Birds on Birds

Lesbian Seabirds: The Laysan Albatross

They mate for life, they dance for years to get there, and at least thirty percent of them are female-female pairs. Hannah + Cleo celebrate Pride Month with the Laysan albatross! The seabird that quietly dismantled assumptions about pair bonding, raising chicks together, and currently adapting to survive in our inhospitable oceans. Lindsay Young's 2008 discovery at Kaena Point changed the game. 28:48 Albatross conversation starts Music by fknsyd Sources All About Birds / Cornell Lab of Ornithology — Laysan Albatross Discover Wildlife (Lucy Cooke) — "Hawaii's Lesbian Albatrosses" National Geographic (Carl Zimmer) — "Same-Sex Mothers: Letting Albatrosses Be Albatrosses" / Young & VanderWerf, Proceedings of the Royal Society, 2013 Wikipedia — Albatross (metaphor), Laysan Albatross, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Audubon Society — field guide, courtship, Wisdom U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service — Midway Atoll NWR, Wisdom updates Earth Sky — Wisdom 2025–2026 season Oceana — conservation profile Taylor Swift — The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology (2024) Samuel Taylor Coleridge — The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798) Seafood watch “app” [https://www.seafoodwatch.org/recommendations/add-seafood-watch-to-your-phone] Ecobricking Info [https://www.youtube.com/shorts/e_UI1PMy-e8]

BoB IRL: Bird Banding

A century of science packed into a single feather. Hannah + Cleo visit a 20-year-old banding station at Chatfield State Park, where four organizations, a lot of whisper nets, and one very informed bird bander are quietly building the data that keeps birds alive. From Hans Christian Mortensen's aluminum rings to hemisphere-spanning genomic maps, it turns out the oldest trick in ornithology is still the backbone of everything. 26:58 Bird Banding conversation starts Sources Bird Conservancy of the Rockies — Bird Banding: https://www.birdconservancy.org/what-we-do/education/bird-banding/ [https://www.birdconservancy.org/what-we-do/education/bird-banding/] Denver Audubon — Bird Banding: https://www.denveraudubon.org/bird-banding [https://www.denveraudubon.org/bird-banding] Audubon Rockies — Bird Banding Start to Finish: https://www.audubon.org/rockies/news/bird-banding-start-finish [https://www.audubon.org/rockies/news/bird-banding-start-finish] USGS — Why We Band Birds: https://www.usgs.gov/labs/bird-banding-laboratory/science/why-we-band-birds [https://www.usgs.gov/labs/bird-banding-laboratory/science/why-we-band-birds] USGS — How to obtain a federal bird banding permit: https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-do-i-obtain-a-federal-bird-banding-permit [https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-do-i-obtain-a-federal-bird-banding-permit] Bird Genoscape Project: https://www.birdgenoscape.org [https://www.birdgenoscape.org] Bird Genoscape Project - How To Make A Genoscape: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NmCI6z9vYM [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NmCI6z9vYM] Audubon Bird Migration Explorer: https://explorer.audubon.org [https://explorer.audubon.org] Motus Wildlife Tracking System: https://motus.org [https://motus.org] U.S. Fish & Wildlife — Motus Stations: https://www.fws.gov/story/2023-05/motus-stations [https://www.fws.gov/story/2023-05/motus-stations] NA Banding Network — Training resources: https://nabanding.net/passerines/training/ [https://nabanding.net/passerines/training/] History of bird banding: https://www.raptorresource.org/2020/06/10/banding-birds-a-brief-history/ [https://www.raptorresource.org/2020/06/10/banding-birds-a-brief-history/] USGS Bird Banding Lab — Banding records: https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBL/Bander_Portal/login/howmany.php [https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBL/Bander_Portal/login/howmany.php] EURING Databank (Europe): https://euring.org/data-and-codes/euring-databank [https://euring.org/data-and-codes/euring-databank] SAFRING (Africa): https://safring.ringing.africa/ [https://safring.ringing.africa/] Flight Paths by Rebecca Heisman

