The Science of Birds

In each Random Bird Thursday (RBT) episode, the goal is to highlight a bird species that probably isn't going to get featured in a full-length podcast episode. These are birds we might overlook, even though they certainly deserve some appreciation and attention. 

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⚠️ SPOILER ALERT!

The featured species in this episode is the White-thighed Hornbill (Bycanistes albotibialis)

White-thighed Hornbill sounds (Xeno Canto...

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This is Episode 125. Host Ivan Phillipsen takes listeners inside the amazing respiratory system of birds. He starts by grounding the topic in familiar territory—how mammal lungs work—before revealing how different the avian system really is.

The episode walks through the unique division of labor between birds’ small, rigid lungs and their large air sacs, and explains the el...

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This is Episode 124. Host Ivan Phillipsen takes you on a tour of Mimidae—the New World family that includes mockingbirds, thrashers, catbirds, and tremblers. He describes the key features of these songbirds and what sets them apart.

Ivan explores the sounds that make this family famous: rich, extended songs, dazzling vocal control, and—for many species—impressive mimicry.

You'll ...

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In Episode 123 Ivan Phillipsen explores the fascinating world of subspecies—the diversity that exists within bird species. Learn how these populations arise, why ornithologists sometimes struggle to define them, and what makes the concept so important for both science and conservation.

From the record-breaking Island Thrush, once thought to have more subspecies than any oth...

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This is Episode 122. Host Ivan Phillipsen takes listeners into the vast sagebrush steppe of western North America and introduces the remarkable birds that call it home—the sage grouse. These birds are icons of the American West, tightly bound to a rugged ecosystem that covers nearly a third of the lower 48 states.

Ivan explores how sage grouse have evolved to thrive on a di...

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This is Episode 121. In this unscripted “From the Field” episode, host Ivan Phillipsen takes listeners on an immersive, unscripted journey through his recent month-long travels in Japan. Splitting his time between scouting for a future birding tour and exploring for fun, Ivan revisits the country for the first time since spending a formative summer there as an 11-year-old. 

He reflec...

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In this episode—which is Number 120—Ivan answers questions sent in by listeners. So this is what we call an “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) episode.

The listeners who get to contribute questions for these Ask Me Anything episodes are members of the Science of Birds community on Patreon. There are several tiers of support that people can join, and at the Helpful Hornbill and Awesome...

This is the first ever Random Bird Thursday! Ivan is experimenting with publishing these shorter, unscripted episodes. In each Random Bird Thursday episode, the idea is to highlight a bird species that probably isn't going to get featured in a full-length podcast episode. These are birds we might overlook, even though they deserve some appreciation and attention. 

Random Bird Thursday episodes will be in addition to the normal,...

This is Episode 119. In this unscripted “From the Field” episode, host Ivan Phillipsen takes you on a journey through the grasslands, forests, and mountains of Mongolia. Fresh from a ten-day scouting trip in central Mongolia, Ivan recounts his experience scouting for a future birding tour. 

Along the way, he explores ancient ruins, crosses epic landscapes, and shares observations of unique habitats like the Eastern Steppe, the Dauri...

In this practical episode about birding skills, Ivan Phillipsen dives into the process of bird identification. Listeners are introduced to a five-step framework for figuring out which bird species they’re observing. Ivan walks through how to use shape, location, behavior, coloration, and detailed field marks to gradually narrow down a bird’s identity.

The episode highlights how our brains are naturally equipped to categorize and nam...

In this episode, Ivan Phillipsen takes listeners on an immersive journey into the strange and secretive world of birds in the family Caprimulgidae. These cryptically colored, nocturnal birds include nightjars, nighthawks, poorwills, and whip-poor-wills. Ivan reveals the fascinating biology of this group—everything from their frog-like gapes to their odd names and eerie calls.

Listeners will learn about the distinctive physical trait...

In this episode—which is number 115—Ivan Phillipsen guides listeners through the art and science of finding birds—a skill that even seasoned birders are always refining. While birds are everywhere, intentionally locating them in nature can be surprisingly difficult. Ivan breaks down bird-finding as a multi-scale strategy, starting from intercontinental trip planning all the way down to spotting a skulky sparrow in a dense bush. Wit...

In this episode—which is Number 114—host Ivan Phillipsen dives into the world of the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)—a bird that’s all about fish. With a global distribution and a singular place in the avian family tree, the Osprey is both biologically unique and instantly recognizable. Ivan explores this raptor’s physical traits, from its distinctive wing shape to its powerful, semi-zygodactyl feet designed for grabbing slippery prey.

L...