Okay, But... Birds

Okay, but what's in a bird's toolbox?

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0600

E18. Turns out "bird brain" is less of an insult and more of a compliment. Scott sits down with Dr. Alex Kacelnik, Emeritus Professor at the University of Oxford, to dig into one of the most mind-bending questions in animal behavior: are birds actually building and using tools, or are we just projecting?

In this episode you'll hear about:

The experiment that left researchers completely flabbergasted and rewrote what we thought we knew about animal intelligence
Why flexibility, not raw smarts, is the real test of a thinking mind
Whether the drive to use tools is something birds are born with, learn, or some surprising combination of both

All audio, video, and images in this episode are either original to Okay, But... Birds (© Okay Media, LLC) or used under license/permission from the respective rights holders. Bird media from the Macaulay Library is used courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as follows:

Woodpecker Finch audio contributed by Robert Bowman, ML82522
New Caledonian Crow audio contributed by Lucas DeCicco, ML188764
Hawaiian Crow audio contributed by Tim Burr, ML218670
Hawaiian Crow video contributed by Timothy Barksdale, ML425081
Kea audio contributed by William V. Ward, ML8523

Okay, but do birds have culture?

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0600

E17. From sparrow songs that go viral across a continent to cockatoos that watch each other to learn how to open bins, Dr. Lucy Aplin, Australian National University / University of Zurich, studies how birds learn from each other and why it matters. Doing it for the culture? Yep. Birds are that impressive!

In this episode you'll hear about:

How a new white-throated sparrow song spread over 3,000 kilometers in just two decades, replacing a tune that had been stable since the 1950s
The experiment that proved wild great tits can establish lasting cultural traditions through their social networks
Why losing a population of birds might also mean losing knowledge that took generations to build

White-throated Sparrow audio contributed by Bob McGuire, ML219799
White-throated Sparrow audio contributed by Jocelyn Lauzon, ML121581051
Great Tit audio contributed by Arnoud B. van den Berg, ML36198
Eurasian Sparrowhawk audio contributed by Ben F. King, ML335224
Regent Honeyeater audio contributed by Vicki Powys, ML223277
Pink-footed Goose audio contributed by Bob McGuire, ML235508

Okay, but why put eggs in another bird’s basket?

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 04:15:00 -0600

E16. What if the secret to raising more babies was to never raise a single one yourself? Dr. Chris Balakrishnan, Associate Adjunct Professor of Biology at East Carolina University and co-founder of Nerd Nite, has spent his career studying the strangest birds on the planet: the ones that outsource parenthood entirely.

In this episode you'll hear about:

The evolutionary arms race between brood parasites and their hosts, from mimetic eggs to alien-looking chick mouth patterns
How the "password hypothesis" explains how brown-headed cowbirds avoid imprinting on the wrong species
Why host-switching in African parasitic finches can drive the rapid formation of new species

Brown-headed Cowbird audio contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML94262
Brown-headed Cowbird audio contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML516718
Redhead audio contributed by Jessie Berry, ML139672
Canvasback audio contributed by Arthur A. Allen, ML3537
Greater Honeyguide audio contributed by Mike Andersen, ML140981
Pin-tailed Whydah audio contributed by Myles E. W. North, ML14489
Village Indigobird audio contributed by Myles E. W. North, ML14484
Zebra Finch (Australian) audio contributed by Vicki Powys, ML226233
Prothonotary Warbler audio contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML85158
Kirtland's Warbler audio contributed by Rudolph Little, ML13982

Okay, but what makes a yard a bird paradise?

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 05:00:00 -0600

E15. Most people picture a bird-friendly yard and imagine feeder, birdbath, maybe a decorative birdhouse with mortgage vibes. And feeders are great. But a feeder can give you the illusion of helping birds without creating the thing birds need most: habitat.

In this episode, Dr. Doug Tallamy, Professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, joins Scott to explain why your yard is conservation infrastructure in disguise, and what it actually takes to turn it into a place birds can live, breed, and thrive.

