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Matt Ross
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44 episodes

  • blurbs

    Swooping (Human-Bird Conflict)

    30/10/2026 | 23 mins.
    Come on... DIVE into the episode... Don't let it fly ya by!
    References:
    Champness, B. S., Fitzsimons, J. A., Kendal, D., & Palmer, G. C. (2023). Perceptions of birds by urban residents in an Australian regional city and implications for conservation. Birds, 4(3), 262-276.
    Gupta, S., Agrawal, A., & Saxena, K. (2022, December). Defense strategies in birds of Charadriidae family. In Proceedings of the Zoological Society (Vol. 75, No. 4, pp. 395-412). New Delhi: Springer India.
    Johnsson, R. D., Connelly, F., Lesku, J. A., & Roth, T. C. (2024). Australian magpies. Current Biology, 34(2), R41-R43.
    Lees, D., Sherman, C. D., Maguire, G. S., Dann, P., Cardilini, A. P., & Weston, M. A. (2013). Swooping in the suburbs; parental defence of an abundant aggressive urban bird against humans. Animals, 3(3), 754-766.
    Mo, M. (2024). Agonistic behaviour from Noisy Miners Manorina melanocephala toward Australian Magpies Gymnorhina tibicen swooping humans. South Australian Ornithologist, 47, 2.
    Mo, M., & Waterhouse, D. R. (2021). Variations in defensiveness of a nesting raptor based on the number of human observers near the nest. Ornithology Research, 29(2), 76-78.
    Van Vuuren, K., O’Keeffe, S., & Jones, D. N. (2016). “Vicious, Aggressive Bird Stalks Cyclist”: The Australian Magpie (Cracticus tibicen) in the News. Animals, 6(5), 29.
    Warne, R. M., Jones, D. N., & Astheimer, L. B. (2010). Attacks on humans by Australian Magpies (Cracticus tibicen): territoriality, brood-defence or testosterone?. Emu, 110(4), 332-338.
    Abstract access only:
    Flanagan, J. P., Moyes, M., Goodwin, T., Crock, C., & Campbell, T. G. (2024). Seventeen years of bird‐related eye injuries at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne, 2006–2022. Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology, 52(7), 783.
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    The Manumea (Tooth-billed Pigeon)

    27/09/2026 | 23 mins.
    Hear all about this close relative of the Dodo, managing to hold on in its little corner of the Pacific.

    References:
    Amaama, S. A., Schorch, P., & Sung, A. (2025). Sāmoan archival-museum entanglements,(re) activations of the Vā. Museum History Journal, 18(2), 179-195.
    Cardoso, G. C., & Price, T. D. (2010). Community convergence in bird song. Evolutionary Ecology, 24(2), 447-461.
    Gough, W. B., Hudson, M. A., Young, H. G., Wood, J., Whitehead, H., & Turvey, S. T. (2024). Modelling habitat suitability for the Critically Endangered Manumea or Tooth-billed Pigeon Didunculus strigirostris using past and present baselines. Bird Conservation International, 34, e20.
    Jana, A., Uili, M., Atherton, J., O'Brien, M., Wood, J., & Brickson, L. (2025). An Automated Pipeline for Few-Shot Bird Call Classification: A Case Study with the Tooth-Billed Pigeon. arXiv preprint arXiv:2504.16276.
    Pratt, H. D., & Mittermeier, J. C. (2016). Notes on the natural history, taxonomy, and conservation of the endemic avifauna of the Samoan archipelago. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, 128(2), 217-241.
    Serra, G., Sherley, G., Failagi, S. A., Foliga, S. T., Uili, M., Enoka, F., & Suaesi, T. (2018). Traditional ecological knowledge of the Critically Endangered Tooth-billed Pigeon Didunculus strigirostris, endemic to Samoa. Bird Conservation International, 28(4), 620-642.
    Serra, G., Wood, G. R., Faiilagi, S. A., Foliga, S. T., Uili, M., & Enoka, F. (2020). Using Samoan traditional ecological knowledge to identify calls of the critically endangered endemic tooth-billed pigeon (Didunculus strigirostris). Pacific Conservation Biology, 27(3), 275-283.
    Shapiro, B., Sibthorpe, D., Rambaut, A., Austin, J., Wragg, G. M., Bininda-Emonds, O. R., ... & Cooper, A. (2002). Flight of the dodo. Science, 295(5560), 1683-1683.
    Jetz, W., Thomas, G. H., Joy, J. B., Redding, D. W., Hartmann, K., & Mooers, A. O. (2014). Global distribution and conservation of evolutionary distinctness in birds. Current biology, 24(9), 919-930.

