The sex of a bird – whether it is male or female – is one of the most critical aspects of its biology. Males and females often behave differently, especially during the breeding season, and in many species, they have strikingly different plumages. This episode features Dr. Hamish Spencer, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Otago in southern New Zealand. Hamish was recently in Colombia, where he was shown a bird that violated these rules. Colombian ornithologist John Murillo had discovered a very unusual Green Honeycreeper (Chlorophanes spiza) on his farm near Manizales in Colombia ..read more

  When a pigeon comes into the house. This is a controversial episode.  In fact, I am pretty sure nobody in the nature groups that I am part of will approve of this.  In fact, they may even condemn this episode.  Because you see, it is about pigeons, which birders call flying pests. But here’s what happened and so, if you listen or watch this episode, advance apologies.  About six months ago, a rock pigeon made a nest in my mother-in-law's balcony. This episode is about the ripple effects after that. One day, I returned after a long trip and visited my mother-in-law wh ..read more

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Here is a special episode about how different Bangalore birding experts got into birding ..read more

In this episode, we talk to a resident naturalist about the motmots, hummingbirds and toucanets that you can see in Costa Rica.   ..read more

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This is the first of three episodes about the bird life in Costa Rica. This one focuses on the three-wattled bell-bird and the episode is set in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.   Listen to the bellbird on Youtube here. Meet One Of The Loudest Birds In The World (Three-wattled Bellbird)   Thanks to these photographers for their images https://unsplash.com/@zmachacek https://unsplash.com/@feiffert   Thanks to Michael Brooks for this video of the bird calling https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js9rqJZ_a-8&list=PPSV   Featured image from Wikimedia Commons Procnias_ ..read more

About Aasheesh Pittie’s book of essays, The Living Air. If you’re looking for new ways to engage with birds and birdwatching, Aasheesh Pittie’s book of essays, The Living Air is a great place to start. This book will not only make you want to get out and observe your city and surroundings in a whole new light, but it will also offer a fresh perspective into what birdwatching is and the many ways you can benefit from it. Informative yet a joy to read, The Living Air is an excellent introduction to the transformative pleasures of birdwatching. The Indian Pitta Books is India’s first de ..read more

In Episode 35, Dr. Gopi Sundar paints a hopeful picture of cranes and waterbirds coexisting with humans. In this episode we delve into these amazing bird species. Both storks and cranes are wading birds.  They dwell in similar habitats and look similar.  They have long legs and a long, curving neck. However, these birds belong to separate orders and families and aren’t closely related to each other at all. In this episode we look at cranes and storks. Featured Image: Syed Ahmad from Unsplash.   ..read more

This episode is about the wonder of feathers.  Salim Ali said that birds were “feathered bipeds.” This episode explores how feathers are marvellously adaptive to suit birds and species.  Our guest is Esha Munshi who co-founded the Feather Library, a digital project documenting feathers. Esha read a quote from this book on feathers. Episode artwork: David Clode/Unsplash   From the Feather Library website A feather lying on the ground could have belonged to any number of species of birds. The type of feather, the colour, the pattern, the markings all tell a story on how to try and ..read more