The Institute for Bird Populations

Graphic with a photo of a Hairy Woodpecker by Tom Murray, and a row of photos along the bottom of a Nuttall's Woodpecker by PE Hart, a Downy Woodpecker by Tom Murray and a Ladder-backed Woodpecker by Mick Thompson. Text on graphic says: "Of the 3 woodpecker species in the bottom row, the TWO most closely related to the Hairy Woodpecker are (blank) and (blank).

🪶 We'll post the answer in 24 hours.

Photo of an Anna's Hummingbird from behind by Frank D. Lospalluto. The bird is stretching its wings above its back and splaying its tail. Text on the photo says: Don't forget to stretch.

🪶 Good advice from an Anna's Hummingbird.

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Photo of a group of smiling scientists (and one Wilson's Warbler.) Text on the graphic says: IBP scientists had a great time last week presenting at The Wildlife Society Western Section meeting in Monterey, CA

🪶Thanks for having us and putting on a great meeting TWS-West! ( @thewildlifesociety.bsky.social )

Digital portrait sketch of a male Resplendent Quetzal. He has a bright yellow beak, big black eye, and then a big fluffy spiky green and turquoise crest and beard of feathers in all directions around his head. On the breast, the colors turn toward blue, with a small patch of red near the wrist of the wing.

Little 1-hr Resplendent Quetzal portrait sketch, off @kulindadromeus.bsky.social 's dinosaur prompt list #DrawDinosDaily (link to list in reply)

Phew yay I will finally have time to do some of these!

🎨🪶 #BirdArt #SciArt

A pied peacock fanning its tail, standing centee inside the dark of an open garage door.

If a door gets left open here for any length of time it summons the elusive but impressive garage peacock.

Photo of a Tufted Titmouse at a feeder by Rob Kleine

🪶 The answer to this week's #BitOBird quiz is....Tufted Titmouse! Congrats to our winners
Gene Moseby and Dr. Dinnertime who tied! 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 with a photo of an Osprey by Andy Morffew with a graphic of a football in it's talons added. A smaller Burrowing Owl graphic with a football helmet on, musical notes and "Ba Da Ba, Ba Da Ba. Ba Da Ba, Ba Da Ba! BAA BAA Da DAAAH!" (NFL theme music). Text on the graphic says "Hope you have fun watching the Superb Owl! Sorry to our friends who are fans of the Patriots-but we're always going to root for the birds!"

🦉🏈 Have fun watching the Superb Owl!

Egg-cellent news! The first California condor eggs of the season have been laid at our wildlife conservation center, and more could be on the way.

If you can, be nice to yourself and go birding this weekend.

Photo by Sandy/Chuck Harris on Flickr of a female Hooded Oriole with orange pollen on her face.

🪶 Enjoy your snacks and have a great weekend!

Ancient bird routes mapped via plant diversity It's not what they intended to do or expected to find. They're not even all that interested in birds. When Andre Naranjo and his colleagues began work on a new study published in the Botanical Journal...

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Photo of a Bohemian Waxwing flying with a berry in its mouth by Sunny on Flickr. Text on the graphic says: Unsolicited Bird Fact- Bohemian Waxwings live up to their name. These fruit-loving birds go Unsolicited Bird Fact wherever the serviceberries, crabapples, mulberries, etc. are abundant. They travel in large flocks and do not defend territories during the breeding season. Bohemian Waxwings have a variety of vocalizations, but since some ornithologists distinguish songs from calls by song's function in territoriality, they argue that Bohemian Waxwings don't have a song. Thankfully Freddie Mercury wrote one for them. (We're kidding but it's fun to think of the waxwings singing it.)

Did you ask for a bird fact? No, but you're getting one whether you like it or not. 🪶

A diagram of a wing with molt characteristics labeled.

🪶Register in advance for this meeting:
us06web.zoom.us/.../...
We hope to see you there!

A diagram of a wing with molt characteristics labeled.

🪶The host, the Western Bird Banding Association (WBBA), asks that all participants donate $5 to the WBBA grant program using the link here www.paypal.com/ncp/p... THEN register for the webinar via the Zoom link in next post in this thread.(2/3)

Photo of a bird bander extending a bird's wing to examine feather age.

