Ancient Egyptians believed that the Earth began as an egg laid by a giant goose. Ojibwa people of America’s northern plains tell of a Great Flood that swept away the world’s evils, and the bird that braved the deep waters to bring a bit of soil up from the bottom to restart the continent. European scientists once believed that geese survived the winters by turning themselves into barnacles and adhering to the bottoms of ships, transforming back into birds in spring

These and many other tales told in Randi Minetor’s latest book, The Complete Language of Birds, bring us back to a time when birds seemed like magical beings with the answers to so many of the world’s questions. 

Bestselling author Randi Minetor writes the Birdfinding and Best Easy Bird Guides series for Falcon Guides/Globe Pequot Press and is the author of Backyard Birding and Butterfly Gardening for Lyons Press. Her most recent book, The Complete Language of Birds, is an encyclopedia that unites classic illustrations, science, folklore, and mythology about more than 400 bird species around the world. She writes for Birding Magazine and North American Birds and serves as president of the Rochester Birding Association in upstate New York.

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Corvids are everywhere: they are found on nearly every continent, and many species thrive in human-dominated environments. They have influenced art and literature throughout history, and whether they inspire love or hate, they have certainly shaped the hearts and minds of the humans who share their space. But being "common" isn't enough to earn this level of connection. So what is it about corvids that positions them to take such a prominent role in culture and storytelling traditions? And how does that relationship impact the birds themselves? Join Dr. Kaeli Swift as she explores the unique features of corvids that make them so appealing to watch and study, explains why they do (some of!) the things they do, and examines how human attention toward these birds has shaped the birds’ own ecology and culture. 

Dr. Swift earned her PhD in avian behavioral ecology from the University of Washington, where she studied how American crows respond to their dead. She is now a research scientist with UW and has spent the past five years living and working on the remote Pacific island of Tinian, studying the Tinian monarch, a small songbird found nowhere else. She writes about corvids on her blog, corvidresearch.blog, and shares them on Instagram and TikTok as @corvidresearch. Her research has been covered by National Geographic, PBS, the New York Times, The Atlantic, and the Ologies podcast. 

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