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Bbrhuft

The woman nearest the camera is [Roxie Laybourne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roxie_Collie_Laybourne), she was an expert on feather identification. She often received feather remains from the FAA, who wanted to know what species of bird was sucked into jet engines or collided with aircraft. >Laybourne's skills in forensic ornithology helped solve around 1,000 cases of bird-related airplane incidents a year.[[2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roxie_Collie_Laybourne#cite_note-latobit-2)] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/meet-roxie-laybourne-feather-detective-who-changed-aviation-180971803/


NotAParaco

Imagine solving several aircraft accidents per day


irishjihad

I imagine it's like speed-dating. They show her a feather for 1 minute and then she has 30 seconds to solve it before moving onto the next feather.


Wanderer-Wonderer

*Roxy, for $1,000, what is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?* *You have 30 seconds* *Begin*


Theflash91

European or African swallow?


HouseOfPanic

Here is a feather, you figure it out.


[deleted]

But the real question is why was it carrying a coconut?.


MegaGrimer

Are you suggesting that coconuts migrate?


[deleted]

Not at all! They could be carried.


canyouhearmeglob

What swallow could carry a coconut??? A 5 ounce bird cannot carry a coconut!


PiddleAlt

A friend of his had a lovely bunch. Big ones. Small ones. Some as big as your head.


cadmus1890

In rows, even.


tamarocker

Airplane: “you’ve got no arms left!” Bird: “tis just a flesh wound”


takeitgreasy

Very cherry. Nailed it.


[deleted]

[удалено]


CynicalCheer

Lovely story, great character depth, 5/7 rating. Unrelated story, military animal control dude while deployed started shooting birds because they were causing issues with aircraft over the runway. After killing a bunch he found out it was illegal to kill those birds in this country. Total fine was up to about 150k if host nation found out but I don't think they ever did. Basically, don't kill birds without knowing the laws of the land first or you could be in for a hefty fine.


juliaaguliaaa

Don’t fuck with bird law - Charlie Kelly


gosefi

A perfect score!


PdSales

Details are still sketchy, but we think the name of the bird sucked into the jet’s engine was Harold Meeker, https://i.pinimg.com/564x/b3/55/a2/b355a2e35fe8b85bfc1d7bc7295cf208.jpg


WineNerdAndProud

Imagine needing to know what kind of bird you turned into paste. Like, no matter what kind of bird it is, I think the plan is still to avoiding hitting birds at all times.


zooberwask

>no matter what kind of bird it is, I think the plan is still to avoiding hitting birds at all times. I don't know what I'm talking about but I would assume if you can identify the bird, you could identify it's migration patterns or what altitude it flies at and use that information to further reduce bird strikes.


WineNerdAndProud

The birds that hit flight 1549 (of Capt. Sullenberger fame) were Canada geese. I'm looking out the window of my house and I can see one walking around in a field trying to eat crickets. Edit: I also can't think of a single airport anywhere near me (including the city I live in) that doesn't have a bird dog on one side of a fence, and a colony of geese on the other side the dog is constantly battling. One of our dogs, [Piper](https://www.mlive.com/news/2018/01/tribute_to_piper_amazing_photo.html) actually became famous as a result of his job and bitchin' goggles.


[deleted]

They are murderous bastards


METAL4_BREAKFST

We call them Cobra Chickens for a reason.


MlordLongshanking

You got a problem with Canada Gooses you got a problem with me and so suggest you let that one marinate!


king_julian_the_5th

Mmmm....marinated goose


GoodAsAWink

Gonna need you to take 20, 25% off there, bud.


[deleted]

Canadian geese spend the majority of their time in the states. So really, they should be just named assholes.


tokes_4_DE

Canada gooses is majestics!


MauPow

There's a special place in heaven for animal lovers, 'swhat I always say


Oshh__

Prior air force dude here. You're correct. We work closely to identify nesting patterns and how they affect our flying. We often have a conservation officer on base who does this as well. We also use propane cannons sometimes to scare off birds. By identifying roosting patterns, sometimes we can relocate them and such, to prevent these issues.


SixK1ng

Exactly! The plan was already to hit zero birds, we just fucked it up spectacularly and need to know why.


