Richard Littauer
@richlitt.bsky.social
PhD in CS at Te Herenga Waka, focusing on birds. Open source. Linguist and conlanger. eBird and iNat. SustainOSS and CURIOSS. He/him.
See https://burntfen.com for a list of things I did when I should have been doing other things.
See https://burntfen.com for a list of things I did when I should have been doing other things.
Reposted by Richard Littauer
18 months ago I was photographing birds in a US national park when someone jumped out of a car in front of a dozen witnesses, put a Glock to my forehead, and demanded my camera.
This shot is from my first time out birding after that.
Living like this is a deliberate choice.
This shot is from my first time out birding after that.
Living like this is a deliberate choice.
January 6, 2026 at 7:04 AM
18 months ago I was photographing birds in a US national park when someone jumped out of a car in front of a dozen witnesses, put a Glock to my forehead, and demanded my camera.
This shot is from my first time out birding after that.
Living like this is a deliberate choice.
This shot is from my first time out birding after that.
Living like this is a deliberate choice.
Reposted by Richard Littauer
Long COVID is best described as a cluster of overlapping symptoms rather than one single condition, according to a review of 64 studies from 20 countries covering 2.4 million people.
Fatigue was most common, often alongside muscle and joint pain, cognitive symptoms, or shortness of breath.
Fatigue was most common, often alongside muscle and joint pain, cognitive symptoms, or shortness of breath.
Study outlines recurring symptom clusters that define long COVID
www.cidrap.umn.edu
January 5, 2026 at 10:52 PM
Long COVID is best described as a cluster of overlapping symptoms rather than one single condition, according to a review of 64 studies from 20 countries covering 2.4 million people.
Fatigue was most common, often alongside muscle and joint pain, cognitive symptoms, or shortness of breath.
Fatigue was most common, often alongside muscle and joint pain, cognitive symptoms, or shortness of breath.
Reposted by Richard Littauer
This is one of the coolest fucking things I’ve ever seen
An old school anarchist hacker who goes by Martha Root infiltrated a nazi dating site, got all of their into onto okstupid.lol, and THEN SHE DELETED THE ENTIRE SITE LIVE WHILE DRESSED AS THE PINK POWER RANGER.
hero.
An old school anarchist hacker who goes by Martha Root infiltrated a nazi dating site, got all of their into onto okstupid.lol, and THEN SHE DELETED THE ENTIRE SITE LIVE WHILE DRESSED AS THE PINK POWER RANGER.
hero.
January 5, 2026 at 10:45 PM
This is one of the coolest fucking things I’ve ever seen
An old school anarchist hacker who goes by Martha Root infiltrated a nazi dating site, got all of their into onto okstupid.lol, and THEN SHE DELETED THE ENTIRE SITE LIVE WHILE DRESSED AS THE PINK POWER RANGER.
hero.
An old school anarchist hacker who goes by Martha Root infiltrated a nazi dating site, got all of their into onto okstupid.lol, and THEN SHE DELETED THE ENTIRE SITE LIVE WHILE DRESSED AS THE PINK POWER RANGER.
hero.
Reposted by Richard Littauer
So this interview lasted 2 hours so this “you’re scaring me” part might seem like an overreaction or fearmongering to someone without that context.
There’s a lot of evidence to support my hypothesis that a potential H5N1 pandemic would be worse than COVID.
There’s a lot of evidence to support my hypothesis that a potential H5N1 pandemic would be worse than COVID.
April 21, 2025 at 1:28 PM
So this interview lasted 2 hours so this “you’re scaring me” part might seem like an overreaction or fearmongering to someone without that context.
There’s a lot of evidence to support my hypothesis that a potential H5N1 pandemic would be worse than COVID.
There’s a lot of evidence to support my hypothesis that a potential H5N1 pandemic would be worse than COVID.
Reposted by Richard Littauer
Some big diffs between citizen science observations (from iNaturalist) and specimen records (from digitised museum collections) - cit. sci records biased towards large inverts & exotic spp. Great MSc project with recommendations 🌏🧪@nzhymenoptera.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
January 5, 2026 at 12:18 AM
Some big diffs between citizen science observations (from iNaturalist) and specimen records (from digitised museum collections) - cit. sci records biased towards large inverts & exotic spp. Great MSc project with recommendations 🌏🧪@nzhymenoptera.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Richard Littauer
The mayor of New York City is doing more than the senate and house minority leaders
Zohran Mamdani, the new mayor of New York City, called President Trump on Saturday to personally object to strikes the U.S. had conducted in Venezuela and to the capture of its leader, Nicolás Maduro. Mamdani accused Trump of violating international law.
Zohran Mamdani Called President Trump to Criticize Venezuela Strikes
Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York accused President Trump of violating international law. It was the first time he had criticized the president since their White House meeting.
nyti.ms
January 4, 2026 at 4:09 AM
The mayor of New York City is doing more than the senate and house minority leaders
Reposted by Richard Littauer
I completely feel this
Reminder for everyone operating at situationally-diminished capacity.
January 4, 2026 at 5:56 AM
I completely feel this
I've asked eBird to make Wellington Region its own filter, because people keep posting Mynas and Little Black Cormorants in @zealandia.bsky.social. I suspect most of these observations are from tourists from Auckland who aren't familiar with Little Pied Shags and Tieke.
#ebird
#ebird
January 4, 2026 at 2:00 AM
I've asked eBird to make Wellington Region its own filter, because people keep posting Mynas and Little Black Cormorants in @zealandia.bsky.social. I suspect most of these observations are from tourists from Auckland who aren't familiar with Little Pied Shags and Tieke.
