This episodes is not about birds. This is about Australia's electoral system. How's that for coming out of left field? Why is Bird Guy talking about electoral systems? Good questions, it's something I'm interested in, and Australia had a recent election result that I think is worth taking a closer look at.

If you don't want to hear about that, this probably isn't the episode for you. So no hard feelings if you want to skip this one.

But if you're in the mood for something a little different, join me now.

Pelicans! Giant, big beaked birds of the water. Urban legends surrounded these critters, like the fact that they will sometimes eat dogs. Fact or myth? Who can say for sure? But one thing we can say is that they're fascinating birds, so let's get to know them.

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Notes:

• Pelican eats Pigeon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phUs2kIGY9M
• Australian Pelican: https://ebird.org/species/auspel1?siteLanguage=en_AU
• Pink-Backed Pelican: https://ebird.org/species/pibpel1
• Spot-Billed Pelican: https://ebird.org/species/spbpel1
• Dalmatian Pelican: https://ebird.org/species/dalpel1
• Peruvian Pelican: https://ebird.org/species/perpel1
• Brown Pelican: https://ebird.org/species/brnpel
• Pelican finds water: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-19/curious-central-west-why-pelicans-prefer-some-places/9054518
• hunting practices: https://asknature.org/strategy/cooperative-herding-catches-more-food/
• Dalmatian Pelican conservation: https://rewildingeurope.com/blog/turning-the-tide-for-the-dalmatian-pelican/
• Peruvian Pelican conservation: https://discover.silversea.com/destinations/south-america/how-the-peruvian-pelican-reflects-changes-in-the-environment/

Many birds mimic the calls of other birds. But there is no bird that has the repertoire of the Lyrebird, renown for being some of the greatest mimics in the avian world. So, what's they're deal? Let's find out.

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Notes:

• Superb Lyrebird: https://ebird.org/species/suplyr1?siteLanguage=en_AU
• Albert's Lyrebird: https://ebird.org/species/alblyr1
• 10 cents: https://www.ramint.gov.au/ten-cents
• Lyrebirds are losing their voice: https://westernsydney.edu.au/newscentre/news_centre/more_news_stories/lyrebirds_are_losing_their_voice_due_to_continued_habitat_loss
• Bird Life: https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profiles/superb-lyrebird/?srsltid=AfmBOoqwY7ME7qaHqkOv23B2VUUFpxZ_VlL4BIEGim8z85fHyydXH7ax
• World Wildlife Fund: https://wwf.org.au/blogs/the-superb-lyrebird-helping-these-amazing-mimickers-recover-from-the-2019-20-bushfires/

You know what film doesn't get talked about enough? Charlie's Angels (2000). But wait, this show isn't about middling films from two decades ago, it's about amazing birds, so how is that film connected to birds? Well, let's find out. I promise it's ridiculous.

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Notes:

• Charlie's Angels: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie%27s_Angels_(2000_film)
• The Scene in question: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-mbJhVl2Xc
• Pygmy Nuthatch: https://ebird.org/species/pygnut
• Venezuelan Troupial: https://ebird.org/species/ventro1
• Troupials are nest pirates: https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Icterus_icterus%20-%20Troupial.pdf
• Fox Sparrow: https://ebird.org/species/foxspa
• Slate's podcast on the issue: https://slate.com/podcasts/decoder-ring/2024/10/how-did-the-big-budget-charlies-angels-movie-get-this-bird-so-wrong

The Kookaburra has to be one of Australia's most famous birds, with a call so iconic and strange that it has been used in a whole swarth of Hollywood films to evoke a feeling of the topics and the exotic, despite the fact that they do not live in that type of environment. But they're a bird of far greater interest than their call alone, so in this episode we'll see what else they have to offer.

To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on through to Patreon: www.patreon.com/birdoftheweek

Want birds in your inbox? Drop me a line at weekly.bird@outlook.com and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.

Notes:

• Laughing Kookaburra: https://ebird.org/species/laukoo1
• Blue-Winged Kookaburra: https://ebird.org/species/blwkoo1?siteLanguage=en_AU
• Spangled Kookaburra: https://ebird.org/species/spakoo1
• Rufous-Bellied Kookaburra: https://ebird.org/species/rubkoo1
• Shovel-Billed Kookaburra: https://ebird.org/species/shbkoo1
• Kookaburra was Flipper: https://bioacoustics.stackexchange.com/questions/746/is-this-sound-made-by-flipper-dolphin-tv-series-real
• Kookaburra in film: https://soundandthefoley.com/2013/05/30/that-jungle-sound/#:~:text=THE%20KOOKABURRA%20IN%20OTHER%20FILMS,on%20their%20way%20to%20Australia.
• Kookaburra chicks kill their siblings: https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2000/10/23/201846.htm

The Bird is back, and we are back looking at a bird with a reputation for being the world's most dangerous. Maybe in a shock twist the bird with the badass reputation is a giant fruit eater from Papua New Guinea, the Cassowary. But is this reputation deserving? Well in this episode we will find out just how dangerous they are, but also what else makes them especially cool.

To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on through to Patreon: www.patreon.com/birdoftheweek

Want birds in your inbox? Drop me a line at weekly.bird@outlook.com and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.

Notes:

• Southern Cassowary: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/soucas1/cur/introduction
• Northern Cassowary: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/norcas1/cur/introduction?lang=es
• Dwarf Cassowary: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/dwacas1/cur/introduction?lang=es
• Kiwi: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/episodes/13777746-kiwis-fruit-people-birds
• Emu: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/episodes/11406903-the-great-emu-war
• Cassowary 1926 fatality: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/175730542
• Ostrich lethality: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4323753/#:~:text=When%20attacking%20a%20person%2C%20ostriches,wild%20ostrich%20populations%20%5B2%5D.
• Keystone species: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mb1bbIyF9OU
• Casque: https://tetzoo.com/blog/2022/4/9/inside-the-cassowarys-casque-updated

Today we welcome back friend of The Bird, Mr David Clay, as we discuss that one time China tried to eliminate all the sparrows in their nation. Did the plan work, were there unforeseen consequences, is this another tale of human folly? Almost certainly. Join us as we look at another strange avian story from history.

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Notes

Sorry I meant to have notes, but I'm not as organised this time. The story is quite well documented though in numerous online sources.

Bird of the Week special announcement: there is a baby on the way so there's no better time to talk about Storks and what they have to do with baby delivery. Where did that myth of the Stork bringing babies to expectant parents come from? Well, today we are going to find out.

To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on through to Patreon: www.patreon.com/birdoftheweek

Want birds in your inbox? Drop me a line at weekly.bird@outlook.com and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.

Notes

• Storks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stork
• Saddle-Billed Stork: https://ebird.org/species/sabsto1
• Marabou: https://ebird.org/species/marsto1?siteLanguage=en_AU
• White Stork: https://ebird.org/species/whisto1?siteLanguage=en_AU
• Black Stork: https://ebird.org/species/blasto1
• Migration: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1733312/episodes/9912409-migration-part-ii
• Speared Stork: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pfeilstorch
• Hera: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230119-the-weird-history-of-baby-myths
• Hans Christian Andersen: http://hca.gilead.org.il/storks.html
• Work Without Hope: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43999/work-without-hope