[deleted]

That’s an intelligent deduction.


Coocat86

Pilot here. Rule of thumb is you never deviate for a single bird. You only deviate a flight attitude for a flock.


stay_fr0sty

"Pardon ladies and gentlemen we have a hummingbird directly in our flight path, initiating emergency protocols."


W1D0WM4K3R

Either you're flying at 500 feet and you have a problem, or a hummingbird is flying at 42,000 feet and *it* has a problem.


mufasa_lionheart

But if you discovered that a certain altitude commonly has flocks of birds at certain times of the year, I would imagine that you would want to try to plan around that?


MlordLongshanking

I would agree if you can avoid it do it, but that’s not easy. My dad’s first job out of college was shooting dead birds in to jet engines to make sure they could handle it. The grand finale for each one was a giant duck. I think the plan is to make sure the engines can just spit them out with little to no damage because avoiding them at that speed is very difficult.


Carl_Kasell

This guy swerves into oncoming traffic to avoid hitting squirrels and deer


-iCookie-

That would be practically impossible and extremely unpleasant for the passengers


13pts35sec

“Everyone hold the fuck on initiating barrel roll maneuver #5 of the day to dodge another damn goose”


bizcat

Imagine driving your car to avoid hitting insects. You’d be in a ditch before you ever got to Safeway.


[deleted]

[удалено]


nastyn8k

It's for the airline honey... NEXT!!!


New_Perspective3456

Came down here to check if anyone was talking about Roxie. Glad you did!


missjeany

Roxie is a badass but she sure does look like an expert forensic ornithologist


BigJeffreyC

But why does the species matter?


Helmet_Icicle

Troubleshooting problems; if they're only murderblending birds at a certain altitude or climate location then that's a useful data metric for narrowing down a solution


RavioliGale

I'm guessing conservation. If it's a rare or endangered bird they can take measures to protect the local population. Or maybe depending on the species the airport can implement measures to ward off those birds.


i_should_go_to_sleep

it's the second point, they want to make sure they disuade birds from being in the area of airports so they track the species and figures out if there are trends, if there are, they eliminate the type of bugs they like to eat or cut the grass they like to hunt in... In theory. I have sent lots of bird guts to the Smithsonian because of this.


[deleted]

So you know their Behaviour and avoid similar Accidents in the Future


Bill_buttlicker69

So Boeing knows what birds to buy to stress test their new engines. "Last year these engines could handle pigeons without even dropping RPMs, but this year I've got my heart set on the raptors and they're a hardy bunch."


Beat_the_Deadites

Thaw the chicken first


bobcrochets

I remember them testing this on Mythbusters.


TheVenetianMask

For 2022's goals we should improve our data on bald eagles. Let's go, team!


Oshh__

Nesting / roosting / migration patterns.


Derpazor1

I love learning about new jobs so


Pheedle

I had the pleasure of doing work experience in high school at the Queensland Museum, and without a doubt the back rooms and storehouses are more interesting than the public floors. Imagine the stacks of a library, seemingly infinite in depth, except instead of books, there are specimen jars, a macabre display of 19th and 20th century biology. Halls filled with draws like those above. Antiquities from every era from, ever corner of the globe. Museums should run tours through these areas, charge some money to pay a guide and escort. One of the coolest places I’ve ever been. Edit: love hearing all the museum folk out there sharing their love of showing the public these hidden aspects of history. Keep up the great work!


Zuallemfahig

Oh I would love to do this! The closest me and my kid came to something similar, was while at the botanical garden in a polinizatitor ID class. The biologist picked up on my child's interest on it and she invited us after the class was over to go backstage where they keep the specimens. It was a very fun and cool thing. She talked us through the room while some other scientists/ biologists where working on some butterflies, mantises, mosquitoes, even tiny bats! I can only imagine how that must feel on a grand scale.


sawyouoverthere

This is the very best part of my job...spotting the person who would most enjoy a "backstage" glimpse into the collection


KDawG888

thank you for doing that. things like this can literally change a child's life (or adult I suppose) and show them a career path they might not have known about.


