• 56: Alpine Accentor - Let's talk about bird sex high in the mountains
    Sep 2 2024

    This Eurasian bird is more extreme than it looks, and it may not be for what you are expecting. This bird puts the 'bird' in birds and the bees. Join us this week when we talk about the very sexual Alpine Accentor.

    John Bates, Shannon Hackett, RJ Pole, and Amanda Marquart discuss the Alpine Accentor in this week's episode.

    Please send us your questions for us to answer as well! You can send them to podcast.birdsofafeather@gmail.com

    Make sure to follow us on instagram and tik tok as well!!

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    40 mins
  • 55: Peg-billed Finch - Elusive bird from Costa Rica, Shannon and John's experience with them
    Aug 26 2024

    A bird that not very many people have seen in the wild, but it turns out that Shannon and John have seen a lot of them. They are native to Costa Rica, and only come out when the bamboo is flowering - which is not very often. Hear all about Shannon and John's trip to Costa Rica and learn more about these amazing little birds.

    We also answer a listener question on birds and government spies.

    John Bates, Shannon Hackett, RJ Pole, and Amanda Marquart discuss the Peg-billed Finch in this week's episode.

    Please send us your questions for us to answer as well! You can send them to podcast.birdsofafeather@gmail.com

    Make sure to follow us on instagram and tik tok as well!!

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    31 mins
  • 54: Black-billed Magpie - Fighting cats, bird funerals, and interactions with humans
    Aug 19 2024

    Black-billed magpies are super cool! Fun new episode that you won't want to miss.

    John Bates, Shannon Hackett, RJ Pole, and Amanda Marquart discuss the Black-billed Magpie in this week's episode.

    We also answer a listener question on Wombat poop and bird poop.

    Please send us your questions for us to answer as well! You can send them to podcast.birdsofafeather@gmail.com

    Make sure to follow us on instagram and tik tok as well!!

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    29 mins
  • 53: Greater Roadrunner - Adaptations to Live In the Desert, How Fast Are They?
    Aug 12 2024

    You might know him from the cartoon - but there's a lot more to the Greater Roadrunner than just saying beep beep. We talk all about the adaptations these speedy birds have made to be able to live in the desert, some interesting facts from the actual cartoon, as well as answer a mailbag question on the book The Feather Thief. John Bates, Shannon Hackett, RJ Pole, and Amanda Marquart discuss the Greater Roadrunner in this week's episode.

    Here is the link to the other podcast that Shannon was on that we referenced in the episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e32-chickadee/id1681354028?i=1000663586496

    Please send us your questions for us to answer as well! You can send them to podcast.birdsofafeather@gmail.com

    Make sure to follow us on instagram and tik tok as well!!

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    43 mins
  • 52: Burrowing Owls with Aiyana Reissman from Living Coast Discovery Center
    Aug 5 2024

    Join us this week to talk about Burrowing Owls. These super cool and tiny owls live in burrows in the ground. Hear why, and all about their super unique behavior in this week's episode. Our usual hosts John Bates, Shannon Hackett, RJ Pole, and Amanda Marquart are joined by Aiyana Reissman to talk Burrowing Owls. Aiyana is the Animal Care Manager at the Living Coast Discovery Center in San Diego, California and has a ton of experience with these owls.

    In addition to the burrowing owls, we also get deep into some other topics like bird flu and changing big tech to get birds into the algorithm instead of cats :)

    Please send us your questions for us to answer as well! You can send them to podcast.birdsofafeather@gmail.com

    Make sure to follow us on instagram and tik tok as well!!

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    58 mins
  • 51: Multiple Topics: Belted Kingfisher Family, CT Scanning Birds, Bird Dialect, and A Movie About Cowbirds?
    Jul 29 2024

    This week a little different than our usual episodes. Instead of talking about a single bird species, we each brought a different topic to the table to talk about. We talked about baby belted Kingfishers, CT scanning birds, different bird dialects, and a movie idea where a brown-headed cowbird leaves an egg in a human’s bassinet. What genre would that movie be? Listen to find out! Join John Bates, Shannon Hackett, RJ Pole, and Amanda Marquart for this week's episode of Birds of a Feather Talk Together.

    Please send us your questions for us to answer as well! You can send them to podcast.birdsofafeather@gmail.com

    Make sure to follow us on instagram and tik tok as well!!

    Enjoy!

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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • 50: Northern Flicker - Hybridization, CTE From Banging Head?
    Jul 22 2024

    This week we are talking about the Northern Flicker. We talk about the red-shafted and yellow-shafted flickers in different parts of the continent, and how they can hybridize. We also talk about whether or not woodpeckers get CTE from banging their heads while pecking. We answer a mailbag question on the white throated sparrow changing its call. Join John Bates, Shannon Hackett, RJ Pole, and Amanda Marquart discussing the Northern Flicker!

    Please send us your questions for us to answer as well! You can send them to podcast.birdsofafeather@gmail.com

    Make sure to follow us on instagram and tik tok as well!!

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    37 mins
  • 49: Giant Hummingbird - New Study!
    Jul 15 2024

    This week’s episode is about the Giant Hummingbird. A recent study led by Jessie Williamson led to some groundbreaking discoveries about the Giant Hummingbird, including that there are actually two different species, one which has the longest migration of any hummingbird in the world. This amazing study, which included putting tiny backpacks on hummingbirds to track their movement, changed what we knew about Giant Hummingbirds.

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    49 mins