The Greater Sage-Grouse aka avant-garde turkeys aka 'tig ol biddies' bird.... Join Hannah + Cleo this week as they dive into this spiky, alien level weirdo of a bird and our last episode of the year!

We will be taking a break through November & December to work on finishing school *coughs... cleo...coughs* and bringing you more bird (and possibly not a bird) content in 2027.

In the meantime, feel free to follow us on Instagram @birds0nbirds and subscribe to the show to get automatic updates for when we return!

Music by Fknsyd

Sources:
https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/saggro/cur/introduction

https://www.fws.gov/species/greater-sage-grouse-centrocercus-urophasianus

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Greater_Sage-Grouse/id

https://abcbirds.org/birds/greater-sage-grouse/
https://birdallianceoregon.org/our-work/protect/habitat-and-wildlife/central-and-eastern-oregon/greater-sage-grouse/

https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/animals-we-protect/sage-grouse/

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/greater-sage-grouse

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Az4L70b7UG4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLnbiTkj1TQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeI8gLMl9Vs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T11rOkgpRnA

https://www.ndow.org/species/greater-sage-grouse/

https://www.audubon.org/magazine/what-heck-lek-quirkiest-mating-party-earth

Following up on our Guardians of Ga'Hoole episode with the real bird behind the Pure Ones: the American Barn Owl. Ghost-white heart face, a scream that could headline a horror movie, hearing good enough to hunt in total darkness, and an 18-egg clutch that horrified us personally. Plus Hannah's 6-year unsolicited owl-gift saga and our celebrity doppelganger picks. Build a nest box. Skip the rodenticide.

Music by Fknsyd

Sources:

• https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Barn_Owl/overview
• https://blog.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barn_Owl/lifehistory
• https://blog.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Barn_Owl/id
• https://guardiansofgahoole.fandom.com/wiki/Tyto_(genus)
• https://guardiansofgahoole.fandom.com/wiki/Pure_Ones_(Movie)
• https://www.owlresearchinstitute.org/species-account/american-barn-owl
• 2024 NACC/SACC proposal to split Tyto furcata as its own species (full text PDF): https://americanornithology.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2024-C.pdf
• Payne (1971) acoustic-hunting study — contemporary summary in Nature: https://nature.com/articles/232523a0.pdf
• Konishi, "How the Owl Tracks Its Prey," American Scientist (flight-speed detail): https://www.americanscientist.org/node/2084
• Flieg (1971), "Tytonidae × Strigidae cross produces fertile eggs," full text via SORA: https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v088n01/p0178-p0178.pdf
• Boves & Belthoff (2012) Idaho road-mortality study, abstract/full record: https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/bio_facpubs/258
• Sokoine University of Agriculture (2023–24), Tanzania maize/owl nest-box study: https://journals.eanso.org/index.php/eajab/article/view/4475
• https://youtu.be/Q9HVhqXI8PY?si=H_o_BXJ2xCXbKPwR
• https://youtu.be/d_FEaFgJyfA?si=4_aoUDktzxGR5Pqg

Another feathered flick is up to bat! The long awaited and strangely good Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole. Join Hannah + Cleo as they go bar for bar on this gorgeous film and talk about an unsettling, yet timely, story of good versus evil.

Music by Fknsyd

Sources:
https://guardiansofgahoole.fandom.com/wiki/Legend_of_the_Guardians:_The_Owls_of_Ga%27Hoole
Legends of the Guardians: Owls of Ga'Hoole movie, directed by Zack Snyder and based on the book series by Kathryn Lasky