🪶Register for the A Wolfe-Ryder-Pyle (WRP) Workshop: practical applications for your banding data presented by IBP's MAPS Coordinator, Danielle Kaschube, on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 06:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada). Important registration info in thread (1/3)

Charley Harper, "Darwin's Finches", from "The Giant Golden Book of Biology", 1961

🪶 With help from from @tracyaviary.bsky.social and @longpointbirds.bsky.social we revived the MoSI International Internship this past fall.

Rough little mini digital illustration of a female-type Black-throated Blue Warbler perched on sort of a hovering disembodied branch segment. She is a soft turquoise blue, greener at the head and richer blue on the back and tail, with a thin pointy black beak, white eyering, white belly, and black legs. The white patch on the primaries is a key identifying mark for this species regardless of age or sex.

This little Black-throated Blue Warbler isn't gonna get used for her original intended purpose so here she is for Warbler Wednesday! 🎨🪶 #BirdArt #SciArt

Photo of a Canyon Wren singing by Loren Chipman. Text on graphic says: From Field To Findings: The Bioacoustics Pipeline Of AudioDash presented by Keke Ray

IBP scientists are presenting their research at The Wildlife Society's Western Chapter meeting in Monterey, CA this week. 🪶🐝. This thread is a list of their presentations. Check it out! 7/7

Photo of a Sierra meadow by IBP with inset of a Yellow Warbler by Rodney Campbell. Text on graphic says: Hydrologic Restoration And Overall Water Availability Are Key To Bird Conservation In Sierra Nevada Meadows presented by Helen Loffland

IBP scientists are presenting their research at The Wildlife Society's Western Chapter meeting in Monterey, CA this week. 🪶🐝. This thread is a list of their presentations. Check it out! 6/7

Photo of a Spotted Towhee singing by Mick Thompson. Text on graphic says: Passive Acoustic Data As Phenological Distributions: Uncovering Signals Of Temporal Ecology presented by Dr. Mary K Clapp

IBP scientists are presenting their research at The Wildlife Society's Western Chapter meeting in Monterey, CA this week. 🪶🐝. This thread is a list of their presentations. Check it out! 5/7

Photo of a Mountain Chickadee calling by David Mitchell. Text on graphic says: Introducing Audiodash: A Web-Based Tool For Organizing, Automatically Classifying, And Verifying Audio Recordings Of Wildlife presented by Jerry Cole

IBP scientists are presenting their research at The Wildlife Society's Western Chapter meeting in Monterey, CA this week. 🪶🐝. This thread is a list of their presentations. Check it out! 4/7

Photo of a Pacific Wren by Jacob McGinnis. Text on graphic says: Avian Response To Fire In Giant Sequoia Groves presented by Lee C Bryant

IBP scientists are presenting their research at The Wildlife Society's Western Chapter meeting in Monterey, CA this week. 🪶🐝. This thread is a list of their presentations. Check it out! 3/7

Photo of a bumble bee on a wildflower by Victoria Lazar. Text on graphic says: Bumble Bee Floral Preference In Mountain Meadows Of The Sierra Nevada, California, USA presented by Dr. Graham Montgomery

IBP scientists are presenting their research at The Wildlife Society's Western Chapter meeting in Monterey, CA this week. 🪶🐝. This thread is a list of their presentations. Check it out! 2/7

Photo of a Cassin's Finch by Frank D. Lospalluto and text that says: Avian Population Trends In Pacific Northwest National Parks Suggest Resilience To Recent Climate Change That Is Not Explained By Elevational Range Shifts presented by Dr. Chris Ray

IBP scientists are presenting their research at The Wildlife Society's Western Chapter meeting in Monterey, CA this week. 🪶🐝. This thread is a list of their presentations. Check it out! 1/7

Photo of a male Long-tailed Duck in non-breeding plumage by Fyn Kynd on Flickr.

🪶 The answer to this week's #BitOBird quiz is....Long-tailed Duck! It was a tie! Congrats winners @keyless.bsky.social and naomi ! 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 🪶

I'm sorry I forgot to post #BitOBird. I was trying to idenitfy the hawk I just saw.... Belated #BitOBird headed your way at 12pm ET/11am CT/10 am MT/9am PT!