    Abstract access only:
    Collar, N. J. (2015). Natural history and conservation biology of the tooth-billed pigeon (Didunculus strigirostris): a review. Pacific Conservation Biology, 21(3), 186-199.
    Steadman, D. W. (2006). An extinct species of tooth‐billed pigeon (Didunculus) from the Kingdom of Tonga, and the concept of endemism in insular landbirds. Journal of Zoology, 268(3), 233-241.
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  • blurbs

    Birding In Samoa

    30/08/2026 | 25 mins.
    From endemics to beach chickens... Hear all about my cycling and birding trip around Upolu, Samoa! (I think I'm a converted cyclo-birder now!).
    Follow me on instagram: matt.rossella
    Support blurbs through the support the show link!
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  • blurbs

    Instinct In Birds

    26/07/2026 | 23 mins.
    Will you like this episode? Listen to your instincts! (and then check it out to see if you were right!). 

    References:
    Bird, A. (2024). Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance: A critical perspective. Frontiers in epigenetics and epigenomics, 2, 1434253.
    Blumberg, M. S. (2017). Development evolving: the origins and meanings of instinct. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 8(1-2), e1371.
    Conway, P. B. Plasticity of instinct: Interactions of the memory engram with innate behaviour.
    Guerrero-Bosagna, C., Morisson, M., Liaubet, L., Rodenburg, T. B., De Haas, E. N., Košťál, Ľ., & Pitel, F. (2018). Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in birds. Environmental Epigenetics, 4(2), dvy008.
    Helm, B., & Liedvogel, M. (2024). Avian migration clocks in a changing world. Journal of Comparative Physiology A, 210(4), 691-716.
    Kashetsky, T., Avgar, T., & Dukas, R. (2021). The cognitive ecology of animal movement: evidence from birds and mammals. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9, 724887.
    Leopold Jr, N. F. (1923). Reason and Instinct in Bird Migration. The Auk, 409-414.
    Levis, N. A., & Pfennig, D. W. (2016). Evaluating ‘plasticity-first’evolution in nature: key criteria and empirical approaches. Trends in ecology & evolution, 31(7), 563-574.
    Nieder, A., & Mooney, R. (2020). The neurobiology of innate, volitional and learned vocalizations in mammals and birds. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 375(1789), 20190054.
    Rajan, S., Lamers, K. P., Both, C., & Wheatcroft, D. (2024). Translocated wild birds are predisposed to learn songs of their ancestral population. Current Biology, 34(11), 2535-2540.
    Robinson, G. E., & Barron, A. B. (2017). Epigenetics and the evolution of instincts. Science, 356(6333), 26-27.
    Verhulst, E. C., Mateman, A. C., Zwier, M. V., Caro, S. P., Verhoeven, K. J., & Van Oers, K. (2016). Evidence from pyrosequencing indicates that natural variation in animal personality is associated with DRD 4 DNA methylation. Molecular ecology, 25(8), 1801-1811.
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  • blurbs

    The Kererū

    28/06/2026 | 22 mins.
    Lynchpin... glutton... wearer of stylish overalls... there are so many ways to describe the kererū! Come and hear all about this amazing bird.

    References:
    Cousins, R. A. (2010). Kereru (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae)-Impact injuries, morphometrics, moult and plumage (Doctoral dissertation, MSc-thesis, massey University, New Zealand).
    Carpenter, J. K., Walker, S., Monks, A., Innes, J., Binny, R. N., & Schlesselmann, A. K. V. (2021). Factors limiting kererū (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) populations across New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Ecology, 45(2), 1-15.
    Clout, M. N., & Robertson, H. A. (2021). Longevity records for Chatham Island pigeon (Hemiphaga chathamensis) and New Zealand pigeon (H. novaeseelandiae). Notornis, 68, 86-88.
    Goldberg, J., Trewick, S. A., & Powlesland, R. G. (2011). Population structure and biogeography of Hemiphaga pigeons (Aves: Columbidae) on islands in the New Zealand region. Journal of Biogeography, 38(2), 285-298.
    Mander, C. J., Hay, J. R., & Powlesland, R. (1998). Monitoring and management of kereru (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) (p. 44). Wellington,, New Zealand: Department of Conservation.

    Website used for research:
    https://www.chathamrestorationtrust.org.nz/resources/blog-and-news/spotlight-parea/
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About blurbs
Hi, I'm Matt, a bird enthusiast from New Zealand! So, not surprisingly, this is a podcast about birds! Learning about our avian friends has reconnected me with wonder, passion and an excitement for life, and I want to pass that experience on through the podcast.Follow me/message me on Instagram: matt.rossellaSupport the podcast on Patreon: patreon.com/blurbs439A big thank you has to go out to Ivan Phillipsen from the Science of Birds podcast for sparking this.
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