Episode 48: Behind the scenes with Allison Shultz of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
Bird Podcast with Shoba Narayan
Release Date: 07/30/2022
Episode 75: Gynandomorphism in birds with Dr. Hamish Spencer
Bird Podcast with Shoba Narayan
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 that violated these rules. Colombian ornithologist John Murillo had discovered a very unusual Green Honeycreeper (Chlorophanes spiza) on his farm near Manizales in Colombia...
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Episode 74: A pigeon’s nest at home and its ripple effects
Bird Podcast with Shoba Narayan
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...
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Episode 73: Birds and Shola Forests with Dr. V.V. Robin
Bird Podcast with Shoba Narayan
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Special Episode: How did you get into birding
Bird Podcast with Shoba Narayan
Here is a special episode about how different Bangalore birding experts got into birding.
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Episode 72: Birding in Mauritius
Bird Podcast with Shoba Narayan
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Episode 71: The biodiverse splendour of Bhutan
Bird Podcast with Shoba Narayan
This episode is about Bhutan: carbon-negative, Buddhist and a pioneer in sustainable tourism. This tiny country, about the size of Switzerland contains species. In comparison, neighbouring India— nearly ten times the size— has just 1200 species. Here we talk to Namgay Tshering a freelance birding guide about the birds of Bhutan. Specifically he mentions the Beautiful Nuthatch, the Blyth’s tragopan, the Himalayan Monal and others. He talks about how Eastern and Southern Bhutan are a haven for birdwatchers, perhaps because the main cities of Paro, Thimphu and Punakha are...
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Episode 70: Toucanets and hummingbirds in Costa Rica
Bird Podcast with Shoba Narayan
In this episode, we talk to a resident naturalist about the motmots, hummingbirds and toucanets that you can see in Costa Rica.
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Episode 69: The Resplendent Quetzal of Costa Rica
Bird Podcast with Shoba Narayan
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Episode 68: Delhi birds with Sudhir Vyas
Bird Podcast with Shoba Narayan
Delhi and its neighbourhoods, with its variety of habitats and landscapes, is remarkable for the wealth and diversity of its avifauna. It is a true haven for bird lovers, home to an astonishing array of over 470 captivating bird species. Get ready for an enchanting adventure with Sudhir Vyas's delightful book, "The Birds of the Delhi Area," which is the ultimate guide to unlocking the secrets of these feathered wonders! This book has been edited by Anita Mani under Indian Pitta- India's first imprint dedicated to birds. With over 50 years of bird watching experience, Sudhir Vyas, a former...
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Episode 67: The three-wattled bell-bird, Monteverde, Costa Rica
Bird Podcast with Shoba Narayan
This is the first of three episodes about the bird life in Costa Rica. This one focuses on the and the episode is set in the . Listen to the bellbird on Youtube here. Thanks to these photographers for their images Thanks to Michael Brooks for this video of the bird calling Featured image from Wikimedia Commons :
info_outlineIn which we go behind the scenes to see the fascinating aspects of the bird specimen collection of one of America’s most well-respected museums.
You really should watch this episode on our Youtube page (Bird Podcast) or our Instagram feed (bird_podcast), but in case you cannot, included here is also the audio only version.
In this episode, Dr. Shultz shows us house finches, parrots, frigatebirds, penguins, condors, munias, whydahs and the many marvelous specimens in the Natural History Museum’s collection.
Allison Shultz is the assistant curator of ornithology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. In this fascinating episode, she takes us behind the scenes to show us the vast and varied collection of bird specimens at the museum.
Dr. Shultz , as you see in her website, has loved animals her whole life, and fell in love with birds during her undergraduate at UC Berkeley. She is a native Southern Californian, and loves the diversity of habitats (and birds!) available in a very small geographic area! She credits her artistic eye for first drawing her to studying bird coloration, but now that is one of her main fascinations.