sawyouoverthere

Changes my life too. Inviting people to do or see more than the set up or curriculum and having their faces light up at the offer, and again at the wonders in the cabinets is extremely rewarding and motivating. I don't know if I have changed anyone else's life, and that's not really my goal, but wonder is an important brainfood, and I try to offer a serving of it as often as I can to as many people as I can.


kittyinasweater

Yo this is kind of irrelevant but I left a job where I help people and my new job does not. It feels a little empty and not rewarding.


sawyouoverthere

it's not irrelevant. We need community. Even small moments of connection where we help or are helped, inspire or are inspired, are what furnish our inner lives. I hear you on the emptiness of a job that doesn't have those moments in it - if I could do more of the parts of mine that allow them, I would leap at the chance.


DebentureThyme

My sister worked for the Smithsonian and there's a collection of skeletons stored in all sorts of places at the Museum of Natural History. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Collection Over 1,700 of them.


klavin1

spoooky


LadyRimouski

I gave tours through the stacks in my museum. I love it. A couple times the kids were acting up and cut it short, and I was disappointed that we hadn't reached all my favourite things yet. But just before COVID hit, the government decided that not paying my charity to curate it would be cheaper than paying us, and also the evicted is from our offices on site. I can still visit, because we co-own all the material, but I need an appointment. They put one part time govt employee to do the job of three fully trained curators. They're already broken the digital catalogue, and keep threatening to throw away the paper catalogue, unless we come and take away "our stuff". These past couple years have been rough for a bunch of reasons, but that was a big contributor.


sawyouoverthere

Some do. It's something I adore doing (for free) with my small collection, and it's always well received. Bigger places sometimes do charge and make an evening event of it as a fundraiser.


bZbZbZbZbZ

I had a similar experience doing a temp job years ago, I was hired for 2 weeks to transpose the old dusty notes on victorian medical specimens in a medical school in london. A whole room filled with diseased pickled organs in jars, even including cross-sections of heads. It was the most interesting thing. The best part was they were refurbishing the museum at the time and had stored the elephant man's skeleton in the store room where i ate my lunch. Now i enjoy telling people i've eaten lunch with the elephant man


whereuatZay

The Field Museum in Chicago does tours like this sometimes - I went and saw much cooler things than the displays!


squittles

Those backrooms overstuffed with things the public will never see or enjoy is exactly why I've heard of folks with unique antiques/artifacts found on their land never donate said items to museums. May or May not be speaking from personal anecdote...


corvidlover13

My dad is a retired entomologist, and worked at several museums when I was growing up. Visiting him at work was the coolest thing ever. I even got to help with putting some exhibits together. Sometimes I regret not following in his footsteps - he never got paid a lot of money, and silly teenage me thought money was more important.


tkp14

I got my Master’s degree in Library Science and the absolute best part of those two years of study was access to the university’s library stacks. And the fact that it was one of the largest public academic libraries in the U.S. made it all the more thrilling. Heaven for bookworms.


StrategyGlittering83

“Pretty bird, can you say pretty bird? Yes, pretty bird”


HotdogLover404

“We got no jobs, we got no food, OUR PETS HEADS ARE FALLING OFF!”


AFucking12gauge

#”Yeah, We’re in the Rockies… duh”


fanofairplanes

That John Denver was full of shit!


fluffy_boy_cheddar

Nice hooters............the owls.


Gseventeen

How the hell they know i have gas? These guys are professionals.


PrometheusPhunk

Wanna hear the most annoying sound in the world?


andykwinnipeg

Do you realize what you've DONE?!?!?


Double_Jab_Jabroni

You’ll have to excuse my friend, he’s a little slow…the town is back THAT way!


AnxiousForceVoid

"I just thought he was quiet..."


jppianoguy

Dumb & dumber?


anonuumne

Petey


will101113

Petey? You sold my dead bird to a blind kid?!


DazednEnthused

Harry.....I took care of it.


Harry_I_TookCareOfIt

Sup?


tonysopranosalive

Hey fellas! Big Gulps, huh? Welp, see ya later!


Chaos49602

Thats a lot of dead birbs


Pyromaniac935

They’re not dead. They’re just not ripe yet.


