Rebecca Gelernter
LightNews LightNews
banner
nearbirdstudios.bsky.social
Rebecca Gelernter
@nearbirdstudios.bsky.social
7.9K followers 850 following 5.7K posts
Science illustrator and designer. I like things with feathers. She/her

Portfolio: www.nearbirdstudios.com
Prints: www.inprnt.com/gallery/nearbirdstudios
Merch: https://nearbirdstudios.threadless.com
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
nearbirdstudios.bsky.social
Rebecca Gelernter @nearbirdstudios.bsky.social · Oct 8
Hello #PortfolioDay! I'm Rebecca, a science and medical illustrator who loves birds and other feathered creatures 🐡🪶🧪
Portrait of a female Great Hornbill, a large bird, down to the upper chest. Her beak is huge, with a yellow-to-orange maxilla and damaged casque and a pale blue-grey mandible. She has a black mask covering her face and the base of her bill. Her eye is silvery and has nice lashes. Her neck shades from yellow through raw sienna to a pale burnt sienna, and her body feathers and the top of her wing are black. Twelve detailed vector illustrations of brains, arranged in two columns, one without blood vessels and one with. More anatomical layers are added from top to bottom, starting from a midsagittal view and ending with lateral. At the bottom left is the wordmark "MedStudy", for whom I did this work. Gouache painting of Anchiornis huxleyii, a small feathered dinosaur, climbing through branches. He's mostly grey with black-spotted white wing, leg, and tail feathers and a rusty red crest and cheek feathers. Watercolor illustration of a Red-and-yellow Barbet, seen at 45°. His head is mostly red and his belly is creamy white. His wing is black with white spots, and a band of this pattern circles his breast. His tail is banded black and white. He's glaring at the viewer, challenging the audacity of any who would dare to look upon him.
nearbirdstudios.bsky.social
Not only can they fly and see a whole set of colors we can't*, they carry around personal duvets and don't have to go to the dentist.

*varies by clade
tylerfromtheinternet.com Tyler, from the Internet @tylerfromtheinternet.com · 5h
gang are we jealous of birds
Simon Schama: 'Our fascination with birds is rooted in envy' The historian has curated an exhibition that explores the relationship between birds and humans With the painting American Flamingo by John James Audubon
February 17, 2026 at 5:42 AM
nearbirdstudios.bsky.social
Amphibian Time is coming 👀
theonetruekat.bsky.social The One True Kat @theonetruekat.bsky.social · 3h
Is it the time of night when we go listen to singing amphibians? Yes, yes it is. Can you hear amphibians where you are? Go outside and take a 10second clip with your voice memo and upload it to iNat. #herps
A tiny Pseudacris trying to convince me that I am mistaken and he is, in fact, very big indeed.
February 17, 2026 at 5:19 AM
Reposted by Rebecca Gelernter
nataliajagielska.bsky.social
If you need 150 people in palaeontology, geology, zoology, scicomm and related. And I could list more, but ran out of space!
February 17, 2026 at 4:29 AM
Reposted by Rebecca Gelernter
portlandken.bsky.social
The National Capital Planning Commission is now accepting public comments on Trump's ballroom that dwarfs the White House and is ugly as sin.

To comment, click on the link below, then click on "Submit Written Comments" button. Next, select "East Wing Modernization Project" off the menu.

Go for it!
How to Comment
This is a guide on how to speak at a Commission meeting. Please note that your comments may be recorded, and/or live streamed, and added to the public record.
www.ncpc.gov
February 17, 2026 at 2:29 AM
Reposted by Rebecca Gelernter
drwendyrocks.bsky.social
This seems like a great moment to talk about the importance of science communication!

Science communication matters because it connects scientific research with people, giving folks information they need to make informed decisions about everything from health to hazards.
February 16, 2026 at 4:05 PM
Reposted by Rebecca Gelernter
nearbirdstudios.bsky.social
I've always liked this band poster I did a while ago 🎨
Concert poster reading "Plaid Dracula takes Manhattan, ft. Daddies" and venue/date details in white on the right side, top and bottom. The main image is a black-and-white photo of a flying fox hanging upside-down, possibly scratching his belly with one foot with one wing reaching out. His tongue is out, and there are textured gold circles over his eyes, giving the impression of sunglasses. I say "he" because he is, but I was asked to edit out his rather prominent testicles. At top right and bottom left are triangular elements with flowing water colored gold, and there's a grungy gold texture over the whole poster.
July 4, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Reposted by Rebecca Gelernter
blathin384.bsky.social
#MinimalMonday #EastCoastKin #PhotographersUnited #photography #birdphotography #birds #ClassicMono #BnW-Photography

