📕 Part 1: Birds

This episode's vocabulary

Formation (noun) - the way something is naturally made or the way it has been arranged.

Pest (noun) - an insect or small animal that is harmful or damages crops.

Sparrow (noun) - a small, grey-brown bird that is especially common in towns.

Gamut (noun) - the whole range of things that can be included in something.

Raven (noun) - the largest bird in the crow family, with shiny black feathers.

Seagull (noun) - a bird that lives near the sea and has short legs, long wings, and white and grey feathers.

Environs (noun) - environment/surroundings.

Blue tit (noun) -  a small European bird with a blue head and wings and a yellow front.

Sanctuary (noun) - a place where birds or animals can live and be protected, especially from being hunted or dangerous conditions.

Suitability (noun) - the fact of being acceptable or right for something or someone.

Finches (noun) - any of various types of small singing bird with a short, wide, pointed beak.

Hawk (noun) - a type of large bird that catches small birds and animals for food.

Birdbath (noun) - a bowl filled with water for birds to drink and bathe (= cover themselves in water) in.

Lawn (noun) - an area of grass, especially near to a house or in a park, that is cut regularly to keep it short.

Pheasant (noun) - a large bird with a rounded body and long tail, that spends a lot of time on the ground and is often shot for sport and food, or the meat of this bird.

For one - used to say that you think your opinion or action is right, even if others do not.

Get off (phrasal verb) - to become excited by something.

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Questions and Answers

M: Do you like birds?

R: Yeah, they look nice when they migrate across the sky in formation, for example. And on a more practical level, they help control pests. Some of them are cute as well, like sparrows, not the pigeons, though. The pigeons on my balcony are not attractive.

M: What kind of birds do you like?

R: The full gamut, probably, but for different reasons. So, for example, sparrows are quite sweet, like I said. And then you have ravens and seagulls, which add a sense of atmosphere depending on where you are. And finally, large birds like owls and eagles, they're quite majestic and they form an important part of people's ideas about their surroundings and their culture. And they all help maintain biodiversity, which is essential for the ecosphere. Oh, and I like chickens because they are tasty.

M: Have you ever seen many kinds of birds?

R: In Moscow no, sadly, but in the environs, yes, actually I saw robins for the first time in ages in the forest and they were blue tits there. That was really pleasant to see. If we moved further afield then there are bird sanctuaries and birdwatch zones, where you can observe them from afar. We used to go there quite often, actually, when I lived in Scotland and when I was younger. But I haven't been to many recently, to be honest with you.

M: What birds are common in your country?

R: Well, in the city, pigeons due to their suitability for the location. And there's an abundance of things for them to eat and places for them to live. Seagulls and gulls live near the beach since that's I think that's been their home for like millions of years. And they're even more suited to it now that we keep leaving things for them to eat. So they become pests, actually. And in the countryside, there are finches and smaller birds of all description. Hawks aren't quite so common, but you do see them on fence posts from time to time when you're passing by in the car. So they're there. And that's logical because there needs to be some kind of predator in the area.

M: How do people in your country feel about birds?

R: Oh, I think we're very fond of them. Everybody goes through a birdwatching phase, I think. And it's easy enough to do when there are so many of them. And people have birdbaths, and bird tables, and bird houses in the trees, or on their lawns. So birds come and go and people can enjoy watching them do so, usually from the comfort of their own living room.

M: How do you feel about people hunting or shooting birds?

R: Well, I can see why it happens. It's part of our tourist industry. We had pheasant shooting in particular is a thing in the highlands, but it's not my thing. For one, I haven't fired a gun in about a decade and a half. At least I think so, and I don't think I ever will again. And I don't get off on killing things like certain people do. I don't think it's very entertaining. It's not a, it's not how I would spend my time.

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Discussion

M: Thank you, Rory, for your answers. I'm like a bird.

R: I only fly away.

M: Yeah, we do need this song on this broadcast, Nelly Furtado. I'm like a bird. So, dear listener, are you ready for this? We're gonna like expand your bird vocabulary, we'll go through the roof. OK, so birds, Rory, you do know quite a lot of bird names. OK.