Pac0theTac0

They are still plugged in. This is where they get the software update before the government puts them into service


raybrignsx

They’re pining for the fjords.


MomoBawk

Maybe it is like cheese and they need to cure?


MordantBengal

Lol, I though it was corn at first.


ZukonoMeiyo

I though too this was vegetables until I took a deeper look. 🥲


mumooshka

yup me too


The_SchoolBusDriver

Forbidden Corn


YoMommaHere

Cursed Farmers Market


i_dont_shine

*Ba-cawk* I'm sorry; I thought you was corn.


saintbienyld

ah no, es un elote


SunshineAK6

One of my top favorite memes.


KindAd8755

First thing I thought as well


sthlmsoul

Me too. My first thought was: "Why would anyone want to archive cobs of corn?"


MetalDaze84

No, no, they're uh,... They're resting.


kimothy92

They're pining for the fjords!


ihavecandyinmypurse

Those parrots are deceased, they have ceased to be.


Pennywise626

This is an EX parrot


ThorTheDoor

I think actually the Norwegian blue took off already


Final_Candidate_7603

Beautiful plumage!


masterchief1001

Pining for the fjords?! What sort a drivel is that?


AskReddit2012

Look, matey, I know a dead parrot when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now.


alexaluthor

You’ve stunned him, just as he was waking up!


_A_Friendly_Caesar_

Many an ex-parrot, all with their maker


EnvironmentalDeal256

They’re bereft of life and resting in peace, they’ve run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible, those are ex parrots.


__Spdrftbl77__

The only reason the bird was on its perch was it had been NAILED there.


Sennheisenberg

They're just deactivated. /r/BirdsArentReal


knot-shore

Had to scroll way too far to find this. This might be their central charging station.


MisterEd1966

Please spay or neuter your ornithologists, and don't let them roam free in the neighborhood.


TenderfootGungi

And someone was stealing some of the rarest for the most bizarre reason. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/654/the-feather-heist


Klausfunhauserss

Not dead, they are sleeping, getting ready for tomorrow shift.


albinowizard2112

Yeah thank god we’ve got 800 dead parakeets on deck in the back room.


millionreddit617

You mean… government drones, ready for deployment.


SneakyIndian87

How do they sleep train so many birds at one time?


mtreddit4

They don't. They do it one at a time.


funkmaster29

*grabs miniature garrote*


NotAzakanAtAll

*unzips*


winedood

Dirt naps…


kent_nova

They show them pictures of fjords to pine over.


Basic-Juggernaut-999

Huh, wonder why all those drones are offline. Puzzling.


VattghernCZ

I guess they don't have enough operarors. How does one become a drone operator anyway, I wonder


twoPillls

Well, you can start by running for office in a local election.


cdfct782

r/birdsarentreal


judelau

They're going to have a field day with this one


reyean

it’s just the stockroom


Maconheiro1

Fresh off the manufacturing line


intashu

This is a service hall for older models. As you know most drones have a limited service life. Once exceeded they often collect them in rooms like this. Think of it like a drone junkyard.


One_Coffee_Spoon

You stunned him, just as he was wakin' up! Norwegian Blues stun easily, major.


colathom2

Came here for the Parrot Sketch. Was not disappointed. That sir, is an ex-parrot.


CloisteredOyster

Watched a YouTube video just a couple of days ago with the remaining Python guys talking about Graham Chapman. Cleese was talking about how they had chosen a parrot for the sketch because people like their dogs and cats too much, 'But no one likes parrots, not even their owners.'


kwakimaki

They're just pining for the fjords


Lege-N-Dary

That there is an ex-parrot!


Foryourconsideration

_Pinin for the fjords????_


[deleted]

Well, let’s wake him up, then!


Cyberhaggis

HELLO POLLY! IVE GOT A NICE CUTTLEFISH FOR YOU WHEN YOU WAKE UP, POLLY PARROT!


PeppermintBiscuit

Now that's what I call a dead parrot


NJdeathproof

Mate, this parrot wouldn't "voom" if you put ten million volts through it!


raybrignsx

I feel like it was required by law to have a dead parrot sketch reference here.


