Bird Podcast with Shoba Narayan
Episodes
Episode 76: Bird Behaviour with Rohan Chakravarty
08 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rohan Chakravarty is a Cartoonist, illustrator, and wildlife buff. Creator of Green Humour, the comic strip. He is an author and illustrator known for...
Episode 75: Gynandomorphism in birds with Dr. Hamish Spencer
21 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The sex of a bird – whether it is male or female – is one of the most critical aspects of its biology. Males and females often behave differently,...
Episode 74: A pigeon's nest at home and its ripple effects
11 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When a pigeon comes into the house. This is a controversial episode. In fact, I am pretty sure nobody in the nature groups that I am part of will...
Episode 73: Birds and Shola Forests with Dr. V.V. Robin
18 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Special Episode: How did you get into birding
23 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Here is a special episode about how different Bangalore birding experts got into birding.
Episode 72: Birding in Mauritius
13 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 71: The biodiverse splendour of Bhutan
28 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is about Bhutan: carbon-negative, Buddhist and a pioneer in sustainable tourism. This tiny country, about the size of Switzerland contain...
Episode 70: Toucanets and hummingbirds in Costa Rica
27 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we talk to a resident naturalist about the motmots, hummingbirds and toucanets that you can see in Costa Rica.
Episode 69: The Resplendent Quetzal of Costa Rica
13 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 68: Delhi birds with Sudhir Vyas
30 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Delhi and its neighbourhoods, with its variety of habitats and landscapes, is remarkable for the wealth and diversity of its avifauna. It is a true ha...
Episode 67: The three-wattled bell-bird, Monteverde, Costa Rica
16 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is the first of three episodes about the bird life in Costa Rica. This one focuses on the three-wattled bell-bird and the episode is set in the ...
Episode 66: Pleasures of birdwatching with Aasheesh Pittie
02 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
About Aasheesh Pittie's book of essays, The Living Air. If you're looking for new ways to engage with birds and birdwatching, Aasheesh Pittie's book ...
Episode 65: Amazing bird species: Sarus cranes and storks
18 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 35, Dr. Gopi Sundar paints a hopeful picture of cranes and waterbirds coexisting with humans. In this episode we delve into these amazing b...
Episode 64: Flight paths: about bird migration with Rebecca Heisman
04 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we are talking about how we know what we know about bird migration. Our guest, Rebecca Heisman describes herself on her website, as...
Episode 63: The Feather Library project with Esha Munshi
21 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is about the wonder of feathers. Salim Ali said that birds were "feathered bipeds." This episode explores how feathers are marvellously...
Episode 62: Bird diplomacy with Ambassador Jacques Pitteloud
07 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Photographing birds across continents. In this episode, we interview His Excellency Jacques Pitteloud who happens to be the Swiss Ambassador to the Un...
Episode 61: Bird conservation: experiments that work
23 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we highlight conservation experiments that are interesting and have worked. We have chosen three experiments from previous episodes. ...
Episode 60: The race to save our vanishing birds with Beverly and Anders Gyllenhaal
09 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Beverly and Anders Gyllenhaal are veteran journalists and birdwatchers. They ran newsrooms, assigned features and wrote books. They publish a websit...
Episode 59: The big year of birding with Noah Strycker
26 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we talk to Noah Strycker. Noah is the Associate Editor for Birding Magazine and author of several popular books about birds. He set a...
Episode 58: Where bar headed geese and black tailed godwits visit in the winter.
13 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is set in Hadinaru Kere, a lake outside Mysore in India. In the winter, the lake attracts a number of migratory birds. Some 85 specie...
Episode 57: Australia and birdsong with author Tim Low
21 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A conversation with the author of "Where Song Began." In this episode, we talk to author Tim Low, whose book, "Where Song Began" has been credited wit...
Episode 56: BR Hills in Karnataka: a recent visit
24 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In episode 28, we spoke to Dr. Samira Agnihotri about bird song and how the Solega tribals interacted so closely with the forest around them. This epi...
Episode 55: Demoiselle Cranes in India
10 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is about demoiselle cranes congregating in a village in India. Last month, on a trip to Rajasthan, I visited the village of Kheechan. T...
Episode 54: The Great Indian Bustard: Update
25 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our first episode was about the Great Indian Bustard. The logo of the Bird Podcast is the Great Indian Bustard or GIB as it is called. Salim Ali w...
Episode 53: Birds of Australia: Stories and Species
01 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode gives a glimpse into the birds of Australia, told through the eyes of Franck Masna, an aboriginal elder who tells us the story of how bir...
Episode 52: Amazing bird species: Wood Storks
17 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This is a story about a wood stork called Flinthead. He lived with his partner in Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Florida. The wood stork couple depend...
Episode 51: The importance of wetlands: Post episode trailer
09 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is about wetlands. This is a post-episode trailer of Episode 5 where I interviewed Dr. Jerry Jackson. Even though the audio isn't perfe...
