WEBVTT - Creature Classic: Broods, Birds, and Mushroom Butts! 0:00:06.760 --> 0:00:10.400 Welcome to Creature Future production of iHeartRadio. I'm your host 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:14.960 of Many Parasites, Katie Golden. I studied psychology and evolutionary biology, 0:00:15.000 --> 0:00:18.279 and today on the show you Yes, you can be 0:00:18.320 --> 0:00:22.360 a citizen scientist this spring and summer. There are things 0:00:22.400 --> 0:00:25.760 to look out for in your own backyards. I am 0:00:25.800 --> 0:00:29.200 talking about special events that are current, that are happening 0:00:29.280 --> 0:00:32.320 now or in a few weeks, that you can keep 0:00:32.400 --> 0:00:35.839 alert to in your backyard. Well, if you live in 0:00:35.960 --> 0:00:40.400 North America, in certain locations, but in general, you can 0:00:40.440 --> 0:00:44.120 be a citizen scientist. That means observing animals and then 0:00:44.200 --> 0:00:50.000 making reports to various research institutions, to things like eye naturalists, 0:00:50.280 --> 0:00:54.160 and this actually really helps researchers. So we are going 0:00:54.240 --> 0:00:57.320 to be talking about new birds. We're gonna be talking 0:00:57.360 --> 0:01:01.800 about incredible broods. We are going to talk about something 0:01:02.120 --> 0:01:04.960 that was discovered by citizen scientists that sounds like it 0:01:05.000 --> 0:01:09.679 came out of the horror game Slash TV show The 0:01:09.800 --> 0:01:14.399 Last of Us Discover This and more as we answered 0:01:14.400 --> 0:01:17.560 the age old question what is it a good time 0:01:17.720 --> 0:01:20.320 for your butt to be a fun guy? Joining me 0:01:20.400 --> 0:01:23.880 today is voice actress, host of the JV Club and 0:01:23.959 --> 0:01:27.640 a ton of other podcasts. Janet Varney welcome. 0:01:28.720 --> 0:01:31.120 Thank you so much. I wasn't sure if I was 0:01:31.160 --> 0:01:32.760 allowed to laugh when you said can you be a 0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:35.920 fun guy and win? And so last giggle. 0:01:36.240 --> 0:01:38.399 Laughter is not allowed, not permitted. 0:01:38.760 --> 0:01:42.280 This is a very serious, very serious I'm b reaching 0:01:42.280 --> 0:01:42.959 our contract. 0:01:43.120 --> 0:01:45.840 Yeah, it's a very serious science show. No laughter, no fun, 0:01:46.319 --> 0:01:53.480 everything's really dry. No, I'm so excited to have you suggested. 0:01:54.560 --> 0:01:57.320 I really liked your topic suggestion, which is talking about 0:01:57.360 --> 0:02:00.440 like the kinds of animals that you can find sort 0:02:00.440 --> 0:02:04.360 of in your own city, in your own backyard. And 0:02:04.520 --> 0:02:07.680 I really love this concept, and I love the way 0:02:07.760 --> 0:02:11.840 in which that people like you and me can engage 0:02:11.880 --> 0:02:15.200 in science. Because I am a science communicator. I'm not 0:02:15.240 --> 0:02:19.280 a scientist. I don't do research, but do I take 0:02:19.320 --> 0:02:23.840 photos of animals and then send them to a naturalist 0:02:24.080 --> 0:02:27.720 or to researchers who I know are looking for these photos. 0:02:27.720 --> 0:02:30.760 I don't send them randomly to people who don't know 0:02:30.800 --> 0:02:34.240 what's going on, but yes I do, and it's really fun, 0:02:35.000 --> 0:02:38.640 it's really exciting. Like once I snapped a photo of 0:02:38.800 --> 0:02:42.680 alligator lizards mating, so I sent it to Greg Pauley. 0:02:42.760 --> 0:02:48.680 He's a herpetologist at the the LA Natural History Museum, 0:02:48.960 --> 0:02:52.320 and you know, it's it's amazing. It's it's so cool 0:02:52.360 --> 0:02:55.000 to be able to interact with scientists and with science 0:02:55.040 --> 0:02:57.320 and research this way, and it's actually really helpful. 