Welcome back to the Bird Brief, this is Stephanie Jenkins Aslett, avian ecologist. This Pre-Christmas edition is about a viral conspiracy, wildlife research, and the wild crossover between satire and science. Let’s get started.

Stories:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2024/11/12/dead-birds-drones-new-mexico-tech-research/76197212007/

https://dot.alaska.gov/faiiap/meet-aurora.shtml

Bird Sound:

Rock Pigeon (Columba livia); Recorded by Paul Marvin/Macaulay Library; Dec 2017; ML108565061.

Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus); Recorded by Dominic Garcia-Hall/Macaulay Library; Jan 2018; ML81397411.

Mallard. Martin Billard, XC881155. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/881155.

Music: The Weeknd from wish by Lundstroem is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License. https://freemusicarchive.org/music/lundstroem/songs-i-regard-terrible/the-weeknd-from-wish/

This is Stephanie Jenkins Aslett, thanks for listening. If a particular story piqued your interest, be sure to check out the show notes for more details. If you have a story that you would like to spread the awareness of, I would love to highlight it in my podcast. Just let me know in the comments or send a note to thebirdbrief@gmail.com. Please tune in next time for The Bird Brief - your rundown, or should I say featherdown, of the birds we love.