Okay, But... Birds

E11: Okay, but why is a bird’s world more colorful?
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

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
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

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

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

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:
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

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

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:
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

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