What do feathers, toothless beaks, and a 66-million-year-old asteroid have in common? Paleontologist Dr. Daniel Field, University of Cambridge, joins Scott to unpack how birds evolved from dinosaurs, and why defining "bird" is trickier than you think.

In this episode you'll hear about:

1. Why Archaeopteryx had half the features of a modern bird and lacked the other half, and what that tells us about 150 million years of evolution
2. The "Wonderchicken," a tiny fossil from the border of Belgium and the Netherlands that rewrote what we know about birds surviving the asteroid impact
3. How micro CT scanning lets scientists digitally peer inside rocks to study fossils at micron scale without ever touching them

Listen wherever you get your podcasts, and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

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:

1. Great Spotted Kiwi, William V. Ward, ML810
2. Southern Cassowary, Linda Macaulay, ML57219
3. Elegant Trogon, David L. Ross, Jr., ML199536
4. Green Heron,, Bob McGuire, ML229117

Asteriornis imagery and video courtesy of Dr. Daniel Field, University of Cambridge.

Some birds skip having their own families and spend years helping raise their siblings instead. It sounds like altruism, but it's probably more complicated than that. In this episode, host Dr. Scott Taylor is joined by Dr. Nancy Chen, UCLA, to unpack the notion that it takes a village to raise a child chick.

In this episode, you'll hear about:

1. Why some birds spend years as unpaid helpers before starting families of their own
2. What the Florida Scrub-Jay's 50-year study at Archbold Biological Station revealed about cooperative breeding
3. Whether helping your siblings is really altruism or just evolution doing it’s thing

If you enjoy this one, follow Okay, But... Birds and share it with a friend who thinks family is complicated.

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:

1. Florida Scrub-Jay audio contributed by Bob McGuire, ML229211
2. American Crow video contributed by Jay McGowan, ML472843
3. Superb Fairywren audio contributed by Vicki Powys, ML233810
4. Superb Starling audio contributed by Myles E. W. North, ML14855
5. Red-necked Phalarope audio contributed by Bob McGuire, ML235440
6. Northern Jacana audio contributed by Gerrit Vyn, ML140224

Winter isn’t just “cold” for a bird, it’s a nightly survival math problem: generate enough heat, lose as little as possible, and don’t get eaten while you’re fueling up. In this episode, host Dr. Scott Taylor is joined by Dr. Maria Stager, UMass Amherst, to break down the clever physiology and weird little behaviors that let birds ride out freezing temps, from icy duck feet to “feather puffball” mode to energy-saving torpor.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

1. How birds keep their feet from freezing
2. How feathers and shivering muscles act like a built-in winter jacket
3. How birds manage energy overnight, including fat, roosting, and torpor

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:

1. Dark-eyed Junco audio contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML94361
2. Purple Martin audio contributed by Arthur A. Allen, ML8086
3. Willow Ptarmigan audio contributed by Leonard J. Peyton, ML50031
4. Common Poorwill audio contributed by Wil Hershberger, ML191125
5. Snowy Owl audio contributed by Gerrit Vyn, ML138288
6. Ruffed Grouse audio contributed by Bob McGuire, ML216783
7. Mallard audio contributed by Mike Andersen, ML136504
8. Tree Swallow audio contributed by Bob McGuire, ML233306
9. Black-capped Chickadee audio contributed by Jay McGowan, ML202239
10. Redpoll (Common) audio contributed by William V. Ward, ML12745