One of two wrentits drinking from a dripping pipe in Mission Trails, California. These are endemic to west coast scrubland, from Oregon south to Baja California, and are the only New World representative of the Parrotbills. They form lifelong pair bonds.

Hawks on wires: A dark rufous red-shouldered hawk (ssp. 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑠) seen in San Diego next to a ghostly pale individual (ssp. 𝑒𝑥𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑠) from South Florida

My first ever glaucous-winged gull (the gray wing tips are unusual for gulls) off Oceanside Municipal Pier, CA, where I also picked up and a distant black-vented shearwater feeding frenzy, and a $58 fine for parking facing the wrong way

[New Paper] is on the COVER of Science Magazine !! The FIRST genome-phylogeny of MOLLUSCS complete with ALL classes —including the mythical "living fossil" Monoplacophora— reveals how they evolved the most diverse body forms of all animals! Read for FREE: doi.org/10.1126/scienc…

One of a good few pine warblers around turtle pond this morning. Great to be back birding the park #birdcp

A palm warbler picking insects off the wall at Belvedere Castle this morning #birdcp

And hermit thrushes have arrived in large numbers since Thursday - see the colour contrast between the back & tail #birdcp

My closest look yet at a pine warbler #birdcpp

Magpie & mule deer in Yellowstone National Park

Four thrush species going through the Ramble today. The veery (honey-toned), Swainson's thrush (buffy faced), hermit thrush (tail redder than than back) & wood thrush (reddest and most spotted). These birds produce the most beautiful songs #birdcpp

An American badger seen scrabbling in the dirt in Yellowstone National Park. These feed on rodents that they dig out of the ground, and are the out-group to all other mustelids.

An olive-sided flycatcher perched on a dead in the Ramble this morning #birdcp

We are pleased to announce a new fellowship opportunity for graduate students in #ecology and #evolution! Deadline is 7/31/2025: simonsfoundation.org/2025/06/02/sim… #science

Central Park is full of active Robin's nests at the moment. This one is at eye-level on the North side of the Pool #birdcpp

These two mourning geckos looked like they were mating outside my hotel room in Gamboa, Panama. They are both female. The mourning gecko is an all female species that engages in pseudo-copulation to stimulate egg laying. Not sure I’ve knowingly seen female-female mounting before.

Calling IUSSI members! Add your lab group to our global map of social insect research groups on the new IUSSI website: socialinsects.org Int Union for the Study of Social Insects - NAS IUSSI_NWES Insectes Sociaux IUSSI SecBras EuroIUSSI 2024 #IUSSI

Public access to the first fly connectome that spans the full central nervous system!: codex.flywire.ai/?dataset=banc Different from prior connectomes - it has the brain + cord (think spinal cord) We use it to ‘embody’ the CNS. Full thread here: bsky.app/profile/darbly…