0:02:58.400 --> 0:03:01.919 Yeah, that's totally awesome. We have in our I live 0:03:02.000 --> 0:03:06.040 right near Griffith Park in Los Angeles, and there's like 0:03:06.120 --> 0:03:08.639 a ton of you know, kind of public facing stuff 0:03:08.639 --> 0:03:10.080 that you can do to get involved in. One of 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:12.520 the things that we do, not just in Griffith Park 0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:16.360 but in my own neighborhood is Raptor Watch, is you know, 0:03:16.880 --> 0:03:20.520 keeping your eyes on certain raptors' nests and reporting back. 0:03:21.200 --> 0:03:22.760 I'm gone a lot, so I haven't been able to 0:03:22.800 --> 0:03:24.200 sign up because the last thing I want to do 0:03:24.320 --> 0:03:27.560 is like not show up for something that wonderful and 0:03:27.600 --> 0:03:29.840 important raptor do. I don't want to fail raptor duty. 0:03:30.200 --> 0:03:34.000 But but you're right, the feeling of knowing that like 0:03:34.240 --> 0:03:37.480 you're engaging with your environment and you're even helping us 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:39.720 better understand our environment and respect it and all that 0:03:39.800 --> 0:03:41.440 kind of stuff is like the coolest. 0:03:42.040 --> 0:03:45.000 Well, so I have exciting news for you because this 0:03:45.040 --> 0:03:47.960 is something that is actually in your neck of the woods. 0:03:48.120 --> 0:03:53.960 This is a a new bird just dropped in southern California. 0:03:54.840 --> 0:03:55.760 They rapped a bird. 0:03:55.840 --> 0:03:59.760 They they released a new bird. Kind of literally, I'll 0:03:59.760 --> 0:04:03.240 ex plane. So there is a small bird called Swinhoe's 0:04:03.360 --> 0:04:06.720 White Eye. It is a little little guy. It's like 0:04:06.920 --> 0:04:11.000 smaller than a playing card. It's got this cute little 0:04:11.040 --> 0:04:15.520 tan belly, this chartreuse head, wings and butt, and then 0:04:15.640 --> 0:04:21.480 this beautiful, vague, glamorous white eyeliner. So it does it 0:04:21.560 --> 0:04:24.799 is these are cute little guys and they are killing 0:04:24.839 --> 0:04:25.880 it with that eyeliner. 0:04:27.040 --> 0:04:28.960 They really are. This is this is a this is 0:04:29.000 --> 0:04:32.600 a hot look. I love it. The use I did 0:04:32.600 --> 0:04:34.719 not really, you know, from just thinking about scale, from 0:04:34.720 --> 0:04:37.040 looking at the photo initially, I did not realize they 0:04:37.040 --> 0:04:39.800 were that tiny? Are they? They look sort of goldfinchy, 0:04:39.839 --> 0:04:41.000 but not is there? 0:04:41.160 --> 0:04:41.360 Yeah? 0:04:41.520 --> 0:04:43.880 Is that that? Maybe that's what I because we have 0:04:43.920 --> 0:04:47.240 with tons of goldfinches, so hopefully I won't mistake, uh, 0:04:47.400 --> 0:04:49.960 this little guy for a goldfinch and then not not 0:04:50.520 --> 0:04:51.960 appreciate how special it is. 0:04:52.200 --> 0:04:55.360 I mean it's that I think that greeny tinge and 0:04:55.400 --> 0:05:00.320 that white around the eye is yeah, yeah, yeah, I've 0:05:00.400 --> 0:05:03.560 tried before using white eyeliner. I did it, did not 0:05:03.600 --> 0:05:04.359 work for me. 0:05:04.800 --> 0:05:06.080 Oh me, neither. 0:05:06.440 --> 0:05:09.159 I think it's like, I mean, you know, I think 0:05:09.160 --> 0:05:12.920 both of our complexions are you know, easily washed out 0:05:13.040 --> 0:05:17.400 by say like hey, it's like I'm already very pale. 0:05:17.560 --> 0:05:20.039 If I add white eye learner to it, it doesn't work. 0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:23.320 But if our skin was shartruths like this, yeah, I 0:05:23.360 --> 0:05:24.800 think it would work. 0:05:25.600 --> 0:05:29.040 I've never wanted your true skin more or at all, No, 0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:32.599 I do, so, Yeah, I love this little critter. 0:05:32.720 --> 0:05:35.159 They're very, very pretty, and if you are a bird 0:05:35.200 --> 0:05:39.279 watcher or backyard birder, or just general bird appreciator in 0:05:39.440 --> 0:05:45.200 southern California, you may spot them, especially in a tree 0:05:45.240 --> 0:05:50.000 that has flowers or berries. They often like to sip 0:05:50.120 --> 0:05:54.039 nectar or eat berries. Even like hummingbird feeders, if you 0:05:54.080 --> 0:05:55.839 have them, you might catch one of them sort of. 0:05:55.880 --> 0:05:57.240 That was my next question. 