R: Well, I just, because I said everybody goes through a bird watching phase, which is a great thing, like you could use this expression to talk about how well you could use this, to talk about how people feel about different points in their childhood. You go through a bird watching phase, you go through, I don't know, a reading phase, where you just focus all of your time on reading. That's quite fun.

M: You go through playing computer games, non-stop phase.

R: Some people still haven't gotten out of that phase, I think.

M: Yes. Or they are still in their playing computer games non-stop phase. So, birds, right. So when you talk about birds, you do need specific names for birds. So first of all, pigeons, pigeons hang out on Rory's balcony. Right. And they're up to something. So they are plotting against a Scottish Rory.

R: They're plotting against humanity. THat's what they're doing.

M: Give them some whiskey, Rory. Scottish whisky for Russian pigeons.

R: I'm not sure that would do any good. Well, it wouldn't do them any good. It would get rid of the bird problem.

M: So, dear listener, if you have no idea, what kind of birds are popular in your country. So pigeons, pigeons are universal. Birds, which are everywhere, pigeons. So you just should listen to this podcast while Googling things. So go to Google Images and then write pigeon. OK, then sparrows. Like those who watched Pirates of the Caribbean, Jack the Sparrow. Sparrow. This little-little thing, they are quite cute.

R: Yeah. Sparrows are tiny and fluffy. They're a nice. I like sparrows.

M: And then ravens

R: Yes. Ravens are medium, well, not medium size. I suppose they're slightly larger. Yeah, they are quite big. They're big blackbirds, basically. People usually use the phrase like they talk about ravens and blackbirds interchangeably, but actually they're not. They're very different things.

M: In the town of London, they have seven Ravens and if these Ravens fly away London will fall.

R: Is that what it says?

M: Yes

R: Who says that?

M: Well, it's a legend, Rory. Don't you know your own history?

R: No, I've been busy.

M: Doing this podcast. Anyway, ravens. Yes, Google ravens. They are beautiful. Then you go to the beach, you see who? Seagulls.

R: Seagulls. Not everybody likes seagulls now. People used to like them. They probably don't like them now.

M: Yeah, they're like pests nowadays. Pests like cockroaches, bugs. No, I love seagulls. They're cute.

R: Really? Wow. OK.

M: Yeah. I like feeding seagulls and scaring them away. I'm usually running on the beach like screaming and they fly away. I like this childish nonsense. Right. Owls. Do you remember Harry Potter? Harry Potter had an owl.

R: He did have an owl.

M: Yeah. Owls.

R: I'm not really sure that was a very, that would have pleased a lot of people who are trying to protect owls.

M: Hmm. Yeah, but it's a magical. Yes. And then Eagles, okay? And Eagle is a popular bird and Rory enjoys chickens. Yum yum yum. But not to watch but to eat. So he first eats dog and then he eats chickens.

R: Everybody enjoys eating chickens. There is a course book that I was using with a student once that talked about keeping pigeons, keeping chickens. And that was extremely entertaining because they're was just like, why didn't you just eat the chicken? Like, why could you not think of anything better to spend your time doing? And the answer is no.

M: No, just no.

R: It's quite common in Russia, though, people keep chickens.

M: Oh, yeah, people keep pigeons. These beautiful white pigeons.

R: Yeah, pigeons. You keep pigeons in, well, you keep chickens in a chicken coop. But what do you keep pigeons in?

M: In a cage?

R: You can keep anything in a cage. But like, what's the place where you keep pigeons?

M: Pigeon cage. How about that? A special pigeon cage.

R: Keep pigeons. You keep pigeons in loft. A loft.

M: Oh, right. But if it's outside, it's also a loft?

R: I think that's the name for the general thing.

M: Dear listener, it's very important for you to know where you keep pigeons, even if you don't keep your pigeons. It's a loft. It's like you use it every day. Oh, hello. How are you? Where do you keep your pigeons? In a loft.

R: You don't keep them in the loft in your house because that's like part of your home. And that would be really unhygienic.

