Photo of a Spotted Towhee looking back at camera over its shoulder by Jim and Robin on Flickr. Graphic pink sparkles have been added around the bird and text says #FeelingCute
🪶 A Towhee for your Tuesday.
They should be!
They're so cool!
Photo by Schizoform on Flickr of a Brown Thrasher glaring at the photographer. A speech bubble from the bird says: You want to try me? They don't call me "thrasher" for nothing. Text on graphic says Unsolicited Bird Fact: Brown Thrashers face a lot of nest predators so they defend their nest vigorously. They are known to chase and even strike potential predators- sometimes hard enough to draw blood. These mockingbird relatives have been observed going after snakes, cats, dogs and humans.
Did you ask for a bird fact? No, but you're getting one whether you like it or not. 🪶
Map of the contiguous United States showing the spring bloom index anomaly as of April 19, 2026 from the USA National Phenology Network. Many areas are earlier than normal.
Aside from Florida, nearly the entire contiguous U.S. has experienced earlier than average first plant blooms in 2026. Earlier springs can cause longer allergy seasons, accelerate wildfire risk, increase pests/mosquitoes, and lead to less reliable snow-fed water.
Map: www.usanpn.org/data/maps/sp...
Well done @skidarstudios.bsky.social !
Photo of a male Rufous Hummingbird perched on a bare twig by Frank D. Lospalluto.
🪶 The answer to this week's #BitOBird quiz is....Rufous Hummingbird! Congrats to our winner! Don't worry if you missed it this week, we'll post another quiz next Monday at 11am ET/10am CT/9am MT/8am PT.
The clue for the #BitOBird game: a close-up photo of a portion of a bird.
Here's the clue for this week's #BitOBird game! Can you ID this bird from just this little bit? (Note: we stick to North American birds, if not we’ll tell you.) 1st to reply w/ the correct answer gets bird nerd bragging rights. If you're stumped, we'll post the answer in 2 hrs 🪶
Graphic of two t-shirts, one with a bird wing diagram and another with a Great Gray Owl. Text says: Need a fresh tee?
🪶 Need a fresh tee for the warmer months? We've got some cool ones at our Bonfire shop. All proceeds support our work enabling science-based conservation of species and habitats by studying the abundance, demography, & ecology of birds & other wildlife. Shop here: www.bonfire.com/store/the-in...
Same, Grebe. Same.🪶
A northern flicker perched on the bow of a vessel
Never thought l'd take my best northern flicker photo ever offshore on the deck of a vessel! 🪶🌿 We've had some interesting bird visitors, mostly migrators likely enjoying a platform to rest on mid-journey. Highlights included a palm warbler, a savannah sparrow, and a ruby-crowned kinglet.
Photo of a Yellow Warbler in a spring willow tree by sunrise soup/Flickr.
🪶 The Yellow Warblers of Happiness are coming! As of last weekend they've reached southern OR, WY, the southern Great Lakes and Connecticut.
Classic photo of the rock band Kiss with bird heads added instead of the human band members. Bird members from left to right: Hairy Woodpecker (photo by Fyn Kynd), Black-throated Sparrow (photo by Doug Greenberg), Black-and-white Warbler (photo by Kenneth Cole Schneider) and Bridled Titmouse (photo by Carla Kishinami)
🪶 They've got the look down but can they really 🎶 "Rock And Roll All Nite" 🎸 ?
Close up photo of a black, white and orange bird in the leaves, head up, beak open, eyes wide as he calls loudly.
Me too, towhee friend. Hang in there
#birds 🌿
Graphic with two Red-eyed Vireo headshots. The bird on the left (photo by Andy Reago and Chrissy McClarren) has a brown eye and the bird on the right (photo by Kelly Colgan Azar) has a bright red eye. Text on the graphic says: Unsolicited Bird Fact: Notice something different between the 2 birds below? They are both Red-eyed Vireos, but the bird on the left's eye doesn't seem very red does it? It's not just the light. The bird on the left, which was photographed in late September, likely hatched earlier that same spring or summer. The bird on the right was photographed in mid-June. Red-eyed Vireos' eyes are brown to reddish brown until their first spring when they turn red, and even then they vary from crimson to brick red.
Did you ask for a bird fact? No, but you're getting one whether you like it or not. 🪶
Photo by Andy Reago and Chrissy McClarren of a Red-eyed Vireo with a brown eye perched in a tree.
🪶 The answer to this week's #BitOBird quiz is....Red-eyed Vireo (with a not very red eye-more on that in 5 min)! Nobody guessed it- this one was tricky! Check out our incoming Unsolicited Bird Fact post. Don't worry if you missed it, we'll post another quiz next Mon at 11am ET/10am CT/9am MT/8am PT
Digital illustration of a singing male Townsend's Warbler perched high at the very tip of a conifer. He is colored in bold yellow, black, and white, with his beak open in song, and stands out bright and colorful against the cool blue sky and the jagged slopes of the Rocky Mountains in the background.
I think we could all use some pleasant things in our lives right now. Check out the ongoing new season of @songbirding.com featuring birds of the Canadian Rockies! I illustrated this season's cover art with a singing male Townsend's Warbler. 🎨🪶 #SciArt #BirdArt
The clue for the #BitOBird game: a close-up photo of a portion of a bird.
(THIS ONE IS TRICKY) Here's the clue for this week's #BitOBird game! Can you ID this bird from just this little bit? (Note: we stick to North American birds, if not we’ll tell you.) 1st to reply w/ the correct answer gets bird nerd bragging rights. If you're stumped we'll post the answer in 2 hrs 🪶
Birders never stop birding
Book cover of The Correspondent, by Virginia Evan’s, showing two European robins
I get a kick out of how often North American publishers illustrate an article or book with a European robin when the relevant bird is an American robin (1/n)
Photo by Emily Carter of a Brown Thrasher splayed out in a dust patch. Text on graphic says: Hope you have a great weekend & that you get to do something that you enjoy as much as this Brown Thrasher is enjoying its dust bath.
🪶Hope you have a birdy weekend!
A Canada goose marches with determination through an intersection not even glancing at the STOP sign on the corner.
Can’t stop. Won’t stop.
#CobraChicken #birds
Photo of a Northern Parula looking fabulous in a crabapple tree by Ryan Mandelbaum. Text above photo says: "From Birding Magazine: THE DEVIL WEARS PARULA An "Old Guy" Bay Area Birder Dares to Enter the Youthful Mob-taping Scene"
🪶Looking for a lighthearted read? IBP Biologist Peter Pyle has a fun take birding's mobsters. Read it here: birdpop.org/docs/pubs/Py...
Photo by Wendy Miller of a Bullock's Oriole with one foot holding each of two side-by-side stalks of yellow flowers.
We figured we could all use some beautiful birds today. 🪶
Photo of a Steller's Jay at a feeder by marneejill/Flickr.
We figured we could all use some beautiful birds today. 🪶
Photo by Tony Sprezzatura of a Gray Catbird singing from a tree branch against a dappled light background.
We figured we could all use some beautiful birds today. 🪶
Photo by Kenneth Cole Schneider of 3 Black-necked Stilts wading in still water with almost perfect reflections.
We figured we could all use some beautiful birds today. 🪶
Perfect! That is one gutsy Gnatcatcher!
Awesome!
A black and white song bird with big white eyebrows from the Wikipedia page
Australian Willy Wagtails are not quite so small a bird but just as gutsy, swooping dogs like wannabe magpies (which are >8x their size). When the males are brawling with each other for territory they flare their white eyebrows - when one taps out he flattens his eyebrows down as small as possible.