0:05:57.440 --> 0:06:01.600 Okay, And they don't have that really long beak that 0:06:01.640 --> 0:06:04.159 the hummingbird has, so they can't get quite as deep, 0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:07.440 but they still do have a bit of a beak, 0:06:07.480 --> 0:06:09.360 and it's a little curb so they can get in 0:06:09.400 --> 0:06:11.919 there a little bit, you can cut. It's interesting because 0:06:11.920 --> 0:06:15.120 you can see these nectivorous birds like this one that 0:06:15.600 --> 0:06:17.640 sip nectar, and you can see the beak it's like 0:06:17.880 --> 0:06:21.560 kind of long, a little bit pointy, but many stages 0:06:21.600 --> 0:06:25.280 away from the hummingbird. But you can see that like 0:06:25.360 --> 0:06:28.559 maybe evolutionary path of this bird could have been maybe 0:06:28.600 --> 0:06:31.880 similar to a hummingbird's ancestor, with a shorter beak but 0:06:31.960 --> 0:06:33.880 still zipping nectar. 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:38.240 Sure, and just because I don't want anyone to worry 0:06:38.240 --> 0:06:41.200 that you have an expert by any means in any 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:44.839 way on the show, I'm happy to represent the most 0:06:45.040 --> 0:06:50.920 rudimentary of enthusiasts. But so a bird like this, like 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:52.680 with a hummingbird, they don't don't they have like a 0:06:52.680 --> 0:06:55.640 little tongue that was also involved in the beak. But 0:06:55.720 --> 0:06:59.400 this with this little character, is he or she uh 0:06:59.600 --> 0:07:02.320 sip with like is a tongue in play or is 0:07:02.400 --> 0:07:03.480 it mostly beak action? 0:07:03.640 --> 0:07:06.160 Okay, yes, yes, that tongue is going to help them sip. 0:07:06.200 --> 0:07:09.000 It's not not quite as long in fancy as the hummingbird, 0:07:09.360 --> 0:07:12.480 but that narrow beak a little bit curved and then 0:07:12.640 --> 0:07:14.440 a little bit of tongue action is going to help 0:07:14.480 --> 0:07:19.720 them draw up nectar into their beak. Cool and so, 0:07:19.880 --> 0:07:23.440 but they're unlike hummingbirds, they can also they can diversify, 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:26.120 so they can eat berries, which you know, can open 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:29.400 and close their mouth pretty easily and snap up a berry. 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:32.640 And so yeah, if you have like a lot of 0:07:32.680 --> 0:07:36.520 like flowering lush plants in your area, you may spot 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:40.640 one of these. But here's the catch. They are not 0:07:40.760 --> 0:07:44.280 really supposed to be in southern California. They are from 0:07:44.480 --> 0:07:50.040 East and Southeast Asia, completely across the world. So Janet, 0:07:50.120 --> 0:07:52.600 I want you to guess how they might have gotten 0:07:52.960 --> 0:07:55.600 to southern California. 0:07:55.760 --> 0:08:04.680 Well, I'm gonna say, not, Migraine, I'm gonna say brought 0:08:04.840 --> 0:08:10.240 over to ce commercially, perhaps like seeing that there was 0:08:10.280 --> 0:08:14.200 some incentive there. It's harder for me to imagine somehow 0:08:14.280 --> 0:08:17.360 these ending up on like a cargo ship just randomly 0:08:17.400 --> 0:08:19.800 and like building a nest and hanging out there. So 0:08:20.120 --> 0:08:22.640 I guess that's my That will be my guess. That 0:08:22.720 --> 0:08:25.520 is absolutely correct, all right, these little guys. 0:08:25.640 --> 0:08:29.720 The thought that it's not exactly known, but the leading 0:08:29.800 --> 0:08:33.080 theory is that they escaped from the pet trade in 0:08:33.240 --> 