In this episode you'll hear about:

Why "plant natives" is just the beginning, and which keystone plants actually move the needle for birds
The surprising reason a beautiful all-native garden can still function like a food desert
What Homegrown National Park is, and how your yard fits into a continent-wide conservation strategy

Ready to do more than feed birds? Join the Homegrown National Park pledge at homegrownnationalpark.org and start shifting your patch of earth.

Chestnut-sided warbler audio contributed by Jay McGowan, ML191085
Northern parula audio contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML79471
Carolina chickadee audio contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML100756
Oriental pied-hornbill audio contributed by Warren Y. Brockelman, ML170843
Northern cardinal audio contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML249823
Black-capped chickadee audio contributed by Jay McGowan, ML202239

Okay, but what makes a bird… a bird? Hint: Dinosaurs!

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 05:00:00 -0600

E14. What do feathers, toothless beaks, and a 66-million-year-old asteroid have in common. Paleontologist Dr. Daniel Field, University of Cambridge, joins Scott to unpack how birds evolved from dinosaurs, and why defining "bird" is trickier than you think.

In this episode you'll hear about:

Why Archaeopteryx had half the features of a modern bird and lacked the other half, and what that tells us about 150 million years of evolution
The "Wonderchicken," a tiny fossil from the border of Belgium and the Netherlands that rewrote what we know about birds surviving the asteroid impact
How micro CT scanning lets scientists digitally peer inside rocks to study fossils at micron scale without ever touching them

Listen wherever you get your podcasts, and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Great Spotted Kiwi, William V. Ward, ML810
Southern Cassowary, Linda Macaulay, ML57219
Elegant Trogon, David L. Ross, Jr., ML199536
Green Heron,, Bob McGuire, ML229117

Asteriornis imagery and video courtesy of Dr. Daniel Field, University of Cambridge.

Okay, but why do some birds babysit?

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 05:00:00 -0600

E13. Some birds skip having their own families and spend years helping raise their siblings instead. It sounds like altruism, but it's probably more complicated than that. In this episode, host Dr. Scott Taylor is joined by Dr. Nancy Chen, UCLA, to unpack the notion that it takes a village to raise a ~~child~~ chick.

In this episode, you'll hear about:

Why some birds spend years as unpaid helpers before starting families of their own
What the Florida Scrub-Jay's 50-year study at Archbold Biological Station revealed about cooperative breeding
Whether helping your siblings is really altruism or just evolution doing it’s thing

If you enjoy this one, follow Okay, But... Birds and share it with a friend who thinks family is complicated.

Florida Scrub-Jay audio contributed by Bob McGuire, ML229211
American Crow video contributed by Jay McGowan, ML472843
Superb Fairywren audio contributed by Vicki Powys, ML233810
Superb Starling audio contributed by Myles E. W. North, ML14855
Red-necked Phalarope audio contributed by Bob McGuire, ML235440
Northern Jacana audio contributed by Gerrit Vyn, ML140224

Okay, but how do birds stay warm?

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 05:00:00 -0600

E12. Winter isn’t just “cold” for a bird, it’s a nightly survival math problem: generate enough heat, lose as little as possible, and don’t get eaten while you’re fueling up. In this episode, host Dr. Scott Taylor is joined by Dr. Maria Stager, UMass Amherst, to break down the clever physiology and weird little behaviors that let birds ride out freezing temps, from icy duck feet to “feather puffball” mode to energy-saving torpor.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

How birds keep their feet from freezing
How feathers and shivering muscles act like a built-in winter jacket
How birds manage energy overnight, including fat, roosting, and torpor

Dark-eyed Junco audio contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML94361
Purple Martin audio contributed by Arthur A. Allen, ML8086
Willow Ptarmigan audio contributed by Leonard J. Peyton, ML50031
Common Poorwill audio contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML191125
Snowy Owl audio contributed by Gerrit Vyn, ML138288
Ruffed Grouse audio contributed by Bob McGuire, ML216783
Mallard audio contributed by Mike Andersen, ML136504
Tree Swallow audio contributed by Bob McGuire, ML233306
Black-capped Chickadee audio contributed by Jay McGowan, ML202239
Redpoll (Common) audio contributed by William V. Ward, ML12745

Okay, but why is a bird’s world more colorful?