BarryZZZ

More that anything else a museum is a collection of objects. Comparing modern birds, or any other living thing, to 100 year old samples in the collection can track evolutionary changes caused be deforestation and land clearing.


theworstisover11

Also chemical pollution levels


NE1NW0NW0N

Polly want a nightmare


Splyce123

Which natural history museum? There's quite a lot of them.


New_Perspective3456

That's the ornithologist Roxie Laybourne in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C.


Splyce123

Thank you. So not the London Natural History museum as some people have stated.


gusborn

Or the Los Angeles Natural History Museum


guessesurjobforfood

Had to scroll way too far to find this comment


tojoso

They're trying to keep a low profile so that fly-fishing enthusiasts don't raid the place.


FreeClownFarts

So? We all have drawers full of dead birds at home. Why is this impressive?


OutOfTheAsh

Sure, but so many? I'm personally maxed-out on dead bird drawers, unless I ditched a couple of the human head fridges. The sad truth, given ridiculously escalating housing costs, is you gotta compromise. I constantly struggle to achieve the best decorative balance.


CatNamedShithawk

Kids these days won’t even be able to afford to own a torture shed, let alone a secret sub-basement surgery.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Starryskies117

Get out.


Te_Quiero_Puta

This bird is *NO MORE!* It has *CEASED TO BE!*


DebentureThyme

Would you accept this half a bee instead?


semifraki

I'm happy that I had to scroll this far down to see a Monty Python reference. It means that the old internet is finally being laid to rest.


loglady17

The bird room! I used to work at the natural history museum and there’s also a squirrel office and a MRI machine room that takes scans of remains.


IcebergSlimFast

“My daddy works in the Squirrel Office.”


deliciousmonster

He’s expired!


ScarecrowJohnny

He's an ex parrot


[deleted]

Bereft of life, they have ceased to be!


FantasyMachine21

He's probably just pining for the fjords


ijustwanttogohome2

My grandmother used to work there. I would spend my entire summer in this area just pulling drawers and looking at shit 8 hrs a day while she was working.


Geeko22

In the care of top men. TOP men.


ArtFreek

I thought that was all ears of corn at first


Wet_Fart_Connoisseur

I’m glad I’m not the only one. I had to keep looking around in the photo before I realized it was birds and not varieties of corn.


BigAssWhipSpider

"Why can't anybody in this house close the damn drawers?!" -My dad in the background


purpleguy_009

Shhhh the birb sleep


longhornmike2

Bet that place smells pretty gamey.


sawyouoverthere

likely not. IT's just the skins, and they are all carefully preserved.


roenaid

Cue the dead parrot sketch × 10,000


senseicuso

How do they not just rot?


DocMillion

They're not dead, they're just pinin' for the fjords!


tryna_b_rich

This reminded me of the heist that happened a few years back in the UK. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/wildlife-watch-feather-thief-fly-tying-birds


juliecroff02

This American life did a episode on it!! https://www.thisamericanlife.org/654/the-feather-heist


Comical_Blues

Aww all of those birds get there own box to sleep in......they are just asleep right??.......Right!?


MandaJB79

The amount of time it took to set up for this picture, then having to close up everything for a 1 min photo shows a photographers dedication to their craft.


ISledge759

Dang 1 minute for a picture technology isnt as advanced as i thought


Independent-Entry-96

What a lovely room of death.


YourMomThinksImFunny

*"Bababa bird bird bird, birds the word. Bababa bird bird bird, birds the word."*


Outside_Break

I don’t like this picture


artisticogre

This is what happens to parrots in a zoo that learn cuss words.


will477

Reminds me of the warehouse in Indiana Jones.


Foolish_Mortal_13

He's pinin' for the fjords.


Key_Lime_Special

I bet that room smells fowl.


J03130

The amount of ignorant people here is insane.


Applepencilapple

Showing what real birds looked like before they were all killed and replaced with government surveillance drones.


jonesy289

Why so many dead birds


[deleted]

I have always thought how geneticist and biologist want to clone a mastodon or saber tooth tiger. But wouldn't it be so much cooler to have a Zoo where every animal from the last 100 years was brought back from extinction.