0:08:38.800 Orange County, California. And so we actually have another bird, 0:08:38.880 --> 0:08:42.760 the Chevron parakeep, that also escaped the pet trade, and 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:47.439 you can see it all over southern California, but this 0:08:47.600 --> 0:08:52.200 one is much more recent, So this came around two 0:08:52.200 --> 0:08:56.760 thousand and six, and they've been in southern California since 0:08:57.280 --> 0:09:01.640 and six. But recently they're population seems to have a 0:09:01.640 --> 0:09:06.520 big boom. There's been many more reported sightings. It seems 0:09:06.520 --> 0:09:11.640 like they are finding their niche and reproducing quite a bit. 0:09:12.880 --> 0:09:16.400 So there's always like, so they are an invasive species, 0:09:16.480 --> 0:09:20.880 but invasive species can range in terms of how bad 0:09:20.920 --> 0:09:23.480 they are right in terms of like how much they 0:09:23.679 --> 0:09:28.559 impact local flora fauna, how they impact the plants, how 0:09:28.559 --> 0:09:33.680 they impact other birds, other animals, because like they can 0:09:33.760 --> 0:09:38.280 either directly, you know, safe overfeed on berries or overfeed 0:09:38.320 --> 0:09:42.280 on plants and then cause damage to native plants, or 0:09:42.320 --> 0:09:47.080 they can out compete native birds or other or insects 0:09:47.160 --> 0:09:49.440 or something. So there are a lot of factors in 0:09:49.520 --> 0:09:52.240 terms of how they could have an effect, but so 0:09:52.400 --> 0:09:55.360 far we don't actually know if they are having a 0:09:55.400 --> 0:10:00.920 negative effect on the local native plants and animals. 0:10:01.880 --> 0:10:04.480 So they are like a kind of the opposite end 0:10:04.480 --> 0:10:07.400 of the known spectrum at this time than say the 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:10.599 feral cat in Australia, which I was just reading about 0:10:10.800 --> 0:10:12.720 and feeling very bad for the Bilby's. 0:10:13.040 --> 0:10:14.839 Yeah, the Bilby's. 0:10:15.880 --> 0:10:19.920 So cute in the side, but boy, oh boy, are 0:10:19.960 --> 0:10:20.440 they cute. 0:10:20.679 --> 0:10:24.080 I judge an animal in terms of their cuteness mostly 0:10:24.120 --> 0:10:27.439 by the nose. The snoop is a very important factor 0:10:27.520 --> 0:10:28.319 in the cuteness. 0:10:28.480 --> 0:10:31.199 I would say, ears and snoop, and this one has 0:10:31.240 --> 0:10:33.880 both very adorable ears, very durable snoop. 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:36.280 They did, you see the whole thing of like they 0:10:36.360 --> 0:10:40.240 do the Bilby the Easter Bilby instead of the Easter 0:10:40.280 --> 0:10:45.199 Bunny because no. Yeah, so rabbits are also invasive, also 0:10:45.280 --> 0:10:48.600 bad for Bilby's and other animals, not because of predation, 0:10:49.320 --> 0:10:52.560 but because they are competing with them, right and so, 0:10:52.840 --> 0:10:56.320 and they're bad for the local vegetation and so there 0:10:56.520 --> 0:10:59.520 they are, just as they're at war with feral cats, 0:10:59.520 --> 0:11:03.320 there at war with feral rabbits and so sort of 0:11:03.360 --> 0:11:05.560 as a branding thing of like, hey, we don't actually 0:11:05.559 --> 0:11:09.679 want rabbits here, they did the whole Like Easter Bilby get. 0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:11.280 A giant build, so doing that here. 0:11:11.559 --> 0:11:16.840 I love that you can get a chocolate Easter Bilby. 