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 05:00:00 -0600

E11. Bird vision isn’t just “better than ours,” It’s operating in a different color space, including ultraviolet. In Host Dr. Scott Taylor is joined by Dr. Allison Shultz, Associate Curator at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, to break down what birds can actually see, how scientists measure color in the real world, and why feather color is one of evolution’s most powerful (and misunderstood) tools.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

How birds see a whole extra dimension of color (including UV) and why we can’t truly experience “bird vision” without the biology to match
How feathers make color through pigments and nano-structures
How studying bird color is changing fast, from spectrophotometers to UV-capable cameras, plus why female coloration and “dirty birds” are reshaping what we think we know

Northern Cardinal audio contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML249823
House Finch audio contributed by William R. Fish, ML12932
Guinea Turaco audio contributed by Mike Andersen, ML140992
Northern Jacana audio contributed by Gerrit Vyn, ML140224
Common Eider audio contributed by Bob McGuire, ML235534
Mountain Bluebird audio contributed by Dave Herr, ML47592
Palm Tanager audio contributed by Curtis Marantz, ML88937
Greater Bird-of-Paradise video contributed by Tim Laman, ML465370
King Bird-of-Paradise video contributed by Tim Laman, ML455252
Paradise Tanager audio contributed by Curtis Marantz, ML127399

Additional media used with permission under Creative Commons:

Plum-throated Cotinga (Cotinga maynana) in Peru image contributed by Harsha Jayaramaiah, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Lovely Cotinga (Cotinga amabilis) image contributed by desertnaturalist, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Okay, but can birds keep up with climate change?

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 05:00:00 -0600

E10. Seasons used to feel predictable. Winter showed up, spring arrived on cue, and birds could run their annual schedules like clockwork. But now the timing is weird: early heat, late snow, shifting green-up, and food peaks that don’t always line up. In this episode, host Dr. Scott Taylor is joined by Dr. Morgan Tingley, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UCLA, to unpack what “keeping up” with climate change actually means for birds, how scientists measure it, and what gives birds a fighting chance on a rapidly warming planet.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

How birds “keep up” by shifting their ranges to cooler places, and the clearest real-world examples of birds already moving north
Why the story is more complicated than “north and uphill,” including microclimates, precipitation shifts, and the messy reality of predicting habitat changes
The full bird toolkit for coping with climate change: movement, timing (phenology), and even shrinking body size over generations, plus what we can do right now that actually helps birds

All audio, video, and images in this episode are either original to Okay, But... Birds (© Okay Media, LLC) or used under license/permission from the respective rights holders. Bird media from the Macaulay Library is used courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as follows:

Northern Cardinal audio contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML249823
Carolina Wren audio contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML191224
Red-bellied Woodpecker audio contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML306064
Orange-crowned Warbler audio contributed by Bob McGuire, ML206459
Orange-crowned Warbler video contributed by Timothy Barksdale, ML402530
House Finch audio contributed by William R. Fish, ML12932

Okay, but is birdwatching the original Pokémon?

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 05:00:00 -0600

E9. Birdwatching, birding, twitching… whatever you call it, it’s got everything: quests, rare finds, elaborate gear, a sprawling universe of characters, and a deeply committed fandom. Sound familiar? In this episode, host Dr. Scott Taylor is joined by NYT best-selling author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ed Yong to explore how modern birding became more accessible than ever (hello, Merlin and eBird), why it can feel like an open-world RPG, and what the Pokémon comparison misses.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

How Ed Yong fell into birding after moving to Oakland, and why the “virtuous cycle” of noticing more makes you want to keep looking
Why Merlin is more than an ID tool, and how eBird functions like “the last good social network” without clout-chasing
The ethics and culture of birding today, from playback debates to the weird social dynamics of rare sightings, plus why birding is such a powerful way to connect to place, community, and change

Oak Titmouse audio contributed by Thomas G. Sander, ML110924
Oak Titmouse video contributed by Timothy Barksdale, ML406704
Northern Pygmy-Owl (Rocky Mts.) audio contributed by Rob Faucett, ML25653
Pine Siskin audio contributed by Matthew D. Medler, ML163369
Northern Shrike (American) audio contributed by Lucas DeCicco, ML515306
Surf Scoter video contributed by Timothy Barksdale, ML402125

Okay, but why do some birds thrive in cities?