Episode 50: How Israel tackles bird conservation with Professor Yossi Leshem.
21 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we have Professor Yossi Leshem from Israel joining us to discuss several things: tracking migratory storks with GPS, working with bar...
Episode 49: Bird Migration with Scott Weidensaul: Post Episode Trailer 1
13 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Post Episode Trailers are short episodes in which I highlight an earlier episode that is worth watching. This episode is about Episode 12 of The Bird ...
Episode 48: Behind the scenes with Allison Shultz of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
30 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In which we go behind the scenes to see the fascinating aspects of the bird specimen collection of one of America's most well-respected museums. You r...
Episode 47: The complex web of factors that influence bird migration with Yaara Aharon-Rotman
23 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Where she talks about how multiple nations and habitats need to cooperate to help these champion migrants. In this episode, Dr. Yaara Aharon-Rotman s...
Episode 46: Rescuing black kites with filmmaker Shaunak Sen
16 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Interview with a filmmaker who won the L'oiel d'or or Golden Eye in Cannes for best documentary film in 2022. We have a different sort of guest for th...
Episode 45: Avians to the rescue with Bittu Sahgal
09 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our guest today is the much-admired Bittu Sahgal. Mention Mr. Sahgal and three words come up: Sanctuary, activism, and conservation. He founded Sa...
Episode 44: A life with birds and insects with Dr. Bernd Heinrich
02 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our guest today is distinguished academic, author and ultra-marathoner, Dr. Bernd Heinrich. He talks about owls, ravens, tree swallows, painted snip...
Episode 43: Challenges of the Arctic-breeding shorebirds with Dr. Erica Nol
25 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today we are talking with Dr. Erica Nol of Ontario, Canada about challenges of the arctic-breeding shorebird. Dr. Nol is a professor at Trent Univer...
Episode 42: Birds in myth and legend. Part 4 of 4
18 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How to bird watch: Part 4. Last Part In which the author loops in some history and fables and talks about her habitat. Birds are the stuff of myth and...
Episode 41: The art of seeing in bird-watching. Part 3 of 4
11 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In which the author talks about how to see. Ayurveda divides us into three phenotypes: vata, pitta and kapha. Vatas have acute hearing and enjoy the s...
Episode 40: The pleasures of bird watching. Part 2 of 4
04 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Like most things that require identification, be it wine, textiles, or art, identifying birds is figuring out patterns; like recognizing an artistic o...
Episode 39: How I got into birdwatching and how you can too
27 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Part 1 of 4. This episode addresses a question that every bird watcher hears at some point or other. People who watch us stand still at balconies ga...
Episode 38: The Hoopoe
29 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is about the Upupa epops.
Episode 37: Talking hummingbirds with Anusha Shankar
13 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today's guest, Anusha Shankar studies hummingbirds as a Rose Postdoctoral Fellow at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. She has lived and worked on four c...
Episode 35: Talking waterbirds with Gopi Sundar
05 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our guest today is Dr. Gopi Sundar, who heads the international ecological journal, Waterbirds. He is also a scientist in the cranes and wetlands p...
Episode 34: Amazing Bird Species: Brahminy Kite
27 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There is this bird that my mother watches. When it comes down, she says Garuda, garuda. And does a namaste. This bird is called the Brahminy kite....
Bird Podcast: Short Episodes Intro: Trailer
24 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The beginning of a new avatar. Where we do short episodes. As always, thanks for your attention.
Episode 33: Birds of Nagaland with Angulie Meyase
13 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this short 3-minute episode, we are talking about the amazing birds of Nagaland with Angulie Meyase, a birding guide based in Khonoma, one of the m...
Episode 32: Hornbills in Valparai
30 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is about hornbills in Valparai. About human wildlife conflict and other things. But mostly about hornbills. Valparai in the South Ind...
Episode 31: About extinction and conservation with Dr. J. Christopher Haney
16 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our guest today is Dr. James Christopher Haney, a conservation biologist, wildlife researcher, and author of more than 250 peer-reviewed journal artic...
Episode 30 Part 2: Birding in Uganda with Judith Mirembe
04 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We are so sorry but we messed up. The previous episode that was published was an interview with Judith Mirembe. For some reason, the full conversa...
Episode 29: Birding in Uganda with Judith Mirembe
02 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our guest today is Judith Mirembe who is currently based in Uganda. Judith is a bird guide and researcher with a passion for birds, keen on their co...
Episode 29: The flight of the Amur Falcon
18 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is about the magnificent migration of the Amur Falcons, the largest raptor migration in the world. It is 4:30 AM on a cold day in Novemb...
Episode 28: Of birds and birdsong with Dr. Samira Agnihotri
05 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With us today is Dr. Samira Agnihotri, who has studied bird song, racket-tailed drongos and ethno-ornithology. Dr. Agnihotri has worked in the Bil...