0:11:16.960 --> 0:11:20.559 I don't know how expensive the shipping would be from Australia, 0:11:20.720 --> 0:11:24.480 but you know, probably a lot worth it. But yeah, 0:11:24.520 --> 0:11:30.160 so so so far these little little white eyed birds, uh, 0:11:30.240 --> 0:11:33.400 it is unknown what impact they have and in fact 0:11:33.520 --> 0:11:37.120 it's unknown how big their population is. There's been more 0:11:37.200 --> 0:11:40.360 reports of sightings. It seems like their population is on 0:11:40.440 --> 0:11:44.400 the rise, but researchers need more data. So that is 0:11:45.200 --> 0:11:48.880 something that people can do from their backyards right or 0:11:49.160 --> 0:11:51.440 on your walk or whatever. If you see one of 0:11:51.480 --> 0:11:55.360 these birds and you can look up pictures of the 0:11:55.559 --> 0:11:59.319 swin Hoe white eye bird, and if you see one 0:11:59.320 --> 0:12:02.880 of these you can snap a photo or make a 0:12:02.920 --> 0:12:05.600 report of where you see it. You can go through 0:12:05.640 --> 0:12:10.280 like a naturalist is the main one. And so yeah, 0:12:10.320 --> 0:12:13.680 I mean there's an article called on the Brink of 0:12:13.720 --> 0:12:19.000 Explosion identifying the source and potential spread of introduced Zosterops 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:23.240 white eyes in North America. Also an article in The 0:12:23.520 --> 0:12:28.720 LAist by Jacob Margolis that has more information. But yeah, generally, 0:12:29.120 --> 0:12:32.600 just if you're if you're a bird enthusiast and you 0:12:32.640 --> 0:12:34.640 see one of these guys and you take a photo 0:12:35.160 --> 0:12:37.960 or observed just like where it is, where you saw it, 0:12:39.120 --> 0:12:41.600 you can you can actually add a data point to 0:12:42.000 --> 0:12:44.240 the research that is going on about the spread of 0:12:44.280 --> 0:12:45.000 these little guys. 0:12:46.040 --> 0:12:48.440 There it is I'm looking at it right now. Okay, 0:12:48.480 --> 0:12:53.040 so zaster ops that's that's it sounds like a disease spelling. 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:55.719 I know it's actually there is. 0:12:55.720 --> 0:12:59.760 His name is the full scientific name is Zosterops simplex, 0:12:59.800 --> 0:13:01.920 which which make it makes it sound like a mouth. 0:13:01.640 --> 0:13:04.560 Sounds like yeah it really does. Yeah, it really does. 0:13:05.080 --> 0:13:07.160 Zoster Ops white eyes. I have a really bad cases 0:13:07.160 --> 0:13:08.240 astro ops white eyes. No. 0:13:08.320 --> 0:13:09.720 I know, it's like, oh, I don't want to be 0:13:09.720 --> 0:13:11.959 around you. I don't want to catch your Zosterop white eyes. 0:13:13.280 --> 0:13:15.200 It's interesting too, because when you talk about, yeah, when 0:13:15.200 --> 0:13:18.640 you were talking about the population boom, but also that 0:13:18.679 --> 0:13:22.960 it if that's relative to getting more engagement from the public. 0:13:23.480 --> 0:13:25.680 You know, my first thought was like, gosh, how do 0:13:25.720 --> 0:13:27.800 you I guess you can look at overall the kind 0:13:27.840 --> 0:13:30.480 of data that you're getting in from the public to 0:13:30.559 --> 0:13:33.400 see if there's an increase in general and not just 0:13:33.400 --> 0:13:36.160 about these birds in particular, because that seems like such 0:13:36.200 --> 0:13:38.960 a challenge to go yeah, or people just seeing the more, Like, 0:13:39.000 --> 0:13:41.199 what are all the reasons that people are a seeing 0:13:41.200 --> 0:13:42.920 the more and b reporting the more and is it 0:13:42.960 --> 0:13:45.040 truly a population boomer is or something else going on 0:13:45.080 --> 0:13:46.960 that we have to isolate and identify. 0:13:46.720 --> 0:13:50.720 You are thinking exactly like a biologist, like a scientist, 0:13:50.880 --> 0:13:54.040 because that is that is one of the issues with 0:13:54.280 --> 0:13:57.440 things like this, because uh, if you get a like 0:13:57.480 --> 0:14:02.080 if you encourage more observations, you're gonna get more observations, 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:04.520 and then that might make it look like there's a 0:14:04.520 --> 0:14:07.280 big population boom, like people are more aware of it, 0:14:07.400 --> 0:14:10.720 so they're making observations. But there are ways to like 0:14:10.880 --> 0:14:14.520 kind of overcome that, right because you maybe you start 0:14:14.559 --> 0:14:16.520 the clock at the point at which it's like, well, 0:14:16.520 --> 0:14:19.320 we made had this awareness at this point, so then 0:14:19.360 --> 0:14:23.080 we look at the growth from that point onwards. You 0:14:23.160 --> 0:14:26.880 can also do things like, okay, we made this made 0:14:27.080 --> 0:14:29.960 you know, all of sort of California or something south 0:14:30.000 --> 0:14:34.359 southern California reads this newspaper or whatever and has this 0:14:34.360 --> 0:14:36.800 this thing, and then so they're all making these observations 0:14:37.200 --> 0:14:40.560 and then seeing if you see like a change right 0:14:40.680 --> 0:14:43.160 like in the observations, like maybe they start more in 0:14:43.200 --> 0:14:46.080 southern California. Do they move you know, to the north, 0:14:46.160 --> 0:14:49.200 do they move to the east? You know, So it's 0:14:49.520 --> 0:14:53.680 you're absolutely right, it's really important to separate out like, oh, 0:14:53.720 --> 0:14:55.760 we just have a bunch of new observations. Well is 0:14:55.760 --> 0:14:58.640 that because people are noticing it more sort of like 0:14:58.680 --> 0:15:01.400 how you know, we may suddenly get a bunch of 0:15:01.480 --> 0:15:05.600 diagnoses for say, like a disease that we've now become 0:15:05.600 --> 0:15:08.120 more aware of, and it's like, oh, everyone has this now. 0:15:08.120 --> 0:15:11.000 It's like, well, it's because now we're aware of it. 0:15:11.800 --> 0:15:14.280 Same thing with this bird. I'm so mean to this bird. 0:15:14.320 --> 0:15:17.200 I keep like comparing it to a disease. 0:15:19.280 --> 0:15:21.280 I mean, that's just what's going to happen if you're 0:15:21.280 --> 0:15:23.680 an invasive species. It's not these guys fault. But I 0:15:23.720 --> 0:15:28.600 will say side note. When I tucked this into Duc 0:15:28.640 --> 0:15:30.760 dug o and I looked up Zostrops white I you 0:15:30.840 --> 0:15:33.080 know how it gives you like a suggestion of what 0:15:33.120 --> 0:15:35.680 you might be looking for. It was very eager to 0:15:35.800 --> 0:15:40.080 fill in for me. Zostrops white eyes for sale. 0:15:40.440 --> 0:15:41.800 Oh wow, really. 0:15:41.520 --> 0:15:44.360 Seems telling, right, I mean, it thinks that that must 0:15:44.400 --> 0:15:47.680 be what I came onto a search engine for. Yeah, 0:15:47.720 --> 0:15:49.040 so I find that very interesting. 0:15:49.160 --> 0:15:52.280 This is one of the problems with the exotic pet trade. 0:15:52.760 --> 0:15:55.720 I am you know, I am a big fan of 0:15:55.720 --> 0:15:59.280 people keeping pets, and I understand that a lot of 0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:01.000 pets that we can pep are not going to be 0:16:01.240 --> 0:16:04.280 native to the region in which we live, and that's 0:16:04.280 --> 0:16:08.440 often not a problem, but it can often be a problem, 0:16:08.880 --> 0:16:12.000 especially for a pet that can easily escape, right, Like 0:16:12.400 --> 0:16:16.119 there are types of like snakes, birds, you know, rodents 0:16:16.160 --> 0:16:19.760 like these are pets that can fairly easily escape, and 0:16:20.280 --> 0:16:24.440 especially animals that have a high fecundity can reproduce fairly quickly. 0:16:25.320 --> 0:16:28.000 You know, that can be a big problem. So yeah, 0:16:28.040 --> 0:16:31.000 I mean, right now, it doesn't seem like maybe they're 0:16:31.000 --> 0:16:33.760 a problem, but it's also we don't there just hasn't 0:16:33.760 --> 0:16:36.720 been a lot of research, so there could be problems 0:16:36.720 --> 0:16:39.360 that this adorable little bird causes. I mean, it's not 0:16:39.600 --> 0:16:42.120 so c it's so cute. It's not its fault, right, Like, 0:16:42.320 --> 0:16:45.280 they are adorable. They did they didn't choose to be 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:47.400 sold in the pet trade, and you know, they're just 0:16:47.440 --> 0:16:49.600 trying to make it work. But yeah, when we I mean, 0:16:49.640 --> 0:16:51.240 I think it's funny because like when we think of 0:16:51.240 --> 0:16:54.240 invasive species, we think