Hear all about this close relative of the Dodo, managing to hold on in its little corner of the Pacific.

References:

Amaama, S. A., Schorch, P., & Sung, A. (2025). Sāmoan archival-museum entanglements,(re) activations of the Vā. Museum History Journal, 18(2), 179-195.

Cardoso, G. C., & Price, T. D. (2010). Community convergence in bird song. Evolutionary Ecology, 24(2), 447-461.

Gough, W. B., Hudson, M. A., Young, H. G., Wood, J., Whitehead, H., & Turvey, S. T. (2024). Modelling habitat suitability for the Critically Endangered Manumea or Tooth-billed Pigeon Didunculus strigirostris using past and present baselines. Bird Conservation International, 34, e20.

Jana, A., Uili, M., Atherton, J., O'Brien, M., Wood, J., & Brickson, L. (2025). An Automated Pipeline for Few-Shot Bird Call Classification: A Case Study with the Tooth-Billed Pigeon. arXiv preprint arXiv:2504.16276.

Pratt, H. D., & Mittermeier, J. C. (2016). Notes on the natural history, taxonomy, and conservation of the endemic avifauna of the Samoan archipelago. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, 128(2), 217-241.

Serra, G., Sherley, G., Failagi, S. A., Foliga, S. T., Uili, M., Enoka, F., & Suaesi, T. (2018). Traditional ecological knowledge of the Critically Endangered Tooth-billed Pigeon Didunculus strigirostris, endemic to Samoa. Bird Conservation International, 28(4), 620-642.

Serra, G., Wood, G. R., Faiilagi, S. A., Foliga, S. T., Uili, M., & Enoka, F. (2020). Using Samoan traditional ecological knowledge to identify calls of the critically endangered endemic tooth-billed pigeon (Didunculus strigirostris). Pacific Conservation Biology, 27(3), 275-283.

Shapiro, B., Sibthorpe, D., Rambaut, A., Austin, J., Wragg, G. M., Bininda-Emonds, O. R., ... & Cooper, A. (2002). Flight of the dodo. Science, 295(5560), 1683-1683.

Jetz, W., Thomas, G. H., Joy, J. B., Redding, D. W., Hartmann, K., & Mooers, A. O. (2014). Global distribution and conservation of evolutionary distinctness in birds. Current biology, 24(9), 919-930.

Abstract access only:

Collar, N. J. (2015). Natural history and conservation biology of the tooth-billed pigeon (Didunculus strigirostris): a review. Pacific Conservation Biology, 21(3), 186-199.

Steadman, D. W. (2006). An extinct species of tooth‐billed pigeon (Didunculus) from the Kingdom of Tonga, and the concept of endemism in insular landbirds. Journal of Zoology, 268(3), 233-241.

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From endemics to beach chickens... Hear all about my cycling and birding trip around Upolu, Samoa! (I think I'm a converted cyclo-birder now!).

Follow me on instagram: matt.rossella

Support blurbs through the support the show link!

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Will you like this episode? Listen to your instincts! (and then check it out to see if you were right!).

References:

Bird, A. (2024). Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance: A critical perspective. Frontiers in epigenetics and epigenomics, 2, 1434253.

Blumberg, M. S. (2017). Development evolving: the origins and meanings of instinct. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 8(1-2), e1371.

Conway, P. B. Plasticity of instinct: Interactions of the memory engram with innate behaviour.

Guerrero-Bosagna, C., Morisson, M., Liaubet, L., Rodenburg, T. B., De Haas, E. N., Košťál, Ľ., & Pitel, F. (2018). Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in birds. Environmental Epigenetics, 4(2), dvy008.

Helm, B., & Liedvogel, M. (2024). Avian migration clocks in a changing world. Journal of Comparative Physiology A, 210(4), 691-716.

Kashetsky, T., Avgar, T., & Dukas, R. (2021). The cognitive ecology of animal movement: evidence from birds and mammals. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9, 724887.

Leopold Jr, N. F. (1923). Reason and Instinct in Bird Migration. The Auk, 409-414.

Levis, N. A., & Pfennig, D. W. (2016). Evaluating ‘plasticity-first’evolution in nature: key criteria and empirical approaches. Trends in ecology & evolution, 31(7), 563-574.

