Hey there, friends, and welcome to episode 220 of Just the Zoo of Us. This week, I welcomed back

a previous guest from episode 93, all the way back in 2021, a wildlife biologist who brings his

experience birdwatching and working in nature to review some of our favorite mohawked chatterboxes,

belted kingfishers. We discuss topics including, but not

limited to the vicious mockery of birds who fish better than us, biomimicry in train engineering,

the truth behind Hollywood bird calls and lion roars, and stories from the field, including

spooky sounds in the forests of Borneo.

Just the Zoo of Us presents belted kingfishers with Alex Troutman.

Music Hey there, everybody. It's Ellen Weatherford with your favorite animal review podcast,

just the zoo of us. And this week, I'm so happy to be welcoming back an old friend from a couple of years ago.

Folks who have been listening for a long time may recognize Alex Troutman. Say hi, Alex. Hey, Ellen, thanks for having me back. It's so good to be back. I'm so

excited to hear your voice again. And Alex, what are your pronouns real quick? My pronouns are

he his. Thank you so much.

Folks who have listened for a long time, may remember the last time you joined us a couple years ago, you were with us to talk about Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles,

just the sweetest little babies of the sea that you did a lot of work with, with their hatchlings out on the coast.

We had a great time talking about those turtles.

This time we're shifting gears a little bit.

We're moving away from the ocean to talk about another love of yours, as I understand it,

some birds.

For our friends listening who are just now getting to know you, Alex, let's talk about you

a little bit. What got you into the work that you do with animals?

Yeah, so I got into the work of being a wildlife biologist and conservationist.

...