Episode 27: Birders of Africa with Professor Nancy J. Jacobs
21 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Our guest today is Dr. Nancy Jacobs, a professor of history at Brown University. The topic of our discussion is based on her third book, a really wo...
Episode 26: How Audubon Americas is ramping up conservation
07 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This episode features two senior conservation specialists from Audubon: Aurelio Ramos and Gloria Lentijo. They talk about Audubon's new strategies ...
Episode 25: The Allure And Majesty Of Hornbills With Dr. Aparajita Datta
24 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Aparajita Datta leads The Nature Conservation Foundation's Eastern Himalaya programme, under which research and community-based conservation w...
Episode 24: The Real James Bond: Birds, Theft and a Spy.
08 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Is there a link between birds and 007? Well, author and American birder, Jim Wright says there is. The title of his latest book says it all. ...
Episode 23: Jonathan Franzen on the pleasures of birding
02 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan Franzen is arguably America's greatest living fiction writer. He has won numerous accolades and awards. His latest book, Crossroads, is j...
Episode 22: How climate change affects birds with Dr. Umesh Srinivasan
26 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Life on Earth is undergoing its sixth ever mass extinction, one that is entirely driven by humans. Amongst the multitude of "global change" factors c...
Episode 21: Wetland and Grassland Birds from the Man who Discovered a Frog: with Seshadri K.S.
13 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Seshadri KS grew up in Bangalore and started to watch birds at a young age. An avid naturalist with interests across many taxa, he has chosen to ...
Episode 20: Breeding Behavior of the Lance Tailed Manakin of Panama with Emily DuVal
02 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Our guest in this episode is Dr. Emily Duval whose Duval lab at Florida State University studies behavioral ecology, population genetics, and in the r...
Episode 19: All the Birds of the World with Josep Del Hoyo
17 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This episode features Josep Del Hoyo, one of the founders as well as the director of Lynx Edicions and an expert videographer of birds. This episode...
Episode 18: Birding in South India and beyond with Deepa Mohan
31 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Every good city needs a generous birding guide, one who is empathetic and loves to explore nature around her. If this intrepid explorer is empathetic,...
Episode 17: About Striated Caracaras with Jonathan Meiburg
18 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is about striated caracaras, or rather, one man's obsession with them. The man in question is Jonathan Meiburg who is a musicia...
How to attract birds to your garden-- with Shubha Bhat
04 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Visit the home of Shubha Bhat and you will find many birds enjoying birdbaths in her garden and its surroundings. An avid birder, Shubha has spo...
Nest Boxes and Birding Through Time with J. N. Prasad
20 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
JN Prasad has been a keen naturalist and birdwatcher for the last 4 decades. Associated closely with the WWF-India Nature Clubs of India movement sin...
Data science in birding: the ebird experiment
06 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Do you want to become a reviewer for ebird? Which bird is the logo of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology? Do you think sparrow populations are declining?...
Birdology and the Hummingbird's gift with Sy Montgomery
23 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
To research books, films and articles, Sy Montgomery has been chased by an angry silverback gorilla in Zaire and bitten by a vampire bat in Cost...
Episode 12: The global Odyssey of migratory birds with Scott Weidensaul
09 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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Episode 11: Rohini Nilekani on the Pleasures of Being in Nature
25 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
[et_pb_section admin_label="section"] [et_pb_row admin_label="row"] [et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text admin_label="Text"] "To be able to con...
Birding in Columbia, India, Costa Rica and New Guinea with Maitreya Sukumar
18 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Maitreya Sukumar, 18, who has been birding since he was 4, has seen 850 + bird species in the Indian subcontinent and around 2500 species overa...
Bird Identification and Ecology with M. B. Krishna
10 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Krishna MB is an ecologist and ornithologist from Bangalore who has been interested in bird and habitat conservation and improvement. A legend in...
A Conversation with Dominique Homberger
04 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In December 2019, Dr. Dominique Homberger visited Bangalore after a gap of ten years. She gave a talk at NCBS (National Centre for Biological Scien...
A Conversation with Jairam Ramesh
05 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Click here to download A few years ago, I cold-emailed Jairam Ramesh, then minister of rural development, with one question: how could urban indiv...
Interview with Jennifer Ackerman
28 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Click here to download Jennifer Ackerman has been writing about science and nature for 30 years. Her most recent book, The Genius of Birds (Penguin P...
Interview with Dr. Jerry Jackson
12 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Click here to download Dr. Jerry Jackson is a legend in ornithology, for his life-long fascination with the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. I met him on ...
Destination Bharatpur
05 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Keoladeo Ghana National Park is arguably India's most famous national park for birds. This episode offers you a bird's eye view of the park.
Shashank Dalvi's "Big Year of Birding" across India
04 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Click here to download Shashank Dalvi's Big Year of Birding all over India.
Great Indian Bustard: can it be saved from the brink of extinction?
01 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Click here to download
The Peacock
01 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is about the peacock, not because it is the national bird of India, which it is. But because it gave rise to the second most important wo...