Special guest host Paula Barros helps Lauryn tackle a hodgepodge of truly weird and random questions for our final episode of season 1. 2:12: There is a famous line in the movie Napoleon Dynamite where Napoleon asks a farmer: "Do the chickens have large talons?" The farmer does NOT answer the question. So, my question is: Do chickens have large talons?! And if they do, why?!4:10: Why does Ptarmigan start with a “P”?5:30: What’s the weirdest bird in the world? 9:09: Does Lauryn have a life list?12:50: What bird has the biggest ego? Like and subscribe for more birdbrained content! Send us questions to BirdbrainQA@gmail.com! Birdbrain Q&A is produced and edited by Jill Dugan. Read more about the project and creative team here: https://sites.google.com/view/birdbrain/home.
20 May 2026
What is happening with all the noisy birds in the morning?
This episode is a feast for the ears, with bird sounds from warbling to weird.
0:52: What is happening with all the noisy birds in the morning?
3:20: What are the top five bird songs a backyard gardener should recognize?
10:05: How easy is it to tell individual birds apart by their sounds?
11:55: I love birds with “weird” calls: Yellow-headed Blackbird; the mechanical sounding Tui bird from New Zealand, etc. Is there a ratio of more melodious birds to those that are not when considering a community? 10 sweet-songed to 2 metal band sounds?
15:33: Do birds change the ways they vocalize in different situations the way that humans do?
Like and subscribe for more birdbrained content! Send us questions to BirdbrainQA@gmail.com (mailto:BirdbrainQA@gmail.com).
13 May 2026
Do birds really use magnetic fields to navigate?
Birds have superpowers that we can barely imagine. We tackle several of those in this episode: eyes, eggs, magnetic sensing, bowerbird bowers, and duck penises.
1:33: What colors can birds see?
5:30: How does an eagle see its prey from so far away? Do they see differently from birds like sparrows?
8:20: Do birds really use magnetic fields to navigate? How do they do that?
11:40:How long does it take a bird to make an egg?
13:46: How do birds have sex?
16:20: Do birds have personal mating preferences?
18:10: Are there birds that show inappropriate sexual behaviors?
Like and subscribe for more birdbrained content! Send us questions to BirdbrainQA@gmail.com (mailto:BirdbrainQA@gmail.com).
14 Apr 2026
Why do quail run away instead of fly away?
In this episode we explore why birds do what they do in any given moment. Do they make decisions? 0:40 - Do animals have the capacity to plan? And what is the difference between instinct and intuition? 3:49 - Why do quail run away instead of fly away? 6:48 - When they fly in V formation, how does the flock decide which bird to follow? Do they have a pecking order or take turns in the lead? 9:01 - Do they know where they are going or do they just fly around until a place catches their attention? 12:51 - Do the Canada geese in Colorado stay here all year? 14:40 - How much time does an eagle have to spend hunting? 18:10 - I read an article saying that crows use statistical reasoning to make decisions. How do scientists know they do that? Like and subscribe for more birdbrained content. Send us questions to BirdbrainQA@gmail.com!
26 Mar 2026
Are Blue Jays mean birds?
Questions about birds and humans that maybe you should ask your therapist. How do we feel about birds? How do they feel about each other? Will they really abandon their babies? Who the heck are the Kansas City Blue Jays? 1:33 - Why am I so afraid of birds? 4:00 - What can you do if you are afraid of birds but don’t want to be anymore? 5:30 - Are Blue Jays mean birds? 8:00 - What bird is the biggest asshole? 14:15 - If I find a baby bird and put it back in the nest, will its parents abandon it? Like and subscribe for more birdbrained content. Send us questions to BirdbrainQA@gmail.com!
23 Mar 2026
Birdbrain Q&A special Tanzania edition! What bird has the funniest name?
In this episode we explore questions about African birds inspired by Lauryn’s recent trip to Tanzania with Homeward Bound (https://homewardboundprojects.com.au/). 3:45 - What are some special things about African birds? Why should we stop the jeep to look at sandgrouse? 7:45 - What are ostrich mating and parenting behaviors? 10:30 - Do turkeys live in Africa? 11:45 - What bird has the funniest name? 15:30 - What are the best examples of female leadership in the bird world? Like and subscribe for more birdbrained content! Send us questions to BirdbrainQA@gmail.com. Birdbrain Q&A is produced and edited by Jill Dugan. Read more about the project and creative team here: https://sites.google.com/view/birdbrain/home.
22 Mar 2026
How do birds find food? Is it magic?
In this episode we discuss a hodgepodge of questions about birds and food. Plus, we answer a follow-up question about penguin feathers. 1:20 - How do shorebirds find food in the sand on a noisy beach? 5:35 - How do I get birds to find my backyard feeder? 7:25 - Do certain species prefer one kind of tree over another? 8:35 - Why do males and females forage differently? Is it social or physiological? 11:05 - Can you eat all birds’ eggs? 14:00 - BONUS FOLLOW-UP ON EPISODE 2 - You said all birds have feathers, but what about penguins? They look like they have fur. Like and subscribe for more birdbrained content! Send us questions to BirdbrainQA@gmail.com. Birdbrain Q&A is produced and edited by Jill Dugan. Read more about the project and creative team here: https://sites.google.com/view/birdbrain/home.
21 Mar 2026
Why do vultures poop on their legs?
You asked for it, you got it: an episode all about bird poop. Yes, this one is totally full of shit. 1:20 - Why is bird poop white? 3:35 - Can birds poop in their sleep? 5:25 - Why do Turkey Vultures poop and pee on themselves? 8:30 - How do birds feel when they poop on you? 10:50 - What’s your favorite book about bird poop? with *Jill Dugan* 12:25 - Have you been pooped on by a bird? Like and subscribe for more birdbrained content! Send us questions to BirdbrainQA@gmail.com. Birdbrain Q&A is produced and edited by Jill Dugan. Read more about the project and creative team here: https://sites.google.com/view/birdbrain/home.
21 Mar 2026
Why do birds' knees bend backwards?
In this episode we talk about the way birds look: questions about legs and feathers, plus a really big question about Big Bird. 0:45 - Is Pam a black-capped chickadee? 2:40 - Is Big Bird a bird? 4:55 - Why do birds’ knees bend backwards? 6:10 - Why are the birds in Australia and South America more colorful than the ones in Chicago? 11:30 - What is a lek? Is it bird Tinder? 12:15 - Does being super colorful help birds survive? Like and subscribe for more birdbrained content! Send us questions to BirdbrainQA@gmail.com. Birdbrain Q&A is produced and edited by Jill Dugan. Read more about the project and creative team here: https://sites.google.com/view/birdbrain/home.
21 Mar 2026
What do people ask about birds?
Our first episode of Birdbrain Q&A! We kick off the series by discussing what we're doing here.0:55 - Why did we create Birdbrain Q&A? 2:20 - What are the most common bird questions you get? 4:50 - Who are the people asking bird questions? 7:45 - How do you start identifying birds? 9:00 - Is it fair to say that there’s a huge overlap between birders and crime detectives? 11:00 - What is an underrated bird? Like and subscribe for more birdbrained content! Send us questions to BirdbrainQA@gmail.com. Birdbrain Q&A is produced and edited by Jill Dugan. Read more about the project and creative team at our website: https://sites.google.com/view/birdbrain/home
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