Nieder, A., & Mooney, R. (2020). The neurobiology of innate, volitional and learned vocalizations in mammals and birds. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 375(1789), 20190054.

Rajan, S., Lamers, K. P., Both, C., & Wheatcroft, D. (2024). Translocated wild birds are predisposed to learn songs of their ancestral population. Current Biology, 34(11), 2535-2540.

Robinson, G. E., & Barron, A. B. (2017). Epigenetics and the evolution of instincts. Science, 356(6333), 26-27.

Verhulst, E. C., Mateman, A. C., Zwier, M. V., Caro, S. P., Verhoeven, K. J., & Van Oers, K. (2016). Evidence from pyrosequencing indicates that natural variation in animal personality is associated with DRD 4 DNA methylation. Molecular ecology, 25(8), 1801-1811.

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Lynchpin... glutton... wearer of stylish overalls... there are so many ways to describe the kererū! Come and hear all about this amazing bird.

References:

Cousins, R. A. (2010). Kereru (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae)-Impact injuries, morphometrics, moult and plumage (Doctoral dissertation, MSc-thesis, massey University, New Zealand).

Carpenter, J. K., Walker, S., Monks, A., Innes, J., Binny, R. N., & Schlesselmann, A. K. V. (2021). Factors limiting kererū (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) populations across New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Ecology, 45(2), 1-15.

Clout, M. N., & Robertson, H. A. (2021). Longevity records for Chatham Island pigeon (Hemiphaga chathamensis) and New Zealand pigeon (H. novaeseelandiae). Notornis, 68, 86-88.

Goldberg, J., Trewick, S. A., & Powlesland, R. G. (2011). Population structure and biogeography of Hemiphaga pigeons (Aves: Columbidae) on islands in the New Zealand region. Journal of Biogeography, 38(2), 285-298.

Mander, C. J., Hay, J. R., & Powlesland, R. (1998). Monitoring and management of kereru (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) (p. 44). Wellington,, New Zealand: Department of Conservation.

Website used for research:

https://www.chathamrestorationtrust.org.nz/resources/blog-and-news/spotlight-parea/

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Who new that one different shade could tell us so much about a birds evolutionary history....

References:

Ducatez, S., Giraudeau, M., Thebaud, C., & Jacquin, L. (2017). Colour polymorphism is associated with lower extinction risk in birds. Global Change Biology, 23(8), 3030-3039.

Ruzicka, F., Zwoinska, M. K., Goedert, D., Kokko, H., Li Richter, X. Y., Moodie, I. R., ... & Connallon, T. (2026). A century of theories of balancing selection. Biological Reviews, 101(2), 804-825.

Urban, L., Santure, A. W., Uddstrom, L., Digby, A., Vercoe, D., Eason, D., ... & Morales, H. E. (2024). The genetic basis of the kākāpō structural color polymorphism suggests balancing selection by an extinct apex predator. PLoS biology, 22(9), e3002755.

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Hear all about this one of a kind bird! I can't wait for you to see "hoatzin" store!

A big thank you to @theweenuthatch (instagram) for his insight and resources for this topic! Check him out for bird guiding services!

Follow me on instagram: @matt.rossella

Support the show: patreon.com/blurbs439

References:

Abourachid, A., Herrel, A., Decamps, T., Pages, F., Fabre, A. C., Van Hoorebeke, L., ... & Garcia Amado, M. A. (2019). Hoatzin nestling locomotion: acquisition of quadrupedal limb coordination in birds. Science advances, 5(5), eaat0787.

Buitrón-Jurado, G. (2014). An aberrant record of Hoatzin Opisthocomus hoazin (Statius Muller, 1976)(Aves: Opisthocomidae) in Venezuela. Check List, 10(1), 153-155.

Cracraft, J. (2022). The Hoatzin. Current Biology, 32(20), R1068-R1069.

Mayr, G. (2014). A hoatzin fossil from the middle Miocene of Kenya documents the past occurrence of modern-type Opisthocomiformes in Africa. The Auk: Ornithological Advances, 131(1), 55-60.

Mayr, G., Alvarenga, H., & Mourer-Chauviré, C. (2011). Out of Africa: Fossils shed light on the origin of the hoatzin, an iconic Neotropic bird. Naturwissenschaften, 98(11), 961.

