This ought to be engraved somewhere.

Arthur Caplan, N.Y.U. Medicine QOTD: “The announcement on autism was the saddest display of a lack of evidence, rumors, recyling old myths, lousy advice, outright lies and dangerous advice I have ever witnessed by anyone in authority in the world claiming to know anything about science.”

NEW: Hours before a new entry ban is supposed to go into effect, the federal government officially acknowledges for the first time that the restrictions do NOT apply to people who currently have H-1B visas. Link: www.uscis.gov/sites/defaul...

The promotion and tenure celebration tradition at Penn State includes profs choosing an important book that has a deep, personal and professional meaning. I chose ‘The Beak of the Finch’ by Jonathan Weiner. Definitely check it out if you haven’t yet! @psubiodept.bsky.social

An Intergeneric Hybrid Between Historically Isolated Temperate and Tropical Jays Following Recent Range Expansion | doi.org/10.1002/ece3... | Ecology and Evolution | #ornithology 🪶

Nice interview to Katie Peichel @currentbiology.bsky.social I completely agree with her claims for more funding for curiosity-driven research, basic Science... Science. www.cell.com/current-biol...

NY Times confirms Trump's signature by comparing to several other public examples from the same time period. #EpsteinCoverup www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/u...

The GRFP lives!! (due end of October) www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

New Mexico has issued a public health order that removes federal restrictions to COVID-19 vaccine access so that pharmacies in New Mexico can vaccinate people of all ages and risk profiles. Every state need to do this!

Flashback Friday: Ruby-crowned kinglet, December 20th, 2022. Don't think I ever posted this one—and if I did, I had about 200 followers here at the time.

Well there you have it: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/u...

New academic year, new ecoevojobs site. Already >200 faculty / permanent jobs! ecoevojobs.net

Congrats to @stephszarmach.bsky.social on receiving your wizzarding robes this weekend from @psubiodept.bsky.social! Enjoy the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. They are very lucky to have you!

This is a fun vid from @climatetown.bsky.social youtu.be/r1bMJekCiBw?...

#AOS2025 don't miss @kevinfpbennett.bsky.social's talk at 11:15am on Wednesday in the Genomics 2 session (Ballroom C). We're cooking up some cool stuff with @mbtoomey.bsky.social on warbler carotenoid processing enzymes! 🦉🧪

Interested in how new sex chromosomes evolve in birds? Our NSF-funded collaborative work with the (Daven) Presgraves lab at @urochester.bsky.social is out this week in @pnas.org. Check it out! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

A Korean-born researcher and longtime U.S. legal permanent resident has spent the past week detained by immigration officials at the San Francisco International Airport without explanation and has been denied access to an attorney, according to his lawyer.

Does anyone know who first used the term "Manhattan Plot"? Wikipedia links to a 2010 paper by Greg Gibson. I haven't yet found an earlier use, but Greg's phrasing suggests that he did not invent the term. doi.org/10.1038/ng07...

Just a teeny tiny chanterelle…

Wonderful piece by Emmett Duffy. Science is a sacred obligation—and a team sport. It thrives on curiosity, humility, and the wisdom of crowds. Let’s keep exploring, questioning, and building a better world together. Let’s do this, people! doi.org/10.1093/ices...

LOL, @beyer.house.gov ftw

The NIH has terminated hundreds of diversity grants awarded to young researchers, many of whom come from the very places that supported Trump. “People on the right, they don’t realize they’re limiting the opportunity of their own kids by supporting this.” nyti.ms/4lMDXtN

A sweet black-throated green warbler (Setophaga virens) from this morning at Fullers Overlook 🦉(with a touch of bed head)

Researchers came from around the United States to showcase projects, ranging from modeling coastal hazards to teaching quantum information science, that were killed prematurely this spring by one of a half-dozen federal agencies. scim.ag/3Tv5iVC

Just the crispiest mask on this common yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) from this morning at Fullers Overlook 🦉🧪

A chestnut-sided warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica) from this morning at Fullers Overlook 😍🦉🧪

🇨🇦 Morning Laugh 🇨🇦

Caesars. Ketchup chips. Garlic fingers. Butter tarts. Happy Canada Day! 🇨🇦 ❤️

Congrats @stephszarmach.bsky.social ! www.miningjournal.net/news/local/2...

Probably one of the better bird rock podcasts out there ...

Watch: NSF staff protest the takeover of their building today by Gov. Youngkin and Trump's HUD, chanting "NSF! NSF!"

Another day testing the limits of resilience. The Alexandria NSF building was designed for the NSF merit review process (gold standard), complete with a floor devoted to panels. Now we aren’t allowed to have in person panels. The loss of US science leadership will haunt this country for decades.

The fact that universities operate on calendar years, academic years, and fiscal years, consistently makes my brain break in novel ways (each year) ..

Here’s an awkward red-faced warbler from this morning in New Mexico … to get eyeballs. The band on its leg was provided by the USGS Bird Banding Lab. It’s a thankless task, but they support permitting, band supply, data curation etc for TONS of researchers. They do such good, efficient work and … 🦉🧪

Virginia's warbler (Leiothlypis virginiae) from this morning, just for fun! 🦉🧪

Very smart, high ROI initiative from the Spencer Foundation. Providing bridge funding for canceled NSF grants: 1) directs funds to projects already screened by a top-noch review process. 2) avoids imposing proposal prep costs on researchers. 3) ameliorates the disruption from GOP sabotage.

First day in Arizona, first bird is a beauty (and a lifer!): the red-faced warbler (Cardellina rubrifrons). With @kevinfpbennett.bsky.social 🦉🧪

Double the trouble with these two blackburnian warblers (Setophaga fusca) from this morning! 🦉🧪

The elusive Toupee Warbler

The 2026 federal budget proposes eliminating the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area, threatening bird banding, research, and conservation nationwide, endangering 100+ years of vital ecological data. www.aba.org/proposed-bir...

Congrats to Dr. Steph Szarmach for an amazing defense today!! Awesome work!!

I will be defending my dissertation this Friday at 10am ET! If you are interested in watching the public seminar DM me for a link!

A thing you should know is that goats cheat at Jenga

Mockingbird’s Muses poster prints are here!!

Congrats to Dr. Dave Lutgen at U Bern for a damn fine dissertation defense today! Keep an eye out for some quality wheatear genomics in the near future, avec Reto Burri and Katie Peichel et al.

Congratulations to our 2025 Early-Career Research Award Winners! Our James G. Cooper Early Professional Award winners are Teresa Pegan, PhD and Valentina Gómez-Bahamón, PhD; our Ned K. Johnson Early Investigator Award winner is Maria Stager, PhD. americanornithology.org/aos-announce... #AOSAwards

Here is a nice mushroom

“The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas — hardly a partisan institution — finds that nondefense government R&D yields long-run economic returns of 150% to 300% …“Our findings therefore point to a misallocation of public capital, and substantial underinvestment in nondefense R&D.”

Nothing pairs better with red wine and lamb than getting tenure. Thanks @psubiodept.bsky.social (and all the colleagues, mentors and mentees along the way)!