PODCAST | Khwezi Science Report: singing for sex, and other urban tales

In this episode of the Khwezi Science Report we venture into the world of birds in the concrete jungle. We tell a harrowing urban story of an avian pet, share some fascinating studies, and speak to Dr Ian-Malcolm Rijsdijk who is an obsessive twitcher.

Rijsdijk has some gripping tales of a killing he witnessed while in a traffic jam, and why a weaver’s nest is an architectural marvel.

“You almost can’t imagine that a human could weave something that intricate and fine and yet the bird is doing it with its claws and beak – complete mastery of the materials,” he says.

Home building is one thing, but what’s a home without a sex partner with whom to create offspring? We explain the frenetic vocal activity that happens backstage and when the curtain finally rises on the dawn chorus.