Plumology (FEATHERS) with Dr. Allison Shultz
Plumage! Sexy dances! Feather heists! Possible holographic disco birds? Natural History Museum of LA ornithology curator Dr. Allison Shultz is a professional plumologist aka feather expert. We visit the museum’s collection of rare specimens and chat about everything from fossilized dinosaur feathers to silent owl flight to furry bird legs to why pigeons are so loud, peacock tails, down parkas, quill pens, heavy metal flautists, feather thieves, pigments, flight feathers, Vantablack, if you can eat feathers and why birdwatching is like seeing tiny purple raccoons zoom overhead. Birds: like Pokemon Go but weirder.
Listen via Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts.
Visit Dr. Allison Shultz’s website allisonshultz.com and follow twitter.com/ajshultz622
A donation went to: birdnet.com/oc
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More links which you may enjoy:
“The Courtship of Anna’s Hummingbird”
First down jacket: Eddie Bauer
Lolipop butt King Bird of Paradise
Eating feathers: waxy, but more lean muscle mass
Oops this pigment beats Vantablack
How the folks at MIT made such a dark black
“Two feathers on the side of its head” King of Saxony Bird of Paradise
Archaeopteryx: maybe not the first bird
Owl wings inspire more quiet tech
This guy who stole feathers plays the flute
Mmmmm, chicken feather smoothie!
Hummingbird tail beeps: scientists ask WHY THO
Chicken feathers build protein
Transcripts & bleeped episodes at: alieward.com/ologies-extras
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Sound editing by Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media & Steven Ray Morris
Theme song by Nick Thorburn