa, palm-nut vultures don’t eat carrion, ...

That echoing, haunting call drifting across a northern lake at dusk — few sounds in nature are as unforgettable as the common loon. In this listener-requested episode, RJ, John, Shannon, and Amanda dive into the world of these striking waterbirds. From their red eyes and black-and-white plumage to their incredible diving and parenting skills, loons are true masters of life on the water.

Grab a cup of coffee, settle in lakeside, and ...

Welcome back to Birds of a Feather Talk Together, the podcast where bird lovers flock to learn more about the amazing world of birds!

In this episode, we’re diving into two of North America’s most look-alike woodpeckers — the Downy Woodpecker and the Hairy Woodpecker. Whether you’re a new bird watcher trying to tell these two apart, or an experienced birder curious about their unique behaviors and adaptations, this episode has somet...

Welcome back to Birds of a Feather Talk Together! We’re taking a short break this week, but we’ve got something special lined up for you. While we gear up for upcoming episodes on Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers—and even a deep dive into the mysterious world of loons—we’re revisiting one of our most popular interviews from last year.

In this replay, your hosts John Bates, Shannon Hackett, RJ Pole, and Amanda Pole sit down with Kirk Wall...

This week we’re revisiting one of our older episodes all about the Kirtland’s warbler. 

If you caught our interview with Peter Kaestner (episode 98), you might remember that he almost went birding on the morning of his wedding just to see this bird—so if Peter was that excited, you know it’s going to be a good one. 

The Kirtland’s warbler has a fascinating story, from populations threatened by the brown-headed cowbird—which we talked...

We’re revisiting our episode on the brown-headed cowbird, and trust me, this one’s a wild ride. Did you know cowbirds don’t build their own nests, but instead lay their eggs in other birds’ nests and let them do the parenting? 

Even birds that aren’t even close in size will get stuck raising the chicks of a brown-headed cowbird. 

Hosts John Bates, Shannon Hackett, RJ Pole, and Amanda Pole talk about the Brown-headed Cowbird!

Here are ...

This week we’re excited to welcome two special guests—Olivia Sanderfoot and Allison Shultz—to talk about Project Phoenix. 

This important project is exploring how wildfire smoke impacts birds on the West Coast, and what that means for their survival in a rapidly warming world. 

Understanding these effects is critical for shaping conservation strategies, and we can’t wait to learn more from Olivia and Allison in this conversation. 

It’...

Everyone loves woodpeckers, and the Red-headed Woodpecker is one of the coolest! Listen to what makes this bird unique, like hiding grasshoppers in trees to eat later (while they are still alive.) RJ also tells some paddleboarding mishaps, and talks about some molting mallards that he saw recently. Join RJ, Amanda, John, and Shannon this week to talk about the Red-headed Woodpecker! 

Here are some of the links to cat resources which...

This week on Birds of a Feather Talk Together, John takes the lead with his pick: the Olive-sided Flycatcher. Despite traveling the world and spotting hundreds of bird species, this flycatcher still holds a special place on his list of favorites. But not everyone agrees—his co-host (and wife) Shannon, also an ornithologist, isn’t convinced it’s such an exciting choice. Their playful back-and-forth makes for some fun bird talk you w...

Welcome back to Birds of a Feather Talk Together! This week, the full crew—John Bates, Shannon Hackett, RJ Pole, and Amanda Pole—are back to highlight one of North America’s tiniest and most charming songbirds: the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.

It’s Amanda’s pick this week, and she’s sharing why this lively little bird is one of her absolute favorites. If you’ve ever heard a high, buzzy call in the treetops before spotting the bird itself,...

This week on Birds of a Feather Talk Together, it’s Shannon’s turn to pick the bird—and she’s chosen one of the wildest species on the planet: the club-winged manakin. If you’ve never heard of this bird, do yourself a favor right now—stop what you’re doing and google it. Trust us, you’ll be amazed.

The club-winged manakin doesn’t sing with its voice. Instead, it makes a bizarre, almost robot-like sound with its feathers—something no...

In this episode of Birds of a Feather Talk Together, we welcome back Jenna McCullough, a third-generation birdwatcher from Boise, Idaho, with a PhD in Biology from the University of New Mexico. Currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Kentucky and soon to begin a prestigious National Science Foundation fellowship at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and UCLA, Jenna has traveled the globe in search of ...

In this fun and fan-fueled episode of Birds of a Feather Talk Together, we're diving into the mailbag to answer your burning bird questions! It's our usual hosts, married ornithologists John Bates and Shannon Hackett, and married birding enthusiasts RJ and Amanda Pole. 

First up: What’s the deal with all those birds hanging out in roadside water in Florida? Then we head north to Pennsylvania to talk about house sparrows, c...