T+
Tails Talk Birds
by Liz Austin
Translating the secret language of birds

What are the birds outside your window really saying?
Let’s translate them together.

I’m Liz Austin. Every Wednesday and Friday, we’ll spend a few minutes with a bird whose voice, behavior, or wonderfully odd way of communicating caught my attention. I hope it catches yours, too.

Featured talk

The Call Before an 8,000-Mile Flight

Bar-tailed Godwit · 3 min

This week on Tails Talk

New talks every Wednesday and Friday.

Wednesday

How Do They Know When It’s Time to Go?

The hidden biological signals and remarkable compasses behind bird migration.

Watch Wednesday’s talk →
Friday

A Rare Visitor in an Arizona Wetland

Meet the Wood Stork—and translate the bill snaps and hungry chick calls behind its story.

Watch Friday’s talk →

In case you missed it

Last week’s talks.

Last Wednesday

The Bird Disguised as a Tree Branch

Meet the Tawny Frogmouth and listen closely to its low, steady language after dark.

Watch the Tawny Frogmouth →
Last Friday

The Rainforest’s Violinist

How the Club-winged Manakin turns specialized wing feathers into an extraordinary courtship instrument.

Watch the Club-winged Manakin →
Free for everyone

All your Tails Talks, searchable in one peaceful place.

Find a bird, return to an old favorite, or follow your curiosity through the complete collection—free to explore whenever you like.

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Become a Tails Talk+ supporter.

Supporters help keep Tails Talk Birds free for everyone. As a thank-you, you’ll receive The Early Bird every Monday morning: a bird-news roundup curated by Liz, with discoveries, conservation stories, and remarkable sightings from around the world. Open it right here in the app and enjoy it with your morning coffee or tea.

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Tails Talk+ · Supporters

The Early Bird

Your Monday morning bird-news roundup, curated by Liz. Open it here with your morning coffee or tea.

Sample edition · September 28, 2026

The Early Bird

Good morning. Here are a few stories from the bird world to sit with over coffee or tea.

A little more hope for three birds on São Tomé

The Dwarf Ibis, São Tomé Grosbeak, and Newton’s Fiscal live nowhere else on Earth. A new $150,000 contribution will help local conservationists learn more about these critically endangered birds and protect the places they depend on. Sometimes a single sighting can fill a vital gap in what we know.

Read the BirdLife story ↗

Thinking in flyways, not borders

BirdLife, Audubon, and CAF have developed a framework to assess conservation projects across Latin America and the Caribbean. The idea begins with a simple truth: a migrating bird needs safe habitat all along its route, not only where it nests.

Read the announcement ↗

One thought to carry into the week

If you spot a migrant this week, imagine the many places it will need after it leaves your window. Its journey is a shared story, written across whole continents.

See you Wednesday for another Tails Talk,
Liz

This is a sample. Monday editions will appear here.
For communities and groups

Bring Tails Talk Birds to your group

Liz is creating 45-minute video talks exploring birds’ sounds, behavior, and stories. Gather your group to watch when it suits you, then keep the video to enjoy again and again.

Group talks are coming soon · $200 per community

Why bird language?

“The more we understand the language of birds, the more we appreciate the natural world and our place in it.”

— Liz Austin

Hi, I’m Liz Austin.

Bird Communication Researcher · Nature Educator

My background is in linguistics, music, and adult education, and I’ve loved and been curious about birds for as long as I can remember. Tails Talk is where those worlds come together.

MA, Linguistics & Adult Education · BA, Music