Brand new #research found that iron-containing cells in pigeons' livers may help them sense the Earth's magnetic field. #Nature is weird. 🤯 #Birds are amazing. 🐦 👇 Read the full story in my latest Beaks & Bones post. beaksandbones.substack.com/p/pigeon-mac... #scicomm #ornithology #pigeons 🧪🪶

Pigeons sense the Earth's magnetic field—with their livers

Superparamagnetic cells in their livers help homing pigeons navigate on cloudy days.

beaksandbones.substack.com

325 #kakapo! The chicks from this year's record breeding season are now juveniles and so have been added to the population. In 1995 there were just 51 kākāpō left. Recovery of critically endangered species _is_ possible with sustained effort. #kakapo2026 #conservation #parrots

The immense work required for feeding chicks can cause serious overheating in #birds. 🥵 Researchers explored the consequences for both the parents and their chicks. 🪶 👇️ Read more in my latest blog post for Beaks & Bones! beaksandbones.substack.com/p/keeping-cool 🧪 #science #ornithology #scicomm

Keeping cool helps birds raise bigger chicks

Blue tits that cope better with heat during parental care raise bigger chicks.

beaksandbones.substack.com

I'm a bit obsessed with #butterflies at the moment, going out every day to observe and photograph them. I found Red admirals to be surprisingly tame! 😍🦋😍 #naturephotography #butterfly #nature

With highly-pathogenic avian influenza now in NZ, we're taking steps to protect #kakapo and #takahe by vaccinating against the disease, following a successful trial. We're aiming for ~90 kākāpō and 100 takahē in an initial phase to protect the most valuable birds/sites. #conservation #birds

The Club-winged manakin produces a courtship song without even opening his beak. 🤯 Learn more in my latest article for Beaks & Bones! 👇️ beaksandbones.substack.com/p/singing-fe... Based on this original study: doi.org/10.1098/rsbl... 🪶🧪 #birds #ornithology #science #biology #scicomm #evolution

This bird sings with his feathers

Male Club-winged manakins evolved feathers for sound production—and became worse at flying in the process.

beaksandbones.substack.com

Meet the White bellbird—the world record holder for the loudest bird call! 🪶 Learn more in my latest post for Beaks & Bones: beaksandbones.substack.com/p/white-bell... Original study: www.cell.com/current-biol... #ornithology #birds #science 🧪 #scicomm #nature #biology

The world's loudest bird

With a sound level comparable to a jackhammer, White bellbird males scream their love songs right into females' ears.

beaksandbones.substack.com

🦋 Me, trying to photograph butterflies. 🦋 #butterfly #nature #photography #naturephotography #insectenzomer2026

Female #hummingbirds dress like males to escape aggressive behavior! 🤯 Read more in my latest blog post for Beaks & Bones: 🪶🧪 beaksandbones.substack.com/p/male-looki... Original study by @jjinsing.bsky.social et al.: doi.org/10.1016/j.cu... #birds #ornithology #science #scicomm

Why do some female hummingbirds look like males?

Male-like plumage helps female hummingbirds escape social harassment.

beaksandbones.substack.com

The final #kakapo chick (Pearl-4B) from this year's cohort has fledged the nest (defined as roosting outside the nest for the first time). There are 91 chicks alive. They won't be counted towards the population until they're 150 days old. 📸 Petrus Hedman #conservation #kakapo2026 #parrots #birds

This #bird doesn’t cope well with rival males singing better than he does. 😄 Read my latest blog post on the science behind the 'primo uomo' of songbirds! 🎶🐦🪶🎶 beaksandbones.substack.com/p/song-battles #birds #Ornithology #science #scicomm #beaksandbones

The song battles of the New Zealand Tūī

High-quality songs from rival males trigger aggressive responses during the breeding season.

beaksandbones.substack.com

🌈Happy Pride Month! Always an 🏳️‍🌈 Ally. Supporting all my friends and family in the LGBTQIA+ Communities today, this month and everyday of the year! I see you, I love you! 🏳️‍🌈❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤🤍🏳️‍🌈

Today is World Parrot Day! 🦜🦜🦜 The Vernal Hanging Parrot of Southeast Asia will spend parts of it sleeping upside down like a bat. 🦇 What's your favorite parrot fact? open.substack.com/pub/beaksand... #parrots #worldparrotday 🪶

The upside-down life of hanging parrots

How to defecate while hanging upside down without soiling your beautiful green plumage.

open.substack.com

Researchers successfully trained #pigeons to distinguish between paintings by #Monet and those by #Picasso. Read my new Beaks & Bones blog post for more details on Ig Nobel Prize-winning #research on one of the most underestimated #bird species: 🪶🧪 beaksandbones.substack.com/p/picasso-pi...