Mayr, G., & De Pietri, V. L. (2014). Earliest and first Northern Hemispheric hoatzin fossils substantiate Old World origin of a “Neotropic endemic”. Naturwissenschaften, 101(2), 143-148.

Pagès, F. (2019). Compared and functional morphology of the hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin) (Doctoral dissertation, Museum national d'histoire naturelle-MNHN PARIS).

Other resources:

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Handbook of Bird Biology, 3rd edition.

The Science of Birds podcast episodes:

• Bird Bones: The Avian Skeleton
• The Avian Digestive System
• How Birds Fly

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The largest eagle ever known - hear all about this extinct apex predator!

Reach out to me on instagram: matt.rossella

Support the show (a.k.a become an endemic blurb!): patreon.com/blurbs439

References:

Brathwaite, D. H. (1992). Notes on the weight, flying ability, habitat, and prey of Haast’s Eagle (Harpagornis moorei). Notornis, 39(4), 239-247.

Bunce, M., Szulkin, M., Lerner, H. R. L., Barnes, I., Shapiro, B., Cooper, A., & Holdaway, R. N. (2005). Ancient DNA provides new insights into the evolutionary history of New Zealand's extinct giant eagle. PLoS biology, 3(1), e9.

Holdaway, R. N. (2021). Two new radiocarbon ages for Haast’s eagle (Hieraaetus moorei)(Aves: Accipitridae) and comments on the eagle’s past distribution and possible survival into the 19th century. Notornis, 68(4), 278.

Holdaway, R. N. (2025). The genus name for the extinct New Zealand Eagle (Accipitridae) and a suggested replacement for an inappropriate vernacular name. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club, 145(4), 406-410.

Knapp, M., Thomas, J. E., Haile, J., Prost, S., Ho, S. Y., Dussex, N., ... & Scofield, R. P. (2019). Mitogenomic evidence of close relationships between New Zealand’s extinct giant raptors and small-sized Australian sister-taxa. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 134, 122-128.

Scofield, R. P., & Ashwell, K. W. (2009). Rapid somatic expansion causes the brain to lag behind: the case of the brain and behavior of New Zealand's Haast's Eagle (Harpagornis moorei). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 29(3), 637-649.

Van Heteren, A. H., Wroe, S., Tsang, L. R., Mitchell, D. R., Ross, P., Ledogar, J. A., ... & Sansalone, G. (2021). New Zealand's extinct giant raptor (Hieraaetus moorei) killed like an eagle, ate like a condor. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 288(1964).

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Can you do me a small favour real quick? Have a listen to this episode! I hope you enjoy!

Follow me on instagram: matt.rossella

Want to help my work? click the support the show link at the bottom!

References:

Benítez-López, A., Santini, L., Gallego-Zamorano, J., Milá, B., Walkden, P., Huijbregts, M. A., & Tobias, J. A. (2021). The island rule explains consistent patterns of body size evolution in terrestrial vertebrates. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 5(6), 768-786.

Lomolino, M. V. (2005). Body size evolution in insular vertebrates: generality of the island rule. Journal of biogeography, 32(10), 1683-1699.

Matthews, T. J. (2023). Evolution: The rise and fall of island dwarfs and giants. Current Biology, 33(12), R684-R686.

Meiri, S., Raia, P., & Phillimore, A. B. (2011). Slaying dragons: limited evidence for unusual body size evolution on islands. Journal of Biogeography, 38(1), 89-100.

Ponti, R., Doutrelant, C., & Covas, R. (2023). Strength of the ‘island rule’ in birds is positively associated with absence of avian predators. Biology Letters, 19(3), 20220536.

Thomson, V. A., Mitchell, K. J., Eberhard, R., Dortch, J., Austin, J. J., & Cooper, A. (2018). Genetic diversity and drivers of dwarfism in extinct island emu populations. Biology Letters, 14(4), 20170617.

Wei, C., Peng, L., Zhang, Y., Nishiumi, I., Carey, G. J., Liu, Z., ... & Liu, Y. (2024). Integrative taxonomy of an East Asian songbird indicates rapid dwarfism after island colonization. Zoologica Scripta, 53(5), 509-522.

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