There is a famous Swiss case from 1474 of a rooster that was put on trial for the unnatural crime of laying an egg. It is a silly story of human folly, as is so often the case. But this strange tale does lead to a deeper and more interesting point about avian gender, how it is radically different to mammals, and how in some rare cases a hen can maybe turn into a rooster. How is that possible? Tune in to find out and we even have a little surprise at the start of the show as well.To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on through to Patreon: www.patreon.com/birdoftheweekWant birds in your inbox? Drop me a line at [email protected] and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.Notes:Rooster burned at the stake: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-009-6331-3_13BBC story on gender flipping birds: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40016817 

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