Okay, but can birds predict the weather?

May 14
34 mins

Episode Description

E22. Folklore says birds know a storm is coming before we do. Scott talks with Dr. Gunnar Kramer, Iowa State University, about what's actually happening when a tiny warbler decides it's time to fly, or time to bail.

In this episode:

  • Why the question itself might be slightly wrong, and what's really going on inside that bird
  • A storm, some missing warblers, and a discovery nobody set out to make
  • What 300 birds falling out of the sky over Texas can tell you about how much fuel is in the tank

Listen, follow, and tell a friend who’s a little superstitious.

All audio, video, and images in this episode are either original to Okay, But... Birds (© Okay Media, LLC) or used under license/permission from the respective rights holders. Bird media from the Macaulay Library is used courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as follows:

  • Yellow-billed cuckoo audio, Wil Hershberger, ML94446
  • Barnacle goose audio, Bob McGuire, ML235525
  • Golden-winged warbler video, Benjamin Clock, ML476422
  • Blue-winged warbler video, Eric Liner, ML469433
  • Yellow-billed cuckoo video, Larry Arbanas, ML466566
  • Eastern kingbird audio, Wil Hershberger, ML534398
  • Tennessee warbler audio, Wil Hershberger, ML85236
  • Tennessee warbler video, Eric Liner, ML466381
  • Wood thrush video, Benjamin Clock, ML471755

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