Pigeons can recognize a Picasso

Pigeons can learn to distinguish between paintings by different artists and from different art movements.

beaksandbones.substack.com

Atlantic puffins use sticks to scratch themselves! 🤯 Another fascinating science fact that made me love these #birds even more. 😍 Read more in the second part of my mini-series on Puffin science stories: beaksandbones.substack.com/p/puffin-tools 🪶🧪 #science #scicomm #BeaksAndBones #ornithology

Puffins use sticks to scratch an itch

Atlantic Puffins are the first seabirds observed using tools.

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My drawing of a Golden whistler for #BirdWhisperer. Ballpoint pen and colored pencil in #Moleskine notebook. 🪶 #Birdart #Sciart #Sketchbook

Calling all bird-loving artists! This month’s bird is a Golden Whistler. 💛 Draw! Paint! Sculpt! We hope you'll join us. Posting day is April 29th. Rules and Full Size Ref. Photo here: birdwhispererproject.com/participate/ #birds #art #BirdWhisperer

Did you know that #Puffin bills glow under UV light? Today it's World Puffin Day 🎉, which I'm celebrating with a two-part series about fascinating Puffin #science facts on my blog. 🪶🧪 Part 1: Photoluminescent Puffin beaks! beaksandbones.substack.com/p/beak-glow Subscribe here 👆 to not miss Part 2!

Puffin bills glow under UV light

During the breeding season, puffins develop photoluminescent structures on their bills.

beaksandbones.substack.com

In my latest blog post for Beaks & Bones, I cover research that showed how extreme climate events can affect the #evolution of #songbirds through a fascinating chain of events. 🪶🧪 Read the full story here: beaksandbones.substack.com/p/drought-in... #scicomm #ornithology #climatechange #research

This year's #kakapo breeding season has been the biggest on record: - 256 eggs (252 in 2019) - 148 fertile eggs (116 in 2019) - 105 eggs hatched (86 in 2019). It'll be 2+ months until we know how many chicks will fledge (73 in 2019). There are currently 95 alive. #conservation #kakapo2026 #birds

A Green jay for #BirdWhisperer. Drawing in pencil, digital coloration in #Krita. #birdart #sciart #illustration 🪶

Calling all bird-loving artists! This month’s bird is a Green Jay! 💚 Draw! Paint! Sculpt! We hope you'll join us. Posting day is March 25th. Rules and Full Size Ref. Photo here: birdwhispererproject.com/participate/ #birds #art #BirdWhisperer

A young Cooper's hawk from New Jersey learned to use queuing cars as a cover for surprise attacks on other birds. 🪶🦅 Read my latest blog post on this remarkable behavior here 👇 beaksandbones.substack.com/p/smart-hawk #science #scicomm #ornithology #birds

This young hawk uses cars as cover for surprise attacks

A city-wintering raptor learned to use traffic patterns for hunting—a sign of remarkable cognitive abilities.

beaksandbones.substack.com

Following the #kakapo breeding season and want more detail? Don't forget to check out the "Kākāpō Files" #podcast from Radio NZ with the wonderful Alison Ballance. #kakapo2026 #conservation #parrots #birds www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/kaka...

Kākāpō Files II podcast

Following the next breeding season of the world’s favourite parrot.

rnz.co.nz

The #kakapo chicks are coming thick and fast! We're now up to 10 hatched. Here are Tiwhiri-A1 and Tiwhiri-A2 receiving a health check at Yasmine's nest on Pukenui/Anchor Island. 📸: Lydia Uddstrom #kakapo2026 #conservation #birds #parrots

#kakapo breeding "fridge" update. Good news: 9 chicks hatched, and 123 fertile eggs in total - including all three 4 year old females having fertile clutches! Bad news: a few egg deaths in the last couple of days. Kākāpō breeding seasons are a roller-coaster! #kakapo2026 📸: Lydia Uddstrom

I took these photos today to remind myself that even in the most gloomy season of the year, there’s still warmth and beauty to be found in nature. 💚💛🧡 #winter #nature #photography #naturephotography

The second #kakapo chick of the #kakapo2026 breeding season hatched this morning: Hine Taumai-A1-2026 on Ako's nest on Te Kākahu. We transferred the egg from Anchor two nights ago. This is Ako's first-ever chick, which is just a few hours old in this video. #conservation #birds #parrots

They're hatching!!! 💚😍💚

Andrew Digby@digs.bsky.social · 7mo ago

The first #kakapo chick for four years hatched two days ago (on Valentine’s Day for those who like to anthropomorphise!). Here’s Tiwhiri-A1-2026 in Yasmine’s nest. 📸: Deidre Vercoe. www.doc.govt.nz/news/media-r... #kakapo2026 #conservation #parrots #birds

Let’s spread a nice bird fact in the Bluesky universe! 🪶 Illustration by Maja Mielke. Ballpoint pen on paper, colorized digitally in #Krita. #sciart #birdart #digitalillustration #illustration #natureart