of something menacing and you know, 0:16:54.720 --> 0:17:00.800 like the pythons in Florida, But really it's it can 0:17:00.840 --> 0:17:04.439 be an adorable little bunny rabbit in Australia or an 0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:08.440 adorable bird. But yeah, so far we don't know, because, 0:17:08.480 --> 0:17:12.840 like I think, the Chevron parakeets are relatively benign in 0:17:13.000 --> 0:17:17.600 southern California. Yeah, so hopefully this bird will be benign 0:17:17.640 --> 0:17:21.720 and it'll just be another cute little bird to see. 0:17:21.920 --> 0:17:27.040 But for instance, in Hawaii, a similar species, a bird 0:17:27.119 --> 0:17:31.199 not exactly this one, but a similar species, has reapedtavoc 0:17:31.240 --> 0:17:36.199 there because it out competes from the native birds, and 0:17:36.560 --> 0:17:39.320 you know, it can cause these these native birds to 0:17:39.440 --> 0:17:42.680 become endangered, and it's you know, can be really bad. 0:17:43.920 --> 0:17:47.920 Well, the smaller the ecosystem and the more like you know, 0:17:48.720 --> 0:17:53.199 island bound or whatever, I'm sure the higher the chances 0:17:53.240 --> 0:17:55.720 are that something kind of severe could happen. I mean, 0:17:55.760 --> 0:17:59.560 it's interesting. I'm like wondering if these guys build their nests, 0:18:00.200 --> 0:18:03.159 you know, in the same kind of safe areas that 0:18:03.240 --> 0:18:06.040 like a goldfinch would, because you also wonder, like could 0:18:06.119 --> 0:18:10.359 a predatory species adapt to I mean, listen, I'm not 0:18:10.440 --> 0:18:14.800 excited about you know, apex predators eating these little birds 0:18:14.840 --> 0:18:17.639 eggs or eating these little birds, but I also wonder, 0:18:17.720 --> 0:18:22.080 because there are so many predators in southern California, if 0:18:22.200 --> 0:18:25.240 you know, there could be some sort of like accidental 0:18:25.280 --> 0:18:28.880 population control that happens just as those predatory species adapt 0:18:28.960 --> 0:18:32.840 to having the availability of these little qts that I 0:18:32.880 --> 0:18:35.080 don't want anyone to eat, but you know, got to 0:18:35.160 --> 0:18:37.840 keep the system going over, I mean, I keep it say. 0:18:38.520 --> 0:18:41.159 Uh. The general rule is that the more similar the 0:18:41.160 --> 0:18:44.680 species behavior is to the other native species, then yeah, 0:18:44.720 --> 0:18:46.600 the predators are just gonna be like another thing on 0:18:46.640 --> 0:18:50.000 the menu. Great if it has special adaptations, which I don't. 0:18:50.359 --> 0:18:53.320 I don't know of any special adaptations that this bird 0:18:53.359 --> 0:18:58.040 has that would be particularly effective against snakes and other 0:18:58.080 --> 0:19:01.919 predators in southern California, So I think I think it 0:19:02.000 --> 0:19:04.040 will just be on the menu with the other birds, 0:19:04.119 --> 0:19:08.720 but maybe not. You know. It's another thing is that 0:19:08.920 --> 0:19:11.960 it is in an environment that is very different from 0:19:12.200 --> 0:19:15.480 its original home in East and Southeast Asia, where it's 0:19:15.560 --> 0:19:18.919 very very lush. This sort of kind of semi tropical 0:19:19.840 --> 0:19:23.439 area California, Southern California is a desert. But the reason 0:19:23.480 --> 0:19:27.200 it's able to thrive here is because human beings don't 0:19:27.240 --> 0:19:31.760 necessarily want to live without flowers and cool plants, and 0:19:31.800 --> 0:19:34.600 so we plant things that are not native that have 0:19:34.760 --> 0:19:41.840 lush flowering fruits and or lush flowers and fruits and berries, 0:19:41.840 --> 0:19:45.239 and so then these birds will join us in the 0:19:45.280 --> 0:19:50.879 suburbs and urban areas and basically exploit the setup that 0:19:50.960 --> 0:19:54.399 we have created. This like fake lushness in what is 0:19:54.440 --> 0:19:55.240 a desert. 