Chris Sweeney

Moment Sir Elton John's pilot has to take action to avoid bird of prey Footage from the cockpit showed Sir Elton's pilot Duncan Gillespie having to take action as the plane was about to begin its ascent from the runway.

Elton John's private jet narrowly avoids bird strike in UK www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...

Amazon cargo plane makes emergency landing at CVG Airport after bird strike Emergency crews responded to the tarmac at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport after an Amazon cargo plane was forced to make an emergency landing.

An Amazon cargo plane made an emergency landing after striking a bird at ~3000 feet moments after taking off from Cincinnati. Cockpit filled with smoke but landed safely... www.wlwt.com/article/resp...

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A 1960 plane crash in Boston Harbor launched the career of the 'feather detective' and reshaped aviation safety.

How flying today is safer because of her: https://www.wcvb.com/article/boston-plane-crash-feather-detective-roxie-laybourne/69548249 

The cover of “The Feather Detective” book in front of a green wall.

Highly recommended read!

I’m biased since Roxie has always been a hero of mine. But I’ve got to say this book makes you a bigger Roxie fan no matter what you know of her. And whether you’re a #bird lover or not too. She was such an incredible person that overcame so much and accomplished so much.

🤯 Such a freaking honor to see The Feather Detective on this list alongside some terrific books from absolute giants who I’ve long admired. Crazy. Thank you @sciam.bsky.social !

So great and gratifying to The Feather Detective on this list. Thanks @npr.org —and everyone who has picked up a copy or asked their library to do so. What a year.

09-46: The Feather Detective with Chris Sweeney - American Birding Association

Had such a good time chatting with Nate Swick for the @aba.org podcast. Talked a bit about repoting the book and a lot about Roxie and how wild a ride she had. www.aba.org/09-46-the-fe...

As a Somerville resident, this is an incredibly amusing rabbit hole. And my god there are some A++ quotes in that Seattle PI piece.

Fascinating ABA podcast this week, reviewing the life of Roxie Laybourne, an amazing female scientist who “may be the most influential ornithologist you've never heard of”.
#Ornithology

KPL Podcast logo. Book cover of "The Feather Detective" and photo of author Chris Sweeney.

We were thrilled to have author @cbsweeney.bsky.social talk to us about his book "The Feather Detective" on the 300th episode of the KPL Podcast. Listen here: kplpodcast.buzzsprout.com/1278428/epis...

Incredible book, I don’t think I’ve ever read a biography so quickly, I couldn’t put it down! 🪶

If you’ve not read The Feather Detective yet, what are you waiting for? You too may be inspired to volunteer to skin #birds at your local #museum. It has murders, airplane crashes, and the bad ass that is Roxie Laybourne

Order here: bookshop.org/p/books/the-... #mystery #truecrime #wildlife

Hunter Rescued by Police After Sinking into ‘Quicksand’-Like Mud: ‘The More He Struggled, the Deeper He Became’ A man in Maine unexpectedly found himself stuck waist-deep in mud during a hunting excursion and had to be rescued, authorities said.

A duck hunter in Maine got stuck in mud and nearly died last week. This is exactly what happened to Roxie Laybourne when she was collecting specimens off NC coast circa 1930s. Must be terrifying. people.com/hunter-rescu...

Whoever put together the NYT list of most influential magazine covers entirely overlooked city mags.

The Feather Detective: How Roxie Laybourne Pioneered Forensic Ornithology You wouldn’t know it, looking at the tiny elderly woman in the white lab coat bent over a table in a halogen-lit government office, you wouldn’t know she had spent her youth doing scien…

The Feather Detective – how Roxie Laybourne pioneered forensic ornithology www.themarginalian.org/2025/09/30/r...

Dudes cracked me up

Jeez talk about serendipity, from @washingtonpost.com review of Bobbi Brown’s new memoir.

nypl book of the day

The Feather Detective

Chris Sweeney

The remarkable story of the world's first forensic ornithologist, Roxie Laybourne, who broke down barriers for women, solved murders, and investigated airplane crashes with only a microscope and a few fragments of feather.

What a good cover from @science.org

If you're a fan of interesting nonfiction, learn more about Chris Sweeney's The Feather Detective, about Roxie Laybourne and the field of forensic ornithology, from our recent conversation about it at @brooklinebooksmith.bsky.social www.c-span.org/program/book...

12 Books to Read: The Best Reviews of August How Iran’s revolution shook the world, Matisse’s quest for light, a new generation of tennis champions and more.

Awesome to see The Feather Detective on this @wsj.com
Best Book Reviews of August list. www.wsj.com/arts-culture... If you're into #birds #mystery #history and #truecrime, this is a book for you.

The cover includes a picture of Laybourne surrounded by cabinets of dead birds preserved in a museum. She is shown as an older woman in blue suit with a serious expression. The birds are all colors from bright yellows and greens to red and blue.

Cracking the code of the feather barbules was the most important task she'd ever been assigned, the success of which could possibly save lives and make air travel safer for everyone. @cbsweeney.bsky.social, The Feather Detective. Fabulous book about Roxie Laybourne! #SundaySentence #Booksky #birds

She was a quiet bird expert. Then she was called to investigate a murder in Maine. - The Boston Globe A mild-mannered scientist, a brutal murder in Maine, and the birth of forensic ornithology.

The Audience Award!

Congratulations to @cbsweeney.bsky.social! He won this week's audience award for "She Was a Quiet Bird Expert. Then She Was Called to Investigate a Murder in Maine." at @bostonglobe.com

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/23/m...

❤️❤️❤️

She was a quiet bird expert. Then she was called to investigate a murder in Maine. - The Boston Globe A mild-mannered scientist, a brutal murder in Maine, and the birth of forensic ornithology.

"Her findings helped successfully prosecute murderers, poachers, and even a former grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, who tarred and feathered a civil rights activist."

Chris Sweeney for @bostonglobe.com: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/23/m...

This is so cool. A full-page review in @science.org!

My father died last week. He spent 26 yrs in the NYPD and had *many* stories. Him being among the first responders to John Lennon’s murder was among my favorite. I’d somehow never seen this illustration before his passing.

the covers of two books: The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century, by Kirk Wallace Johnson, and The Feather Detective: Mystery, Mayhem, and the Magnificent Life of Roxie Laybourne, by Chris Sweeney

mortal enemies

reverse heist movie where a single snake has to chase all the priests back into ireland

So awesome to see The Feather Detective on this!