The Institute for Bird Populations (@instbirdpop)

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· 23d

🪶 Hope your week is off to a great start and everyone is on their best behavior.

Photo, by Kevin Milazzo, of two Northern Mockingbirds fighting in mid-air. A stock photo of a hand holding a red card used by soccer referees it super-imposed on the bird photo.

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· 23d

🪶 The answer to this week's #BitOBird quiz is....Blackpoll Warbler! Congrats to our winner naomi ! Well done 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.

Photo of a male Blackpoll Warbler by Ryan Mandelbaum.

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· 23d

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 🪶

The clue for the #BitOBird game: a close-up photo of a portion of a bird.

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· 27d

The answer to yesterday's "Who's That Bird" sound quiz is Black-headed Grosbeak! 🪶

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· 28d

🪶[SOUND ON] If you live in the western US and are in riparian habitat or really any place with diverse vegetation/edge habitat you may be hearing a lot of this sound lately. Do you know what bird this is? We'll post the answer tomorrow.

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· 29d

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

Photo of a Black-capped Chickadee with a beak full of food perched near its nest hole by Aubree Benson. Text on graphic says "Unsolicited Bird Fact: Black-capped Chickadee parents work their tails off to feed their brood. One study estimated that when nestlings are around 12 days old, parents deliver food about 50 times a day for each nestling. If the average clutch size is 6, that's about 300 food deliveries a day!
Assuming ~15 hours of daylight at summer solstice, that's about 1 delivery every 3 minutes. Uber eats could never!"

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· 29d

🪶The bright yellow gapes of nestling Chestnut-backed Chickadees help their parents find their target when feeding nestlings in the dark conditions of their cavity nest. (This one is a fledgling obviously, but the gape remains.)

Photo, by marneejill/Flcikr, of a fledgling Chestnut-backed Chickadee with its mouth open showing its bright yellow gape. A speech bubble from the bird says "Mmoooooomm! I'm Hhuuungry!"

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· Jul 13

🪶 The answer to this week's #BitOBird quiz is... Western Tanager! Congrats to our winner! 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.

Photo of a male Western Tanager perched on a branch by Larry Lamsa.

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· Jul 13

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 🪶

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· Jul 10

🪶 Hope your weekend is as freaking fabulous as this Anna's Hummingbird!

A photo by Wendy Miller of a male Anna's Hummingbird looking directly at the camera with its gorget flared. Its head and gorget are iridescent deep pinky red.

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· Jul 9

🪶 Hope you had something tasty for dinner tonight!

Photo by marneejill/Flickr of a Belted Kingfisher holding a baby flounder or flatfish in her beak. The fish is folded a bit like a tortilla. Text on the graphic says: Flounder too big for your gullet? No problem! Just fold it like a tortilla!

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· Jul 8

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

Photo of two speckled eggs on the ground amid pine needles and small rocks. Inset photo of a Common Nighthawk. Both photos by Kenneth Cole Schneider. Text on the graphic says: Unsolicited Bird Fact- This is a Common Nighthawk "nest," if by nest you mean "spot on the ground where I left my eggs." These birds don't build a nest, they simply lay their eggs on gravel, pine needles or leaves on the forest floor, tar paper roofs, or if they're feeling indugent- moss. Luckily their eggs are well camouflaged, as is the incubating parent, and later the nestlings. I guess if you have a puny beak, short legs, and wimpy beak, hauling nesting material around isn't in your wheelhouse.

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· Jul 7

🪶Recent research out in the Journal of Environmental Management uses MAPS bird monitoring data to get a long-term, nuanced look at how bird communities respond to disturbance & revegetation in the Athabasca Oil Sands region in Alberta. Read about it & access the journal article here: bit.ly/4wvS2l0

Aerial photo of the boreal forest with patches cut due to oil sands development by Xue Yan Chan. A photo of a Palm Warbler by Francesco Veronesi is overlaid on it. Text on the graphic says: If You Restore It, Will They Return? MAPS data provide a long view of the effects of oil sands development and ecological restoration on boreal bird communities.

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· Jul 6

Nothing to see here! Just a bump on a branch. 🪶

Photo of a well-camouflaged Common Nighthawk sleeping on a branch

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· Jul 6

🪶 The answer to this week's #BitOBird quiz is....Tree Swallow! Congrats to our winner! 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.

Photo by Jessica D/Flickr of a Tree Swallow perched on a bar with its back to the camera.

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· Jul 6

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 🪶

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· Jul 1

🪶 Cool new paper out today that used over 400,000 bird body mass records from the MAPS database! We started MAPS, a continent-wide bird banding & monitoring program in 1989. Anyone can download data from the MAPS database. Read the paper here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epub/10....

