Decoder Ring: The Wrongest Bird in Movie History

Nov 7, 2024

Guest

Nathan Pieplow

Guest

Guin Dill

Guest

Forrest Wickman

Forrest Wickman, Slate's culture editor, dives into the cinematic blunder of a bird in *Charlie's Angels* that's left birders scratching their heads for years. Guin Dill, the animal trainer, shares the behind-the-scenes challenges of wrangling birds for film. Nathan Pieplow, a birding expert, helps unravel the mystery of the wrongly identified Pygmy Nuthatch. The discussion covers Hollywood's frequent inaccuracies, the cultural impact of this peculiar mistake, and the real joy of birdwatching in today's world.

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ANECDOTE

Incorrect Bird Identification in Charlie’s Angels

In Charlie's Angels (2000), a bird helps Bosley signal his location.
The bird is misidentified as a pygmy nuthatch, which doesn't live where indicated.

INSIGHT

Script Rewrites and Bird Inaccuracies

Screenwriter John August initially chose accurate birds for the scene.
Rewrites during production led to the inaccurate pygmy nuthatch.

ANECDOTE

Legal Restrictions on Using Native Birds

Animal trainer Gwyn Dill couldn't use native birds due to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
This law protects native birds from harm and capture, including for film.

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There is a prominent bird in the 2000 film Charlie’s Angels that makes absolutely no sense. This so-called Pygmy Nuthatch doesn’t look or sound like it should, or live where the characters say it does. The bird is so elaborately wrong that it has haunted the birding community, including Slate’s very own Forrest Wickman, for almost a quarter of a century. In this episode, Forrest embarks on a wild goose chase: Why can’t hundreds of filmmaking professionals with a $100 million budget accurately portray a single bird?

This episode was reported and written by Forrest Wickman. It was edited by Willa Paskin. It was produced by Max Freedman. Decoder Ring is produced by Willa Paskin, Evan Chung, Katie Shepherd, and Max Freedman with help from Sofie Kodner. Derek John is Executive Producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.

In this episode, you’ll hear from Charlie’s Angels screenwriters John August and Zak Penn, director McG, animal trainer Guin Dill, and sound editor Michael Benavente; and bird experts Nick Lund, Nathan Pieplow, and Drew Weber.

If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com

Want more Decoder Ring? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock exclusive bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the Decoder Ring show page. Or, visit slate.com/decoderplus to get access wherever you listen.

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