Hawks, Eagles, and Kites
6/1/202659 min
👕 Bird Merch — Get yourself some bird shirts!
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This is Episode 134. Ivan takes on one of the most iconic bird families in the avian world: Accipitridae—the hawks, eagles, kites, buzzards, harriers, and Old World Vultures. It's a massive and diverse group with no good nickname, though Ivan has a few suggestions.
The episode covers the key traits that make these birds such formidable predators—from their hooked bills and locking talons to the bony "brow ridge" that gives them their signature scowl. Ivan also digs into the family's staggering diversity: 249 species across 73 genera.
Along the way, there's some evolutionary biology, a Weirdo Alert, and a look at the ancient giant that makes today's largest eagles seem modest by comparison.
Links of Interest
- Haast's Eagle episode of the Blurbs podcast
- Harpy Eagle video in Spanish, by Alberto Lobato [VIDEO]
- Wild Latitudes: Worldwide birding and nature tours.
Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsIvan Phillipson· Host0:01
I'm super excited to announce that I've got a bunch of new T-shirt designs available now on birdmerch.com. Bird Merch is my online store where I've got bird-related T-shirts. Maybe someday I'll have more stuff, but for now it's all T-shirts. So for this spring 2026, I've got 20 new designs for you that I've been working on for the last six months or so. These feature species like the American Dipper, Pileated Woodpecker, Ruddy Duck, Northern Flicker, American Woodcock, Northern Mockingbird, and more. These are designs made by me, and I'm excited for you to check 'em out. See if anything catches your eye. Maybe grab yourself a shirt and wear it while you're out birding this spring and summer, showing everybody how much you love birds and how cool you are. It's been really fun to create these. When I started Bird Merch, it was partly because I've always loved wearing graphic tees, and I love making them. So at this point, my drawers are basically full of Bird Merch T-shirts, and that's it. That's all I wear. And pants. I also wear pants, just to be clear. The point is, I am a customer of my own product. I dig these shirts. They're comfortable, they've got nice colors, and of course, yes, I am super biased because I made the designs, but I really like them, and I hope you will too. Check everything out at birdmerch.com, and I'll put a link in the show notes. Cool. Now let's get on with the show.