Bird Podcast with Shoba Narayan
Welcome to the Bird Podcast — hosted by Shoba Narayan. This podcast will focus largely on birds, specifically on Indian birds with occasional global forays. India is home to some 1200 bird species, amongst the highest in the world. This podcast showcases and highlights our feathered friends We will talk to naturalists and birders about common and special birds such as the Greater Coucal, Himalayan Quail, Nilgiri Flycatcher, the Malabar Trogon, the Great Indian Bustard, and other amazing species. We will highlight issues both old and new. About India’s vanishing forests and wetlands and how it impacts birds. About breeding areas of migratory birds and how they are hunted en route. We will speak to the men and women who successfully saved the Amur Falcon from being massacred in Nagaland. And we will do individual podcasts on bird species of India. Welcome to the Bird Podcast. Come fly away with us.
Episodes
The sex of a bird – whether it is male or female – is one of the most critical aspects of its biology. Males and females often behave differently, especially during the breeding season, and in many species, they have strikingly different plumages.
This episode features Dr. Hamish Spencer, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Otago in southern New Zealand. Hamish was recently in Colombia, where he...
When a pigeon comes into the house. This is a controversial episode. In fact, I am pretty sure nobody in the nature groups that I am part of will approve of this. In fact, they may even condemn this episode. Because you see, it is about pigeons, which birders call flying pests. But here’s what happened and so, if you listen or watch this episode, advance apologies.
About six months ago, ...
Here is a special episode about how different Bangalore birding experts got into birding.
This episode is about Bhutan: carbon-negative, Buddhist and a pioneer in sustainable tourism. This tiny country, about the size of Switzerland contains 774 species. In comparison, neighbouring India— nearly ten times the size— has just 1200 species. Here we talk to Namgay Tshering a freelance birding guide about the birds of Bhutan. Specifically he mentions the Beautiful Nuthatch, the Blyth’s tragopan, the Himalayan ...
In this episode, we talk to a resident naturalist about the motmots, hummingbirds and toucanets that you can see in Costa Rica.
Delhi and its neighbourhoods, with its variety of habitats and landscapes, is remarkable for the wealth and diversity of its avifauna. It is a true haven for bird lovers, home to an astonishing array of over 470 captivating bird species. Get ready for an enchanting adventure with Sudhir Vyas's delightful book, "The Birds of the Delhi Area," which is the ultimate guide to unlocking the secrets of these feathered wonders...
This is the first of three episodes about the bird life in Costa Rica.
This one focuses on the three-wattled bell-bird and the episode is set in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.
Listen to the bellbird on Youtube here.
About Aasheesh Pittie’s book of essays, The Living Air. If you’re looking for new ways to engage with birds and birdwatching, Aasheesh Pittie’s book of essays, The Living Air is a great place to start. This book will not only make you want to get out and observe your city and surroundings in a whole new light, but it will also offer a fresh perspective into what birdwatching is and the many ways you can benefit from it...
In Episode 35, Dr. Gopi Sundar paints a hopeful picture of cranes and waterbirds coexisting with humans. In this episode we delve into these amazing bird species. Both storks and cranes are wading birds. They dwell in similar habitats and look similar. They have long legs and a long, curving neck. However, these birds belong to separate orders and families and aren’t closely related to each other at all. In this epis...
In this episode, we are talking about how we know what we know about bird migration. Our guest, Rebecca Heisman describes herself on her website, as a “bird writer for hire.” Her first book, flight path has the following subtitle: How a Passionate and Quirky Group of Pioneering Scientists Solved the Mystery of Bird Migration. This episode is as much about people as it is about birds.
This episode is about the wonder of feathers. Salim Ali said that birds were “feathered bipeds.” This episode explores how feathers are marvellously adaptive to suit birds and species. Our guest is Esha Munshi who co-founded the Feather Library, a digital project documenting feathers.
Esha read a quote from this book on feathers.
Episode artwork: David Clode/Unsplash
From the Feather Libr...
Photographing birds across continents. In this episode, we interview His Excellency Jacques Pitteloud who happens to be the Swiss Ambassador to the United States. Based in Washington, Ambassador Pitteloud is also a birdwatcher and bird photographer. In 2021, Ambassador Pitteloud’s photograph of a rare painted bunting that appeared in Maryland landed in the Washington Post prompting lots of excitement in the birding world. Later, ...
In this episode, we highlight conservation experiments that are interesting and have worked. We have chosen three experiments from previous episodes. Our hope is that you will go back and listen or watch sections of these episodes because they are worth your time.
The first conservation plan that worked comes from Episode 50 where we interviewed Professor Yossi Leshem of Israel. He is a bird migration spec...
Beverly and Anders Gyllenhaal are veteran journalists and birdwatchers. They ran newsrooms, assigned features and wrote books. They publish a website called FlyingLessons.US: What We’re Learning from the Birds,’’ and are here with us to speak about their new book, “A Wing and a Prayer: the race to save our vanishing birds.
Questions:
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What...
In this episode, we talk to Noah Strycker. Noah is the Associate Editor for Birding Magazine and author of several popular books about birds. He set a world record in 2015 by finding more than 6,000 species of birds in one calendar year. 6,042 species to be precise. Noah has made more than 70 expeditions to Antarctica and the high Arctic, literally spreading the joy of birds from pole to pole. In this episode, we talk ...
This episode is set in Hadinaru Kere, a lake outside Mysore in India. In the winter, the lake attracts a number of migratory birds. Some 85 species have been recorded in March 2023. This episode talks about the black-tailed godwit.
A conversation with the author of “Where Song Began.”
In this episode, we talk to author Tim Low, whose book, “Where Song Began” has been credited with turning the map upside down in terms of ornithology’s Northern hemisphere bias. Tim proves that the world’s cleverest birds originated in Australia. Tim Low is an award winning author, biologist, consultant and...
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