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 05:00:00 -0600

E8. Cities can look like a concrete nightmare for wildlife… yet some birds are absolutely crushing it, while others vanish. In this episode of Okay, But... Birds, host Dr. Scott Taylor is joined by Dr. Fran Bonier, Professor at Queen’s University, to unpack what “urban birds” really are, why cities create winners and losers, and what it actually costs a bird to live the high-rise life.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

Which birds tend to become “city birds,” and why some species thrive in urban spaces while others disappear
The concrete benefits and hidden costs of city living, plus the traits that predict an urban “winner”
How scientists test whether birds are adapting and learning fast vs. being filtered by city conditions, and what the biology says about stress in urban birds

House Sparrow audio contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML539706
Peregrine Falcon audio contributed by Mike Andersen, ML136378
Rosy-faced Lovebird audio contributed by Derek Solomon, ML168222
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo audio contributed by Mark Robbins, ML529861
White-crowned Sparrow audio contributed by Bob McGuire, ML207181
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Northern) audio contributed by David McCartt, ML137605
Chimney Swift audio contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML107413
Chimney Swift video contributed by Timothy Barksdale, ML440546

Okay, but what does it take to record a bird? The inside scoop on Merlin!

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 05:00:00 -0600

E7. Every bird song you’ve ever heard on a hike, through an open window, or sampled in a nature documentary has a story behind it. In this episode, host Dr. Scott Taylor is joined by Linda Macaulay, Chairman of the Board of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, to explore how bird sounds get recorded, preserved, and shared with the world, and why audio might be one of the most powerful tools we have for understanding and protecting birds. And yes, it’s THAT Macaulay; the one with the library named after her. Casual.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

How Linda helped build the world’s bird sound library and why it matters
What it takes to record a clean bird vocalization in the wild and the even wilder stories behind the scenes
The role of the Macaulay Library and what’s next for apps like Merlin

If you enjoy this one, follow Okay, But… Birds and share it with a friend who thinks bird songs are just background noise.

All audio, video, and images in this episode are either original to Okay, But… Birds (© Okay Media, LLC) or used under license/permission from the respective rights holders. Bird media from the Macaulay Library is used courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as follows::

Merlin (Taiga) audio contributed by George B. Reynard, ML4408
Egyptian Plover audio contributed by Linda Macaulay, ML50441
Whitehead’s Trogon audio contributed by Linda Macaulay, ML75416
Yellow-Rumped Warbler (Myrtle) audio contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML85245
Yellow-Rumped Warbler (Myrtle) video contributed by Eric Liner, ML472204
Red-Backed Fairywren audio contributed by Tony Baylis, ML233591
Superb Lyrebird audio contributed by Linda Macaulay, ML128376

Okay, but how do chickadees never forget?

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 05:00:00 -0600

E6. While chickadees look cute, they are also running one of the most impressive memory systems in the animal world. They hide food across the landscape, then somehow return to an insane number of individual spots later, even after snow, wind, and chaos try to erase the evidence. In this episode, host Dr. Scott Taylor is joined by Dr. Vladimir Pravosudov, Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, to dig into how chickadee brains pull off this feat, what we know from decades of experiments.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

How many caches chickadees actually make
Why birds from harsher climates often have larger hippocampi
How flexible brain structure really can be within an individual’s lifetime (we’re busting some myths here!)
Studying these little geniuses in the lab vs. the wild

If you enjoy this one, follow Okay, But… Birds and share it with a friend who thinks “bird brain” is an insult.

Okay, but why fly from the Arctic to Antarctica and back every year?

