The Mystery Of The Missing Martins In Skunk Bear's latest video, join the search for an enormous flock of missing songbirds, and learn some bizarre facts about Shakespeare and Doppler radar along the way.

The Mystery Of The Missing Martins

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The Mystery Of The Missing Martins 4:10

Science

The Mystery Of The Missing Martins

Listen · 4:10 4:10

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/368324785/370156346" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
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December 4, 20142:40 PM ET

Heard on All Things Considered

Adam Cole

NPR's Skunk Bear YouTube

When half a million songbirds didn't show up at their usual roosting spot this summer, I went looking for them. My search took me to the back roads of South Carolina, where I saw firsthand evidence of Shakespeare's influence on American ecology, met a society of strangely enthusiastic landlords, and learned a bizarre fact about the missing birds: They don't nest in nature anymore. They only breed in houses provided by humans.