Okay, but do birds have culture?

E17. From sparrow songs that go viral across a continent to cockatoos that watch each other to learn how to open bins, Dr. Lucy Aplin, Australian National University / University of Zurich, studies how birds learn from each other and why it matters. Doing it for the culture? Yep. Birds are that impressive!

In this episode you'll hear about:

• How a new white-throated sparrow song spread over 3,000 kilometers in just two decades, replacing a tune that had been stable since the 1950s
• The experiment that proved wild great tits can establish lasting cultural traditions through their social networks
• Why losing a population of birds might also mean losing knowledge that took generations to build

All audio, video, and images in this episode are either original to Okay, But... Birds (© Okay Media, LLC) or used under license/permission from the respective rights holders. Bird media from the Macaulay Library is used courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as follows:

• White-throated Sparrow audio contributed by Bob McGuire, ML219799
• White-throated Sparrow audio contributed by Jocelyn Lauzon, ML121581051
• Great Tit audio contributed by Arnoud B. van den Berg, ML36198
• Eurasian Sparrowhawk audio contributed by Ben F. King, ML335224
• Regent Honeyeater audio contributed by Vicki Powys, ML223277
• Pink-footed Goose audio contributed by Bob McGuire, ML235508