Episode 240 - Terror Birds

For most of the Cenozoic Era, South America was home to an incredible group of predatory birds called phorusrhacids, which included some of the largest carnivorous birds of all time. With their giant axe-like beaks and powerful clawed legs, these giants have gained the nickname “terror birds.” This episode, we explore what makes these birds unique, how they varied across their diversity, and what exactly they were doing with all those terrifying tools. In the news: a bitten plesiosaur, wildflower adaptation, a new croc, and dinosaur parents. Time markers: Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00 News: 00:06:25 Main discussion, Part 1: 00:51:30 Main discussion, Part 2: 01:29:30 Patron question: 02:30:05 Some helpful links mentioned in the Announcements: The Trevor Project: The National Immigrant Justice Center: Pal Humanity: Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more: Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here: Lots more ways to connect with us: The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

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Episode 240 - Terror Birds is an episode from The Common Descent Podcast by Common Descent.

This episode is 162:26 long.

This episode was published on Mar 29, 2026.

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