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 05:00:00 -0600

E5. Every spring and fall, billions of birds pull off the most ambitious commutes on Earth. In this episode, host Dr. Scott Taylor is joined by Dr. Nate Senner, Mass Audubon Bertrand Chair for Ornithology in the Department of Environmental Conservation at the UMass Amherst, to break down why birds migrate, how they navigate, and what happens when the world (or the bird) gets thrown off course.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

Why birds migrate
How birds navigate long-distance routes, and what’s instinct vs. learned
How scientists track migration across continents and the wildest journey Nate has followed
What happens when birds drift off course, and how climate change is reshaping routes and timing

If you enjoy this one, follow Okay, But… Birds and share it with a friend who thinks migration is as simple as just “flying south.”

Okay, but bird flu is really bad, right?

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 05:00:00 -0600

E4. Bird flu used tosound like a “poultry industry problem.” Now it’s showing up everywhere and rewriting the rules for wild birds, ecosystems, and what “outbreak” even means. In this episode, host Dr. Scott Taylor is joined by Dr. Nichola Hill, disease ecologist and Assistant Professor at UMass Boston, to unpack what’s different about the current H5N1 wave.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

How today’s H5N1 differs from past avian flu strains and why this version has scientists so alarmed
What changed in the virus (and the world) to make outbreaks more frequent, widespread, and severe
Why we’re seeing such intense impacts in wild bird populations right now, not just on farms
The cautious good news: what vaccines, immunity, resistance, and adaptation might look like and what’s still unknown

If you enjoy this one, follow Okay, But… Birds and share it with a friend who thinks bird flu is only a chicken story.

Okay, but why did my life list just shrink?

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 07:00:00 -0600

E3. One day you’re proudly sitting at 312 species… and the next day your list is missing a bird (or two). What happened? In this episode, host Dr. Scott Taylor is joined by Dr. Dave Toews, Assistant Professor at Penn State, to pull back the curtain on bird taxonomy: what a “species” even is, who decides when birds get split or lumped, and why those decisions ripple out into birding, field guides, and conservation.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

What “species” means (and why it’s messier than it sounds)
The split vs. lump process—and why your life list isn’t safe
Who actually makes the call (committees, checklists, and gatekeepers)
The kinds of evidence that move the needle (DNA, song, plumage, etc.)

If you enjoy this one, follow Okay, But… Birds and share it with a friend who keeps receipts for every rare bird they’ve ever seen.

Okay, but how do you lose 3 billion birds?

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 00:00:00 -0600

E2. Bird populations are vanishing—quietly, and fast. In this episode, host Dr. Scott Taylor and Dr. John Fitzpatrick, Director Emeritus of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, unpack the landmark “3 Billion Birds” study: what it actually showed, how scientists figured it out, and what it means for the birds we thought were common and safe.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

What the 2019 “3 Billion Birds” study really revealed, and how researchers combined decades of data to detect the losses
Which bird groups and regions have been hit hardest and why some familiar species are suddenly in trouble
How policymakers and the public have responded so far, and which conservation actions actually move the needle
The genesis of eBird and how a simple idea became a global tool for tracking birds (and helped make this science possible)

If you enjoy this one, follow Okay, But… Birds and share it with a friend who thinks “common” birds will always be here.

Okay, but is bird monogamy just PR?

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 02:30:00 -0600

E1. Birds “mate for life”… or do they? In this episode, host Dr. Scott Taylor and Dr. Carrie Branch, Assistant Professor at Western University, pull back the curtain on avian relationships and sort out what’s romance, what’s strategy, and what’s just really good PR.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

The difference between social and genetic monogamy in birds
Why “monogamous” birds engage in extra-pair copulations (a.k.a. extra-curricular behavior)
How males try to avoid cuckoldry with mate-guarding and other tactics
Whether birds “cheat” in secret or right out in the open
How researchers use DNA and multiple-paternity tests to see who really fathered which chicks

If you enjoy this one, follow Okay, But… Birds and share it with a friend who still thinks swans are relationship goals.

Trailer — Okay, But... Birds

Sat, 15 Nov 2025 00:00:00 -0600

Okay, But... Birds is a weekly science-meets-storytelling podcast hosted by evolutionary biologist Dr. Scott Taylor. Each episode dives into one weird-but-true bird question through smart, funny storytelling and lively interviews with ornithologists, ecologists, artists, and unexpected experts.

Follow Okay, But... Birds wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes drop weekly, and yes, we will talk birdie to you.