She Walks on Water: The Jacana

She walks on water, runs the territory, and leaves dad holding the babies. Hannah + Cleo dive into the Jacana: the Jesus bird of the wetlands who breaks every rule nature supposedly wrote and somehow ended up tied to the oldest conservation treaty in history. And honestly? She's just getting started. 18:18 Jacana conversation starts Sources: Wikipedia: Jacanidae [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacanidae] Wikipedia: Northern Jacana [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_jacana] Wikipedia: Ramsar Convention [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramsar_Convention] Wikipedia: Wetland [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wetland] Wikipedia: Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildfowl_%26_Wetlands_Trust] San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants: Jacana [https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/jacana] https://ebird.org/species/norjac [https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Jacana] Animal Diversity Web: Jacanidae [https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Jacanidae/] A-Z Animals: Jacana [https://a-z-animals.com/animals/jacana/] https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/jacani1/cur/introduction [https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/family/jacana1/cur/introduction] https://earthsky.org/earth/jacana-birds-long-toes-walk-on-lily-pads/ [https://earthsky.org/earth/jacana-jesus-bird-walks-on-water/] https://www.birdnote.org/podcasts/birdnote-daily/jacana-aka-lily-trotter [https://www.birdnote.org/listen/shows/jacana] Dimensions.com: Northern Jacana [https://www.dimensions.com/element/northern-jacana-jacana-spinosa] https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/lucy-cooke-2/bitch/9781541674912/ [https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/lucy-cooke/bitch/9781541618244/] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-70480-6 [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-38871-5] U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service — Ramsar Convention on Wetlands [https://www.fws.gov/program/international-affairs/ramsar-convention-wetlands] UNESCO — Convention on Wetlands of International Importance [https://www.unesco.org/en/biodiversity/wetlands] Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust — Why the Ramsar Convention Matters More Than Ever [https://www.wwt.org.uk/discover-wetlands/blog/why-the-ramsar-convention-on-wetlands-matters-more-than-ever] Hoosier Environmental Council — The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands [https://www.hecweb.org/2025/02/04/the-ramsar-convention-on-wetlands-towards-a-global-wetland-protection-network/] Kayhan Life — Obituary: Eskandar Firouz [https://kayhanlife.com/obituary/eskandar-firouz-founder-of-irans-department-of-environment-dies-at-93/] https://www.ramsar.org/ [https://www.ramsar.org/sites-countries/the-ramsar-sites] Colorado Wetland Information Center (CWIC) [https://cnhp.colostate.edu/cwic/]

Stinky, Clumsy, Claws...? The Hoatzin

The stink bird! Hannah + Cleo finally get out of North America and take on the Hoatzin. The smelly punk rock pheasant of South America that may or may not be a pheasant... Tune in to hear about this and MUCH more. 20:10 Hoatzin conversation starts Sources: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/hoatzi1/cur/introduction [https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/hoatzi1/cur/introduction] https://www.ourbreathingplanet.com/hoatzin/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=1602607328&gbraid=0AAAAADL0VgAHYIovTdN6qkMJD-vfUiOze&gclid=Cj0KCQjw77bPBhC_ARIsAGAjjV-InO0SQfBrTnO_1vbmGGnlkZuEW_C9f9E8RNPesjLD2jA435JksfwaAqGSEALw_wcB [https://www.ourbreathingplanet.com/hoatzin/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=1602607328&gbraid=0AAAAADL0VgAHYIovTdN6qkMJD-vfUiOze&gclid=Cj0KCQjw77bPBhC_ARIsAGAjjV-InO0SQfBrTnO_1vbmGGnlkZuEW_C9f9E8RNPesjLD2jA435JksfwaAqGSEALw_wcB] https://critter.science/the-unusual-and-stinky-hoatzin/ [https://critter.science/the-unusual-and-stinky-hoatzin/] https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/common-tern-chicks/#:~:text=In%20order%20to%20stay%20warm,down%20feathers%20natal%20down%20nesting [https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/common-tern-chicks/#:~:text=In%20order%20to%20stay%20warm,down%20feathers%20natal%20down%20nesting] https://www.livescience.com/animals/birds/hoatzin-the-strange-stinkbird-born-with-clawed-wings-that-appears-to-be-an-evolutionary-orphan [https://www.livescience.com/animals/birds/hoatzin-the-strange-stinkbird-born-with-clawed-wings-that-appears-to-be-an-evolutionary-orphan] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HytWfqWYUQ&t=88s [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HytWfqWYUQ&t=88s] https://a-z-animals.com/articles/meet-the-hoatzin-the-smelly-bird-with-claws-on-its-wings/ [https://a-z-animals.com/articles/meet-the-hoatzin-the-smelly-bird-with-claws-on-its-wings/] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crop_(anatomy) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crop_(anatomy)]

Heated Rivalry of the Wetlands: Marsh Wren vs Red-Winged Blackbird

Two birds. One marsh. Centuries of hate. Hannah + Cleo break down the red-winged blackbird, the marsh wren, and their extremely heated rivalry while drawing comparisons to Heated Rivalry™️. 19:30 Heated Rivalry Gets Hot Audubon Society. "Red-Winged Blackbird." Audubon Field Guide. audubon.org Audubon Society. "10 Fun Facts About the Red-Winged Blackbird." Audubon Magazine. audubon.org Audubon Society. "Marsh Wren." Audubon Field Guide. audubon.org Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "Red-Winged Blackbird." All About Birds. allaboutbirds.org Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "Marsh Wren." All About Birds. allaboutbirds.org Smithsonian's National Zoo. "Red-Winged Blackbird." nationalzoo.si.edu Wikipedia contributors. "Red-Winged Blackbird." Wikipedia. wikipedia.org Wikipedia contributors. "Marsh Wren." Wikipedia. wikipedia.org Picman, J. (1988). "Aggression by red-winged blackbirds towards marsh wrens." Canadian Journal of Zoology, 61(8), 1591–1595. springer.com Springer Nature. "Antipredator role of clumped nesting by marsh-nesting red-winged blackbirds." Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. springer.com