Great Egret, Bombay Hook NWR 2025
Black and white photo of a Great Egret standing on the outstretched branch of a dead tree. This image is edited in a minimalist style as there is only the branch and bird. The sky is cloudless and clear
February 17, 2026 at 1:43 AM
Reposted by Rebecca Gelernter
ehekkala.bsky.social
🧪🌏😡👇
heidelyn.bsky.social Lyn Heideman @heidelyn.bsky.social · 7h
...BUT the company intends to ship the ore abroad to be processed and sold. Tell your senators to vote NO! You can call [+1 (202) 224-3121]. Or @earthjustice.org makes it fast/easy to send a personalized letter (and they email it for you): earthjustice.org/action/defen.... 🌎 Thank you!
Stop Congress from selling out the Boundary Waters to a Chilean-owned mine
Corporate polluters are taking aim at one of North America’s most treasured landscapes.
earthjustice.org
February 16, 2026 at 11:27 PM
Reposted by Rebecca Gelernter
layan70.bsky.social
@nearbirdstudios.bsky.social
My name is Layan. We have no home, only a torn tent that rain and winter break again and again. My mother hides her pain, my brother cries from the cold. Please help us survive with dignity.
February 16, 2026 at 6:32 PM
nearbirdstudios.bsky.social
I'll lend him my scythe, which is, appropriately, the curvy American type
itsabbyyep.bsky.social It's Abby. Yep. @itsabbyyep.bsky.social · 10h
Dude has a chance to make this the funniest Presidents Day ever
A "photo" of the Grim Reaper with their sickle than I brazenly stole off the internet
February 16, 2026 at 8:25 PM
nearbirdstudios.bsky.social
THE KAKAPO ARE COMING
digs.bsky.social Andrew Digby @digs.bsky.social · 1d
The first #kakapo chick for four years hatched two days ago (on Valentine’s Day for those who like to anthropomorphise!). Here’s Tiwhiri-A1-2026 in Yasmine’s nest. 📸: Deidre Vercoe. www.doc.govt.nz/news/media-r... #kakapo2026 #conservation #parrots #birds
A kākāpō chick in a nest with an egg. Credit: Deidre Vercoe
February 16, 2026 at 2:33 AM
Reposted by Rebecca Gelernter
ascalaphid.com
brother bellbird's big bonk
February 16, 2026 at 12:59 AM
Reposted by Rebecca Gelernter
premeemohamed.com
Okay well I went outside to negotiate with the tree frogs ("Maybe you can not say FWREEP? FWREEP? FWREEP? all night long") and they said I had to talk to their union boss

I didn't know the tree frogs had a union

Anyway they're still yelling
February 16, 2026 at 12:07 AM
nearbirdstudios.bsky.social
I assume wrangling two smallish parrots for bedtime is exactly as difficult as dealing with human children
February 16, 2026 at 12:17 AM
nearbirdstudios.bsky.social
This wonderful bird could use some support.
pepperandpals.bsky.social pepperandpals.bsky.social @pepperandpals.bsky.social · 2d
So Mango really went downhill again. I'm kind of not doing great so I will keep this brief and simple as I try to explain best I can.

1. Mango likely has something called avian ganglioneuritis. If I understand correctly, many captive parrots (as many as 1 in 3) has Bornavirus. However, not all of
February 15, 2026 at 6:40 PM
Reposted by Rebecca Gelernter
whalepetunias.bsky.social
"Oh God," said Zaphod. He hadn't worked with this computer for long but had already learned to loathe it.
February 15, 2026 at 2:51 PM
Reposted by Rebecca Gelernter
steveharrell.bsky.social
Best commentary I've seen on the repeal of the endangerment finding:

www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
Trump Administration Announces That We Don’t Know Where the Sun Goes at Night
After deciding carbon dioxide does no harm, it was the logical next move.
www.theatlantic.com
February 15, 2026 at 5:45 AM
Reposted by Rebecca Gelernter
older.bsky.social
important not to underestimate the visceral discomfort of this: having something personal and unique stolen, copied, and exploited for money.
February 15, 2026 at 12:39 PM
Reposted by Rebecca Gelernter
arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social
Happy #LoveHornbillsDay!
Hunt Slonem (USA, b.1951)
#Hornbills, 1989
Oil on canvas, 66.25 x 88.25 in.
#BirdsInArt
manolisprojectsstore.com/products/hor...
oil painting depicting a crowded flock of 18 different hornbills “Hunt Slonem's paintings are at once vibrant, energetic and colorful, yet also deeply spiritual and contemplative. The artist creates exotic forms with expressive and highly textural brushstrokes that are full of intense color, loosely inspired by artists of the German Expressionism movement. As a child, Slonem first felt a connection to birds. The fascination continued into adulthood; not only does he admire the colorful animals from afar, but he also collects the exotic birds. Slonem utilizes the intense colors of the neo-expressional style that mirrors the interesting worlds in which these animals exist. He describes his work with one word, “Exotica.” Slonem creates beautiful, surprising scenes that offer a calming joy to those who encounter it. From the very beginning, animals and the natural world, most notably birds, have been the central focus of his work. For Slonem, birds signify divinity and transcendence in their ability to leave the realm of earth and its constraints through flight. He sees the ability of birds to fly - to achieve atmospheric height - as a direct metaphor for transcendence from an earthly to a spiritual realm.”
February 13, 2026 at 11:09 PM
nearbirdstudios.bsky.social
Wait, it's #LoveHornbillsDay? Yes!!
nearbirdstudios.bsky.social Rebecca Gelernter @nearbirdstudios.bsky.social · 3d
Knobbed Hornbill WIP watercolor sketch. I haven't decided if I want to include his wings or keep this silly sock puppet look 🐡🪶
In-progress hornbill painting with two waterbrushes. The bird's neck is stretched upward, and it's looking diagonally outward.
February 14, 2026 at 1:03 AM
Reposted by Rebecca Gelernter
ajaxsinger.bsky.social
This is something the Nazis used to do to Jewish children in the camps. It happened to a man I knew when he was a child in Auschwitz. The camp guards thought it was funny as hell.
mikehixenbaugh.com Mike Hixenbaugh @mikehixenbaugh.com · 3d
On Thanksgiving, the immigrant children held at the Dilley detention center gathered in the gym for what they thought was a holiday feast.

The kids salivated over a spread of turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, a family told me.

But the food wasn’t for detainees — it was for the staff.
On Nov. 16, a mental health counselor recorded in Kamilla’s medical records that her mother reported the girl had lost her appetite after being “served food that contained worms.” A week later, the couple said, children were told to gather in the gym for what they believed would be a Thanksgiving celebration. Excitement spread as families saw tables set with turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, they said. The children waited expectantly. But when a parent asked when the celebration would begin, Oksana said, staff told them the holiday meal was for employees, not detainees. The children, she said, watched despondently as the feast was packed away.
February 13, 2026 at 8:09 PM
Reposted by Rebecca Gelernter
doedryadart.bsky.social
Weathered King

Recently finished portrait of a Great Hornbill
9x12" oil painting
#birds #sciart
Painted portrait of a Great Hornbill with a muted green backdrop. A striking yellow and black bird with a large bill and casque. The bill is weathered and textured, and the eyes are a deep red.
February 12, 2026 at 12:10 PM
nearbirdstudios.bsky.social
Weird Ducks at Quonochontaug Breachway this afternoon 🪶
Black Scoter swimming in a boulder-lined breachway. He's a large, black duck with a yellow knob at the base of his upper bill. Two male Common Eiders in a salt pond. The shore is covered in patchy, wet snow, and there's a sandbar with gulls some distance behind them. They're large, mostly black and white ducks with a wedge-shaped profile.
February 14, 2026 at 12:18 AM
nearbirdstudios.bsky.social
Me: Margot, you wanna step up?
Margot: STEP up (raises foot, does not step up)
Louie: (already out) stepUP
Me: Step up?
M: STEP up! Hello!
L: stepUP
Me: Step up
L: stepUP
M: STEP up! STEP up!
Me: Step up
M: STEP up
L: stepUP
M: STEP up

This goes on for minutes #parrotsky
February 13, 2026 at 11:21 PM
nearbirdstudios.bsky.social
Knobbed Hornbill WIP watercolor sketch. I haven't decided if I want to include his wings or keep this silly sock puppet look 🐡🪶
In-progress hornbill painting with two waterbrushes. The bird's neck is stretched upward, and it's looking diagonally outward.
February 13, 2026 at 9:53 PM