Eliot Miller
@eliotmiller.bsky.social
BirdsPlus Index. American Bird Conservancy. Dad. Natural history. Ecology and evolution, conservation, acoustics, and occasionally politics.
Going through some old pix. This remains the highlight of my engineering career. Successfully foiled Adirondack black flies and mosquitoes for a few hours.
November 13, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Going through some old pix. This remains the highlight of my engineering career. Successfully foiled Adirondack black flies and mosquitoes for a few hours.
Over at @abcbirds.bsky.social, we've spent the last year developing this new approach, and we're excited to get it out in the world now. The current preprint builds off a second that we quietly released a few weeks ago...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 16, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Over at @abcbirds.bsky.social, we've spent the last year developing this new approach, and we're excited to get it out in the world now. The current preprint builds off a second that we quietly released a few weeks ago...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Using automated acoustic monitoring, citizen science, and centuries of ornithological research and understanding to quantify ecological integrity at scale.
The BirdsPlus Index, a novel method for assessing site-level conservation values.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
The BirdsPlus Index, a novel method for assessing site-level conservation values.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 16, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Using automated acoustic monitoring, citizen science, and centuries of ornithological research and understanding to quantify ecological integrity at scale.
The BirdsPlus Index, a novel method for assessing site-level conservation values.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
The BirdsPlus Index, a novel method for assessing site-level conservation values.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Bad plan. Definitely get a rabies shot.
August 26, 2025 at 2:36 AM
Bad plan. Definitely get a rabies shot.
The linear order tells us which bird comes before the next in a bird book. It goes from ostriches to tanagers. It's how dedicated birders are able to pick a field guide up and instantly flip to approximately the right section.
Here is a concise 🥲 version of how the SACC comes up w/ their order
Here is a concise 🥲 version of how the SACC comes up w/ their order
August 3, 2025 at 1:50 PM
The linear order tells us which bird comes before the next in a bird book. It goes from ostriches to tanagers. It's how dedicated birders are able to pick a field guide up and instantly flip to approximately the right section.
Here is a concise 🥲 version of how the SACC comes up w/ their order
Here is a concise 🥲 version of how the SACC comes up w/ their order
Just spent two late weekend nights nerding the f* out, and now I'm going to spend a little of my Sunday morning bringing you the fruits of my labors! Stare at these trees with me. What do you see?
August 3, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Just spent two late weekend nights nerding the f* out, and now I'm going to spend a little of my Sunday morning bringing you the fruits of my labors! Stare at these trees with me. What do you see?
The tree also uses a robust dating approach! Check out the branch lengths on that one! @sclaramunt.bsky.social @sheardcat.bsky.social @josephtobias.bsky.social
July 31, 2025 at 4:18 AM
The tree also uses a robust dating approach! Check out the branch lengths on that one! @sclaramunt.bsky.social @sheardcat.bsky.social @josephtobias.bsky.social
Sweet sweet Passerina sweep. Pokedex is full!
June 30, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Sweet sweet Passerina sweep. Pokedex is full!
One legged partially leucistic junco mom successfully fledges nestlings. Wonders what sort of world her children are flying off to.
June 3, 2025 at 4:28 PM
One legged partially leucistic junco mom successfully fledges nestlings. Wonders what sort of world her children are flying off to.
Great commentary on the new global bird phylogeny, if I do say so myself www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
May 29, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Great commentary on the new global bird phylogeny, if I do say so myself www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
"Our" orioles are nesting a hundred meters or so into the woods above the house, but I keep seeing them close to the house. Figured out what they're up--peeling bark off some old grape vines I pulled down. Bet her nest is beautiful!
May 21, 2025 at 12:13 PM
"Our" orioles are nesting a hundred meters or so into the woods above the house, but I keep seeing them close to the house. Figured out what they're up--peeling bark off some old grape vines I pulled down. Bet her nest is beautiful!
What's author incentive to revise after publication? Again, definitely not trying to single anyone out here. This seems like a collective failure we can solve, definitely affects more than this journal.
May 20, 2025 at 8:24 PM
What's author incentive to revise after publication? Again, definitely not trying to single anyone out here. This seems like a collective failure we can solve, definitely affects more than this journal.
The issue plagues Zenodo too. I suspect there's some lack of feedback from journals to data repositories. What's the deal here? Seems lame. Authors usually have no idea when I write to them.
May 19, 2025 at 12:49 PM
The issue plagues Zenodo too. I suspect there's some lack of feedback from journals to data repositories. What's the deal here? Seems lame. Authors usually have no idea when I write to them.
What's up with data on Dryad not being made public after papers come out? It feels like 9 times out of 10 some button doesn't get clicked and the data stays hidden. Third paper in a month or so I've seen this with...
May 19, 2025 at 12:41 PM
What's up with data on Dryad not being made public after papers come out? It feels like 9 times out of 10 some button doesn't get clicked and the data stays hidden. Third paper in a month or so I've seen this with...
Chicago, ~150 years ago. Imagine this today.
May 16, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Chicago, ~150 years ago. Imagine this today.
In case anyone was curious how we described nests back in my day, before cameras, please see the scrottaly attached.
May 9, 2025 at 2:05 PM
In case anyone was curious how we described nests back in my day, before cameras, please see the scrottaly attached.
Cooking up some good stuff over here for an upcoming acoustic monitoring project in Ecuador. Part of the #BirdsPlusIndex project at @abcbirds.bsky.social
May 2, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Cooking up some good stuff over here for an upcoming acoustic monitoring project in Ecuador. Part of the #BirdsPlusIndex project at @abcbirds.bsky.social
*** Academic BFD alert ***
We just published a new global bird phylogeny. It synthesizes the work of thousands of researchers before us, and it will grow and improve over time. @snacktavish.bsky.social @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
We just published a new global bird phylogeny. It synthesizes the work of thousands of researchers before us, and it will grow and improve over time. @snacktavish.bsky.social @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
April 29, 2025 at 4:56 PM
*** Academic BFD alert ***
We just published a new global bird phylogeny. It synthesizes the work of thousands of researchers before us, and it will grow and improve over time. @snacktavish.bsky.social @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
We just published a new global bird phylogeny. It synthesizes the work of thousands of researchers before us, and it will grow and improve over time. @snacktavish.bsky.social @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Our backyard robins have successfully secured another sponsorship by Bota Box for this year's nesting season. First photo from yesterday, when I saw the female starting to collect material, second from this morning.
April 22, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Our backyard robins have successfully secured another sponsorship by Bota Box for this year's nesting season. First photo from yesterday, when I saw the female starting to collect material, second from this morning.
We've @benjaminfreeman.bsky.social previously demonstrated that crows are easily rankled at this time of year www.allaboutbirds.org/news/crows-h..., so seeing them going after hawks is no surprise. My 7yo's recent take on what happens next, however, was hilarious. MS Bing really brought it to life..
April 7, 2025 at 5:06 PM
We've @benjaminfreeman.bsky.social previously demonstrated that crows are easily rankled at this time of year www.allaboutbirds.org/news/crows-h..., so seeing them going after hawks is no surprise. My 7yo's recent take on what happens next, however, was hilarious. MS Bing really brought it to life..
Pre K ends at 1030 AM on Fridays. Determined icy lunch laps in the backyard. Strong four year old DGAF vibes
February 7, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Pre K ends at 1030 AM on Fridays. Determined icy lunch laps in the backyard. Strong four year old DGAF vibes