Curated stories for 1A.

Bird science that's ready for air.

This page is a running menu of segments we think fit 1A, sorted by news hook, general interest, and what's coming up seasonally.

Newsworthy
General Interest
Upcoming

Newsworthy

Okay, but how do birds handle a heatwave?

Extreme heat is pushing desert birds up against the physical limits of what their bodies can shed.

Aired Jul 30

Heatwaves

Why mourning doves can withstand take temperatures that kill other birds.
Dr. Scott Taylor & Dr. Blair Wolf (University of New Mexico)
How birds survive the heat and the constant trade-off between panting and dehydration.
Dr. Scott Taylor & Dr. Blair Wolf (University of New Mexico)
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How temperate backyard birds are impacted by rising temperatures.
Dr. Scott Taylor & Dr. Blair Wolf (University of New Mexico)
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What heatwaves are doing to bird populations.
Dr. Scott Taylor & Dr. Blair Wolf (University of New Mexico)
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Okay, but how does wildfire smoke impact birds?

Smoke seasons are getting longer, and birds are breathing it with lungs built to intake oxygen twice as effectively as humans.

Aired Jul 26

Wildfires
How birds breathe and why that makes smoke so much worse for them.
Dr. Scott Taylor & Dr. Olivia Sanderfoot (Cornell)
What smoke does to animal vocalizations, and what that means for birds.
Dr. Scott Taylor & Dr. Olivia Sanderfoot (Cornell)
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The surprisingly long quieting effect of smoke on birdsong and insect soundscapes.
Dr. Scott Taylor & Dr. Olivia Sanderfoot (Cornell)
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General Interest

Why albatrosses eat plastic, and how their sense of smell fools them.
Dr. Scott Taylor & Dr. Danielle Whittaker (Oregon State University)

Climate & Conservation

How a drawer of birds shows the Clean Air Act working.
Dr. Scott Taylor & Dr. Sushma Reddy (Bell Museum)
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The birds that fled Tennessee days before a deadly tornadic storm.
Dr. Scott Taylor & Dr. Gunnar Kramer (Iowa State University)
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That's B.S. How much we still don't know about bird migration and what that means for conservation.
Dr. Scott Taylor & Dr. Gunnar Kramer (Iowa State University)
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The predictable order of the dawn chorus.
Dr. Scott Taylor & Dr. Dan. Mennill (University of Windsor)

Light-Hearted: Bird Song

Rap battles between chickadees
Dr. Scott Taylor & Dr. Dan. Mennill (University of Windsor)
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How Hollywood keeps getting bird sounds wrong.
Dr. Scott Taylor & Dr. Dan. Mennill (University of Windsor)
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Upcoming

  • Okay, what’s the deal with nests?

  • Okay, but why do birds have feathers?

  • Okay, but why put a band on a bird?

  • Okay, but what's the deal with Darwin's finches?

General

  • Okay, but why does that bird look so rough? (Molt)

  • Okay, but what happens when a bird gets sick?

  • Okay, but… turkeys!

Fall

  • Okay, but how does a bird turn white?

  • Okay, but what do birds do when it snows?

  • Okay, but… penguins!

  • Okay, but… owls!

Winter