Dr. Scott Taylor is an evolutionary biologist, bird enthusiast, and unrepentant nature nerd who has spent his career trying to answer questions about how species evolve and what happens when they collide. He’s an Associate Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he runs the Taylor Lab and serves as Director of the Mountain Research Station. His research explores hybrid zones, speciation, and how climate change is shaking up the lives and love lives of birds across North America.

Before landing in the Rockies, Scott earned his degrees in Canada (yes, he really did grow up skating competitively on the shores of Lake Huron), then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, aka bird heaven. His work has taken him from the cloud forests of South America to the high alpine tundra, but he’s just as captivated by the chickadees outside your window.

As an openly gay scientist, Scott is passionate about building inclusive spaces in academia and beyond. He believes science is better, and a lot more fun, when everyone has a seat at the table (or the observation blind). With Okay, But… Birds, he brings his trademark curiosity, a flair for the unexpected, and the occasional bird pun to a podcast that’s part science, part storytelling, and 100% feather-forward.