0:19:56.040 --> 0:20:00.840 Yeah, well, I feel like we've I mean, I'm I 0:20:01.160 --> 0:20:06.560 feel good yet nervous about these these little Zostrup simplexes. 0:20:07.440 --> 0:20:09.320 I'm gonna keep my eyes peeled. I got to tell you, 0:20:09.359 --> 0:20:15.119 I'm looking at the picture right underneath, very different kind 0:20:15.119 --> 0:20:20.160 of a look from this other winged creature. I'm trying 0:20:20.160 --> 0:20:24.719 to I mean, it's beautiful and a little un suddenly 0:20:24.800 --> 0:20:27.159 little creepy. We are, well, maybe a little creepy. 0:20:27.200 --> 0:20:29.720 We're going to take a quick break and then we 0:20:29.760 --> 0:20:33.040 are going to talk about this mystery winged creature that 0:20:33.160 --> 0:20:36.200 has Janet unsure how to feel. 0:20:38.280 --> 0:20:38.680 Perfect. 0:20:39.440 --> 0:20:42.199 All right, so we are back, and Janet, you have 0:20:42.320 --> 0:20:47.480 spotted our next little member of the mystery crew of 0:20:47.640 --> 0:20:50.240 creatures that people should keep an eye out for. And 0:20:50.400 --> 0:20:52.560 what are you looking at here? How would you describe 0:20:52.560 --> 0:20:55.520 this interesting little guy? 0:20:55.600 --> 0:20:58.879 Okay, where do I start? First of all, I don't know, 0:20:59.000 --> 0:21:03.240 I mean, again, not a biologists, uh, not a zoologist, 0:21:03.520 --> 0:21:06.480 not a I mean, I just so I'm really trying 0:21:06.480 --> 0:21:11.199 to get creative here. I'm gonna say, the first thing 0:21:11.200 --> 0:21:14.640 that catches your eye about this, aside from this creature's eyes, 0:21:14.680 --> 0:21:16.960 which i'll talk about in just a second, is this 0:21:17.160 --> 0:21:22.920 really beautiful wing that is mostly transparent, but it has 0:21:24.280 --> 0:21:27.439 it's almost like I mean, it's almost like a piece 0:21:27.560 --> 0:21:30.200 like the top part of you know, if you look, 0:21:30.240 --> 0:21:32.720 I think about the a quarter of a butterfly wing. 0:21:32.760 --> 0:21:34.639 If you're sort of thinking about looking straight on at 0:21:34.680 --> 0:21:37.120 a butterfly, you imagine the upper left or the upper 0:21:37.160 --> 0:21:40.520 right piece of that. Imagine that that has more transparency 0:21:40.560 --> 0:21:43.160 like you would maybe imagine from a fly's wing or something. 0:21:43.400 --> 0:21:45.440 But it's very but it is very pretty. So there's 0:21:45.440 --> 0:21:47.119 some white and kind of I mean is there's some 0:21:47.400 --> 0:21:49.399 kind of gold or yellow coloration, looks like there's a 0:21:49.400 --> 0:21:52.040 little orange in there, lots of black, kind of like 0:21:52.160 --> 0:21:56.320 a black lining that creates these little segments of the uh, 0:21:56.560 --> 0:21:59.119 the wing. And then I want what I want you 0:21:59.160 --> 0:22:01.240 to do is then I want you to imagine that 0:22:01.280 --> 0:22:06.560 it's on a tiny catfish. Because it's a body, I 0:22:06.560 --> 0:22:08.280 can't see most of its body. I feel like I'm 0:22:08.280 --> 0:22:11.359 only looking at its sort of head and right past 0:22:11.400 --> 0:22:13.919 its head. But there's something sort of fish like about it. 0:22:13.960 --> 0:22:15.560 And then I want you to go ahead and just 0:22:15.600 --> 0:22:21.080 stick to bright large red orbs on for eyes, and 0:22:21.119 --> 0:22:26.919 then just throw on some little crab claws for uh, 0:22:27.080 --> 0:22:29.359 not claws, but the but the legs, crab legs, not 0:22:29.400 --> 0:22:32.800 their claws, but some little crab legs for it's it's uh, 0:22:32.880 --> 0:22:35.760 it's so so that it can land, get around and 0:22:36.480 --> 0:22:40.080 scuttle around on stuff. That's my that's my best attempt 0:22:40.119 --> 0:22:40.760 to describe this. 0:22:41.040 --> 0:22:45.560 How did I do you have painted a beautiful brain picture? Uh? 0:22:45.680 --> 0:22:48.720 This is the way I would describe it is like 0:22:48.840 --> 0:22:52.080 if you took a giant fly and mashed it together 0:22:52.240 --> 0:22:57.400 with like a grasshopper and then made it look surprised 0:22:57.920 --> 0:22:58.280