Join Chris and Diego in a relaxed conversation with Jennifer Ackerman, the New York Times bestselling author of The Genius of Birds and The Bird Way, as they discuss her new book, What an Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds. They informally discuss all the crazy and fascinating aspects of owls: why humans love and fear them, how they can be so stealthy, and the intricate yet novel natural history of this globally distributed family of birds.

Presenter Natalie Uomini is a cognitive scientist who researches intelligence, the evolution of tool-use, language/communication, and teaching. She studies animals (including humans) by using methods from neuroscience, psychology, anthropology and archaeology. Since 2015 she has worked with California sea otters living wild in the Pacific waters of the USA and traveled to a small South Pacific island to study the behavior and communication of New Caledonian crows living in the wild. Natalie is in the Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.

Birds may have small brains, but many of them are just as smart as primates. Human understanding of bird brains and intelligence has grown tremendously in the last couple decades. Thanks to countless scientific studies, it is now known that many bird species are highly intelligent. Some of them perform better than primates, dogs, and young children on certain cognitive tests. This episode looks at how intelligence is defined and some evidence for it in birds. Also considered is the avian brain and how intelligence evolved in birds.

Jennifer Ackerman has been writing about birds, science, and nature for more than three decades. Over the course of two groundbreaking books, The Genius of Birds and 2020’s The Bird Way, she has taken an in-depth look at the wonders of bird behavior and helped to redefine how humans think about bird intelligence. Her global travels observing bird behavior and studying bird intelligence have seen her observing tool use by New Caledonian Crows, playing with Keas in New Zealand, and witnessing the surreal decorative displays of bowerbirds. Join Chris and Diego on Studio Sessions as they sit down with Jennifer for expansive conservation covering everything from mimicry and tool use in birds, to the science behind bird displays and lekking. Plus, viewers can find out why bald birders might want to proceed with caution around a certain bearded bird of prey.

Mark Madison of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service interviews author Jennifer Ackerman about her book, The Genius of Birds.

Despite expressions such as “bird-brain”, birds are very intelligent creatures. To demonstrate this, Auguste von Bayern brings Dohli, a jackdaw who is very close to her, on stage to be the first corvid ever to appear in a TEDx talk. She goes on to explain how certain bird species can innovate, reason, and even make novel tools to accomplish their goals–all with Dohli watching first from her shoulder and then from the back of the auditorium.

As research continues, the term “bird brain” no longer carries a negative connotation. Avian researcher John Marzluff showcases a few amazing, problem solving (and sometimes vindictive) feats accomplished by crows in order to break down common misconceptions about avian intelligence.

In this program from The Massachusetts School of Law’s Educational Forum, professor of law Diane Sullivan interviews Irene Pepperberg on her book, Alex and Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Uncovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence and Formed a Deep Bond In the Process.

Irene Pepperberg spent 30 years of her career working with Alex, the world’s most famous parrot. Her recent book, Alex and Me, offers both unique insights on the workings of the avian mind and a tribute to a beloved research partner. In her talk, Pepperberg shares research findings and thoughts on animal intelligence and, most crucially, humor, with Alison Cuddy, host of Chicago Public Radio’s Eight Forty-Eight.

High above New York’s Central Park, a truly remarkable event is unfolding. In the midst of this busy city, a bold and daring red-tailed hawk has taken up residence. Affectionately known to locals as “Pale Male,” the hawk courts, breeds, and hunts as its devoted urban fans root for its survival. After unexpected perils, triumphs, and tragedies, onlookers gaze in rapt anticipation as the hawk’s chicks prepare to take their first tentative flight from a nest on the ledge of a luxury apartment building. Filmed over a six-year period, “Pale Male” is a rare glimpse of the survival techniques of one of nature’s great predatory creatures, and a surprising account of the magical relationship humanity can have with nature.