Given the #BirdOfTheDay theme is #BirdButts, I figured this photorealistic illustration by @tommysiegel.bsky.social would fit the bill…

One generous serving of orange loaf. Still warm

Got this tasteful piece by @tommysiegel.bsky.social printed for the lab! Now just to find an appropriate spot for it… 🦉

Just in time for the holidays, I had a fun chat with @drscottataylor.bsky.social about splits and lumps… and some of the other controversies roiling avian taxonomy 🤓 🦉🧪 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/o...

New special issue in Molecular Ecology on Conservation Genomics #popGen #evolution 🧪🧬🖥️ onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/1365294x...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OF YOU!🎄✨

VRmivora: Birds, art, science and education! What more do you want? Also, don't enter into a staring contest with a golden-winged warbler—they will win! www.psu.edu/news/researc... 🦉🧪 cc @psubiodept.bsky.social

Objectively the best wren! More song ‘per gram of bird’ than a rooster—science fact ✔️

The Pacific Wren is a tiny forest undergrowth dweller of western North America. Until recently it was considered the same species as the Winter Wren and the Eurasian Wren, which explains why it looks so similar to the wrens I see in my neighbourhood 😁 #birdtober #birdart #wren #wrens #sciart 🪶

It's been a good few weeks for cool bird genomcis - incl this, on warblers sharing colour genes through hybridisation (with evidence of between-genus introgression journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

Note, we didn't end up getting -every- species. Most that we missed were recent splits. But also, sorry, Leucopeza fans.

Great explainer thread by @kevinfpbennett.bsky.social on our new warbler genomics paper! 🦉🧪

It turns out the Leiothlypis BCO2 spread to Setophaga and Cardellina via interbreeding, probably magnolia warbler with the ancestor of several extant Leiothlypis species. This BCO2 then spread among other species through hybridization. Vermivora separately shared its BCO2 with Kentucky warbler.

Introgression between species can shape #evolution. Study of the colorful American #warblers (Parulidae) by @kevinfpbennett.bsky.social @davetoews.bsky.social &co reveals intergeneric & interspecific introgression of genes related to carotenoid #plumage color @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/48MyfU2

Songbirds don’t just evolve alone 🐦 They swap color genes with related species! Hybrid warblers can pass along vivid plumage traits, revealing just how intertwined evolution really is. Brand new research from David Toews (seen here with a red-faced warbler):

BIG day for warbler genomes, with work led by @kevinfpbennett.bsky.social! Whole genomes nearly *every species* of warbler. Warblers the most "Pokémon" of the bird world? Well, they're also trading their coloration genes like valuable collectors cards ... www.psu.edu/news/eberly-... 🦉🧪

Difficult to believe, but this is *not a photograph*. It's a hyper-realistic illustration by @tommysiegel.bsky.social. He and Billy Libby are writing a song about *every bird species*, and asked me to judge whether their Butter But song was extremely accurate (or not). You be the judge... 🦉

You are ABSOLUTELY NOT going to regret listening to this bird:

Eating a mouthful of chocolate chips cures 98% of hiccups. Prove me wrong!

inaccurately-named birds, a helpful guide:

Check out our cover article by @timjanicke.bsky.social and colleagues about the role of sexual selection in animal speciation. academic.oup.com/evlett/artic.... The beautiful illustration is by Katharina Bóth.

Looking at long-read data is so calming compared to short reads.

maybe i am going insane

Check out our short warbler hybrid paper out today, including a new unofficial common name. Carotenoid people will find some little tidbits of discussion about how these hybrids can help us understand regulation of yellow feathers.

I am by no means a prominent public intellectual, but my inbox is increasingly filled with messages from people who have been convinced by sycophantic chatbots that they have discovered revolutionary theories that entirely upend our scientific understanding of the universe.

I mean, the title says it all: Genetic confirmation of an “uncommon mourningthroat” (Geothlypis philadelphia  ×  G. trichas): A rare but persistent hybrid warbler. Fun stuff with @kevinfpbennett.bsky.social and Kurt Gielow, OA in @wilsonornithsoc.bsky.social! 🦉 🧪 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Earlier today, I was notified that someone was at my door. This is who it was:

are you sick of generative AI slop? why not fight back by adorning your home with gorgeous birds that only an attentive birder could draw? www.tommysiegel.net

Going to be a big month for warbler science! First out of the gates is @lannhiphung.bsky.social, with song & genomics of Nashville warblers. Eastern and western subspecies: non-overlapping and super distinct. Keep an eye on your life list 😉 🦉🧪@journal-evo.bsky.social academic.oup.com/evolut/advan...

LAKE EFFECT?! AT THIS TIME OF YEAR, AT THIS TIME OF DAY, IN THIS PART OF THE COUNTRY, LOCALIZED ENTIRELY WITHIN CENTRAL PA!?

Super excited to release this virtual field / lab experience called "VRmivora": davetoews.com/vrmivora/ It's free to download via SideQuest for a Meta VR headset: sidequestvr.com/app/44760/vr... Thanks to all involved, especially the Center for Immersive Experiences: immersive.psu.edu 🦉🧪

Was literally just talking about this in my evolution class this morning. Very cool!

By law, fire alarms have to chirp between 2-5AM when they are low on batteries

Hell yes—nearly photorealistic! Go Jays!

What do you think of the latest podcast episode artwork? lol This week’s episode is about the Osprey… An absolute honor to have @thebirdist.bsky.social Nick Lund as the expert judge for this edition of Extremely Accurate Bird Songs! Join the ride — only 11,136 species to go! lnk.to/extremelyacc...

A big night for Trey Yesavage 🔥 The Blue Jays pitcher broke the rookie World Series record with 12 strikeouts.

If Coca-Cola wants to make a gagillion dollars off nostalgic millennials, they'd better recreate these spots for the Blue Jays asap www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQlv...

Vladimir Guerrero Jr now has 7 home runs this postseason, passing Joe Carter and Jose Bautista for most in the postseason in a career in Blue Jays history

I should’ve learned this by now but DO NOT use FedEx. The diseased monkeys I ordered haven’t arrived and I can’t get a straight answer on what happened to them

The Blue Jays score four big runs in the seventh at Dodgers Stadium. Still plenty of baseball to be played, but the Jays absolutely needed an inning like that. Now finish the job. Tie the series.

finally: a comic so niche that only birders will understand

The dark truth behind FormatMyPaper.com

Tis a good day

Wow! A paper on Wheatear plumage evolution in @science.org - unforeseen collision of interests here www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

My lab is hiring a 2-yr hummingbird evolution and genomics postdoc and a 1-yr salaried research and lab tech. Both with full U. Wyoming benefits. Please spread the word! Info below. Best consideration date Nov 1, start dates early Spring 2026.

I'm very excited to announce that UNC Biology has 6 faculty positions open this year! The first is for an Asst Professor who studies organismal resilience using an integrative approach 1/n unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/307...

I feel like this photo of masked, armed men pepper spraying a pastor protecting his community is going to be a defining picture of this moment in America for a long, long time.

Had the lab over last night. Tricked 'em—they made us dinner! Fresh pasta with smoked salmon 😋 @psubiodept.bsky.social

This ought to be engraved somewhere.