The Egg War is the rather bizarre story of how a colony of Common Murres on the Farallon Islands off the coast of San Francisco sparked conflict during the American Gold Rush in the 1850-60s. It is a wild tale of murder, piracy, lighthouse keepers with delusions of grandeur and an awful lot of people wearing hats. Join me for a silly story.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/birdoftheweekWant birds in your inbox? Drop me a line at [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.Notes:California Gold Rush: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Gold_RushFarallon Islands: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farallon_IslandsCommon Murre: https://ebird.org/species/commur?siteLanguage=en_AUAuks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AukMurre eggs: https://americanornithology.org/distinctive-egg-color-variations-in-common-murres/The Egg War: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-california-went-war-over-eggs-180971960/Penguin eggs: https://www.capetownetc.com/news/penguin-egg-whites-may-turn-clear-when-boiled-but-this-is-not-a-breakfast-idea/

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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