Podcast
Okay, But... Birds
Hosted by Dr. Scott Taylor · EN
Hosted by evolutionary biologist Dr. Scott Taylor, Okay, But... Birds explores the drama, brilliance, and science behind bird life. Each snackable 30-minute episode blends smart storytelling, expert interviews, and a touch of humor to reveal how birds shape our world . No jargon. No binoculars required. Just real science, quirky insights, and bird-brained drama you’ll want to share at brunch. Because birds aren’t background. Birds are cool.
14episodes
Episodes
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Okay, but what about birds that can't fly?
May 2800:32:50Tap to summarizeE24. Flight is the thing we associate most with birds, so what does it mean when a lineage gives it up? Dr. Scott Edwards, Harvard, joins Scott to unpack how flightlessness evolves, why it keeps happening across the bird family tree, and what the genome reveals about how a bird loses the ability to fly.In this episode you'll hear about:How losing flight reshapes a bird's body, from feathers to forelimbs to that one famously enormous eggWhy the answer wasn't where geneticists expected to find itWhat an extinct giant and a tiny tropical relative can tell us about where moa actually came fromAll 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:Falkland Steamer-Duck audio contributed by Maurice A. E. Rumboll, ML4114Great Tinamou audio contributed by David L. Ross, Jr., ML57320
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Okay, but can a bird really cooperate with humans?
May 2100:33:01Tap to summarizeE23. Across sub-Saharan Africa, wild birds and people work together to find honey. No taming, no breeding, no domestication… just a partnership thousands of years in the making. Behavioral ecologist Dr. Jessica van der Wal, FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, joins Scott to unpack what's actually happening when a honey hunter calls and a greater honeyguide answers.In this episode you'll hear about:What each side gets out of one of the only known mutualisms between humans and a wild animal, and why this bird in particular evolved to seek us outThe remarkable signal the honeyguide uses to communicate with people, and what playback experiments revealed when researchers tested it across very different communitiesWhat happens to a partnership built over generations when one side starts buying honey at the storeAll 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:Greater Honeyguide audio contributed by Jennifer F. M. Horne, ML55972Additional media courtesy of Dr. Claire Spottiswoode and Dr. Jessica van der Wal
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Okay, but can birds predict the weather?
May 1400:34:08Tap to summarizeE22. Folklore says birds know a storm is coming before we do. Scott talks with Dr. Gunnar Kramer, Iowa State University, about what's actually happening when a tiny warbler decides it's time to fly, or time to bail.In this episode:Why the question itself might be slightly wrong, and what's really going on inside that birdA storm, some missing warblers, and a discovery nobody set out to makeWhat 300 birds falling out of the sky over Texas can tell you about how much fuel is in the tankListen, follow, and tell a friend who’s a little superstitious.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:Yellow-billed cuckoo audio, Wil Hershberger, ML94446Barnacle goose audio, Bob McGuire, ML235525Golden-winged warbler video, Benjamin Clock, ML476422Blue-winged warbler video, Eric Liner, ML469433Yellow-billed cuckoo video, Larry Arbanas, ML466566Eastern kingbird audio, Wil Hershberger, ML534398Tennessee warbler audio, Wil Hershberger, ML85236Tennessee warbler video, Eric Liner, ML466381Wood thrush video, Benjamin Clock, ML471755
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Okay, but can birds smell?
May 700:34:13Tap to summarizeE21. We're talking sense and scents with Dr. Danielle Whittaker, Oregon State, and author of The Secret Perfume of Birds, who spent a decade unraveling a 200-year-old myth that started with John James Audubon and a dead pig under a bush.In this episode:The bird that smells like a fresh-baked sugar cookieWhy preen oil is a dating profile written in chemistry, and how seabirds use the same chemical cue that's now leading albatross parents to feed their chicks plasticThe bonus myth Danielle wants goneNew here? Listen, follow, and tell a friend who still thinks birds can't smell.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:Brown-headed Cowbird audio contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML94262Dark-eyed Junco audio contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML94361Red Knot audio contributed by Lucas DeCicco, ML516895Crested Auklet audio contributed by Sampath Seneviratne, ML132014Laysan Albatross audio contributed by Ted Miller, ML117679
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