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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.

Watch the Free TalksBecome a Tails Talk SupporterEnjoy The Early Bird every Monday morning
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 →
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The Early Bird

Your Monday-morning roundup of global bird news, conservation updates, and remarkable avian discoveries.

Arriving Monday morning

Your first edition of The Early Bird

A considered selection of bird news, recent research, unusual sightings, and conservation stories from around the world.

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What has caught your curiosity?

Send Liz a question about birds—or a story you think belongs in The Early Bird. Every submission will be read, and selected questions may be answered in a future edition or Tails Talk.

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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