This week we’ve got a seriously fun one for you. We are joined by the wonderful Ellen Weatherford from the podcast Just the Zoo of Us.

John and Shannon are guests on her show later this month, so we asked Ellen to come chat with us about the bird of her choice. She came back with flamingos—and boy, were we thrilled.

It turned into such a bright, lively, surprisingly deep conversation about one of the most iconic birds out there. From their wild social lives to their unbelievable color and biology, this episode is just pure joy from start to finish.

Ellen joins John Bates, Shannon Hackett, RJ Pole, and Amanda Pole.

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This week we’re diving into a fascinating forest bird—the Varied Thrush. If you’ve ever wandered through the deep, mossy conifer forests of the Pacific Northwest, you might’ve heard their haunting, single-note whistles echoing through the understory. These birds are usually right at home along the West Coast, from Alaska down through northern California… which is why things got very interesting when a Varied Thrush recently showed up all the way in New York.

So today, we’re talking a lot about vagrancy—why some birds wander far outside their typical range.

Along the way, we also drift into some fascinating side conversations about sampling methods —how researchers collect data from poop, what those approaches can tell us.

And stick around, because we’ve got a fun announcement about an upcoming episode that you won’t want to miss.

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Happy Thanksgiving from Birds of a Feather Talk Together!
We’re taking the week off for the holiday, but we didn’t want to leave you bird-less—so we’re re-sharing one of our favorite episodes, all about the mourning dove, one of North America’s most familiar and fascinating backyard birds.

Fun fact: mourning doves can store an unbelievable amount of food in a specialized throat pouch before flying off somewhere cozy to digest it… which, honestly, sounds exactly like our Thanksgiving plans.

If you’ve listened before, you know Shannon has very strong feelings about mourning doves—so revisiting this one made for an especially hilarious and insightful re-run.
Join John Bates, Shannon Hackett, Amanda Pole, and RJ Pole as we explore mourning dove behavior, feeding strategies, their iconic call, and why this gentle species inspires so many mixed emotions.

We’ll be back next week with brand-new bird episodes, including deep dives on the Varied Thrush and the flamingo.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Grab your binoculars—and let’s get into it.

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