Graphic with a mouse, American Robin, and salamander overlayed on a silhouette of North America. Text on the graphic says: "Continental Drivers of Population-Level Intraspecific Trait Variability in Salamanders, Birds, and Small Mammals." Fluck, I. E., S. Record, A. Strecker, et al. 2026. Global Ecology and Biogeography 35, no. 7: e70266

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· Jun 29

🪶Another #PostcardFromThe Field- this time from our crew in the SW: Earlier this month, while IBP Southwest Avian Ecologist Harry Jones was out for a quiet walk on a day off in Flagstaff, AZ he spotted something special. Harry: “I actually had no intention of seriously birding that morning (1/3)

Photo of an eBird Map showing summer White Wagtail records concentrated in northeast Asia. An arrow saying "supposed to be here" is pointing to NE Asia and another arrow saying "Not here" is pointing to Arizona. Below is a photo of a White Wagtail by Greg Peterson. Text on the photo says "White Wagtails normally breed in the Koreas, Japan, the Kuril Islands, and the Kamchatka peninsula. * This is not the
individual that was seen in Flagstaff."

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· Jun 29

🪶 The answer to this week's #BitOBird quiz is....Chipping Sparrow! Congrats to our winner Dane St George ! Nice work Dane! 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.

Photo of a round and adorable Chipping Sparrow perched on a birch log by marneejill/Flickr

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· Jun 29

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 🪶

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· Jun 26

🪶 Go out and look for some bird drama this weekend.

Photo, by Tom Murray, of an Osprey (with an alarmed look on its face) getting attacked mid-flight by a much smaller Eastern Kingbird.

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· Jun 26

🪶This summer IBP field crews are searching for American Goshawks and their nests on 3 different National Forests in the Sierra Nevada. These raptors are notoriously elusive and their nests are tricky to find-especially because there are decoys! (1/2)

Photo of a man looking through a small telescope into a forest. An inset photo by Frank D. Lospalluto shows a nestling American Goshawk in a nest. Text on the graphic says: American Goshawks build more than one nest. Female Goshawks may construct 1-8 "alternate" nests in their nesting territories.Scientists aren't sure exactly why, but since the pair often switches between nests each year, it may be to reduce the prevalence of nest parasites like mites, etc.

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· Jun 23

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

Photo of a group of Bushtits at the edge of a birdbath by Mike's Birds/Flickr. The bird in the air and the bird perched on the left have dark eyes, while the birds perched on the right have light yellow irises with dark pupils. Text on the graphic says: Unsolicited Bird Fact- Bushtits may be tiny and drab colored but they are full of fun facts! For instance, you can tell male and female bushtits apart by their eye color. All bushtits hatch with dark brown eyes, but in females the color of the iris starts to get lighter in the first couple of weeks after hatching. By 1 month of age 1 they are distinguishable from males. Adult female Bushtits have white, cream, or light yellow irises like the two birds on the right below.

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· Jun 22

🐝 #PostcardsFromTheField This summer IBP Post-doc Dr. Graham Montgomery, with assistance from Corey Gray, is collecting data on which flowers bumblebees in the Sierra Nevada use and when. It's been an odd season so far says Graham:... (1/4)

Background photo of a Sierra Nevada Meadow with an overlayed photo of a bumblebee in the center of (Bombus occidentalis) and overlayed photos of the following wildflowers: Toxicoscordion paniculatum, Erythranthe breweri, Erythranthe moschata, Downingia bacigalupii, Penstemon rydbergii, Penstemon deustus, Navarrieta intertexta, Pectiantia, breweri. All photos by Graham Montgomery.

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· Jun 22

🪶 The answer to this week's #BitOBird quiz is....Cape May Wabler! Congrats to our winner! 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.

Photo by lee_wu on Flickr of a male Cape May Warbler perched on a twig.

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· Jun 22

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 🪶

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· Jun 21

Did your Dad ask for a bird fact? No, but you're giving him one whether he likes it or not. 🪶

Photo of a male Blue-gray Gnatcatcher sitting in a lichen covered nest by John Strung. Text on the graphic says: Unsolicited Bird Dad Fact-Male Blue-gray Gnatcatchers share in incubation duties and sit on the eggs almost as much as the female does (though they don't develop a brood patch.) Typically male songbirds do not help incubate, although some feed the incubating female, allowing her to take to
fewer foraging breaks. Male incubation and males feeding their incubating mates increases the amount of time a parent is at the nest, which may help keep the eggs at a consistent temperature, or reduce the risk of nest predation or parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds.

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· Jun 17

🪶 It's Wednesday! Enjoy a Warbling Vireo!

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· Jun 15

🪶 A Monday Mood

Photo by Jo Garbutt. A male Goldeneye with its head low and neck submerged in water with bill tipped up. This is a threat display, but it you anthropomorphize the body language/expression the duck looks like it is horrified and trying to hide.

The Institute for Bird Populations@instbirdpop· Jun 15

🪶 The answer to this week's #BitOBird quiz is....Purple Finch! This one was tricky and no one guessed it. 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.