M: Ok, thank you, Rory. Now we do know stuff. So band nine bird vocabulary. Are you ready? The full gamut. I actually have no idea what's the full gamut is. I'm going to now open google images and type this the full gamut and actually Rory used an article. The full gamut.

R: Yeah. That just means like the complete range of something. So instead of saying all things, all birds, then you say the full gamut.

M: Wait, gamut is not a bird?

R: No, it's a way of describing like the range of things.

M: I thought gamut is a bird. Oh, god. So unprofessional Maria.

R: Your poor grasp of English continues to disappoint me.

M: I know, I'm horrible. So the full gamut, yes. The full range of birds, of everything.

R: I like how you said that with like a massive smile on your face as well. Like, I'm a terrible person.

M: I am. I'm horrible. I am fine with it. I love myself as I am so it's OK. Yes. For example, like what kind of birds do you like? And you say the full gamut. Pretty much all birds, right?

R: Um, yeah. Like the full range of birds.

M: Mm hmm. My favorite bird is Bullfinch.

R: I don't know what that is,

M: Bullfinch, these beautiful bird with red belly. Oh, Bullfinch, beautiful bullfinch. Dear listener, you may have different birds from us. So go online and make sure that you know at least three specific names for the birds that you like or for the birds which are common in your country. OK? Rory did mention some band nine birds vocabulary, robins and hawks. They're kind of like less used. That's why they're more advanced.

R: I think a Robin is like a very specific species of finch, I suppose.

M: So birds migrate and they cross the sky in formation. This is pretty high score stuff. Formation like a group, right?

R: Well, no, a group could be like in any shape. A formation is a pattern that they're in. So whenever you see goose crossing the sky, you notice that they're in a V shape as they migrate south because one bird is in the lead. And if you look carefully, they're constantly changing place so that there's always there is always a bird in the lead, but it's not always the same bird because they get tired.

M: Nice. Birds are majestic, eagles are majestic, like magic.

R: Sorry, we talked about things being majestic before and that just means like having beauty, like impressive levels of beauty, for example.

M: Birds help us to maintain biodiversity.

R: Yes, biodiversity is how well, it's how diverse the biology is in a place. So if you have high biodiversity, then there are lots of different kinds of thing in a place, lots of different kinds of animals and plants in a place. And if you have low biodiversity, there are fewer kinds, very few. This is important because it means that if one species goes down from a virus or something like that, then there are still other species around to fill the void. But if you have low biodiversity, then that's a problem, because then if you take out one species that can destroy the food chain in an area.

M: Yeah, true. One of the popular activities in England is bird watching. So people go out there to watch the birds. So bird watching is actually a hobby and there are some bird sanctuaries and bird watch zones. So a bird sanctuary is just a place where birds are.

R: It's a place where birds are and where they're kept safe.

M: Right. You can say like I'm into bird watching, I'm not into bird watching. It's not my thing. And what did you mean when you said bird baths?

R: They're beautiful bowls of water essentially, outside your house and the birds go there and they take a bath in them.

M: Oh, wow, really?

R: You can see this in the street. Look in the spring, not in the winter, not in Russia, but you can see birds doing this in puddles, washing themselves.

M: Oh, that's very cute. When sparrows wash themselves in puddles. That's really cute. Wow. So you can have special bird baths in front of your house, der listener. Right. And about hunting birds or shooting birds. Rory sad that I don't get off killing things.

R: Yeah. So if you get off on something, it just means that you enjoy it a lot, possibly too much.

M: Yeah, so Rory doesn't enjoy firing a gun, to fire a gun and you can say like I don't get off killing birds or I don't get off on shooting birds.

R: Yes, but we do get off on helping people and hopefully we've helped you today with some of our band nine vocabulary. There must be a bird pun.

M: I'm like a bird, I want to fly away.

R: Yeah, hopefully the vocabulary here will not be like a bird and fly away.

M: It will stay in your head forever and ever.

R: Keep it in a cage or a loft.

M: Oh, thank you so much for listening and supporting us.

R: We'll see you next time.

M: Bye!

R: Bye!

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