#ebird
#ebird
Reposted by Richard Littauer
It’s hard to believe a president would time an illegal military attack to distract the public’s attention, but today is the statutory deadline for DOJ to release its report on the Epstein file production. Maybe it is just a coincidence.
January 3, 2026 at 6:49 PM
It’s hard to believe a president would time an illegal military attack to distract the public’s attention, but today is the statutory deadline for DOJ to release its report on the Epstein file production. Maybe it is just a coincidence.
I've called my senators and rep, and told them that if the military works during the holidays, they should to. I've also said that no other priority - literally none - is more important than removal of Trump at this point.
No to war. Always no to war.
No to war. Always no to war.
Impeachment and removal now. Not in Vermont's name. Montpelier doesn't want this war, and we've lost enough lives for unnecessary oil and fascism.
Do your job and remove Trump. @welch.senate.gov @sanders.senate.gov @balint.house.gov
Do your job and remove Trump. @welch.senate.gov @sanders.senate.gov @balint.house.gov
January 3, 2026 at 9:44 AM
I've called my senators and rep, and told them that if the military works during the holidays, they should to. I've also said that no other priority - literally none - is more important than removal of Trump at this point.
No to war. Always no to war.
No to war. Always no to war.
Impeachment and removal now. Not in Vermont's name. Montpelier doesn't want this war, and we've lost enough lives for unnecessary oil and fascism.
Do your job and remove Trump. @welch.senate.gov @sanders.senate.gov @balint.house.gov
Do your job and remove Trump. @welch.senate.gov @sanders.senate.gov @balint.house.gov
January 3, 2026 at 8:51 AM
Impeachment and removal now. Not in Vermont's name. Montpelier doesn't want this war, and we've lost enough lives for unnecessary oil and fascism.
Do your job and remove Trump. @welch.senate.gov @sanders.senate.gov @balint.house.gov
Do your job and remove Trump. @welch.senate.gov @sanders.senate.gov @balint.house.gov
Reposted by Richard Littauer
Democrats should be drawing up immediate articles of impeachment to file. This is an illegal war. There's no supporting this. Everyone needs to protest immediately as well. We cannot allow this to continue.
January 3, 2026 at 7:23 AM
Democrats should be drawing up immediate articles of impeachment to file. This is an illegal war. There's no supporting this. Everyone needs to protest immediately as well. We cannot allow this to continue.
Reposted by Richard Littauer
Tonight, the President of the United States has launched an unconstitutional war of aggression, dooming another generation to spill their blood for oil, and lay waste to a sovereign nation.
I demand that Congress exercise its power, halt this conflict, and impeach this war criminal president.
I demand that Congress exercise its power, halt this conflict, and impeach this war criminal president.
January 3, 2026 at 7:41 AM
Tonight, the President of the United States has launched an unconstitutional war of aggression, dooming another generation to spill their blood for oil, and lay waste to a sovereign nation.
I demand that Congress exercise its power, halt this conflict, and impeach this war criminal president.
I demand that Congress exercise its power, halt this conflict, and impeach this war criminal president.
Reposted by Richard Littauer
Mercuric chloride too, in herbaria.
It's not an overstatement to say that taxonomic curators of the 1700 and 1800s would have killed for our preservation abilities. They quite literally died from the lack of them (through arsenic poisoning).
And now we're closing museums for lack of funds. Inconceivably tragic.
And now we're closing museums for lack of funds. Inconceivably tragic.
December 29, 2025 at 6:13 AM
Mercuric chloride too, in herbaria.
It's not an overstatement to say that taxonomic curators of the 1700 and 1800s would have killed for our preservation abilities. They quite literally died from the lack of them (through arsenic poisoning).
And now we're closing museums for lack of funds. Inconceivably tragic.
And now we're closing museums for lack of funds. Inconceivably tragic.
December 29, 2025 at 5:46 AM
It's not an overstatement to say that taxonomic curators of the 1700 and 1800s would have killed for our preservation abilities. They quite literally died from the lack of them (through arsenic poisoning).
And now we're closing museums for lack of funds. Inconceivably tragic.
And now we're closing museums for lack of funds. Inconceivably tragic.
This morning the blackbird began singing around 30 minutes into nautical twilight. Last night, two Kiwi pukupuku began singing exactly at the beginning of nautical twilight.
I wonder if there are meaningful spikes of activity in singing phenology, or if it just feels that way.
I wonder if there are meaningful spikes of activity in singing phenology, or if it just feels that way.
December 28, 2025 at 4:11 PM
This morning the blackbird began singing around 30 minutes into nautical twilight. Last night, two Kiwi pukupuku began singing exactly at the beginning of nautical twilight.
I wonder if there are meaningful spikes of activity in singing phenology, or if it just feels that way.
I wonder if there are meaningful spikes of activity in singing phenology, or if it just feels that way.
Leonardo Da Vinci included botanically accurate plants in a given ecosystem in his Virgin of the Rocks. Has anyone done a study on whether these plants are often collocated, and what plants he missed based on @inaturalist.bsky.social data? Anyone want to?
December 28, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Leonardo Da Vinci included botanically accurate plants in a given ecosystem in his Virgin of the Rocks. Has anyone done a study on whether these plants are often collocated, and what plants he missed based on @inaturalist.bsky.social data? Anyone want to?
Yesterday morning I saw two new behaviors in a House Sparrow, a bird I've looked at perhaps more than any other. One was panting like a cormorant, cooling down. A mating pair used a different, more liquid chirp while they were getting down.
I'm amazed how much constant newness there is to life.
I'm amazed how much constant newness there is to life.
December 28, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Yesterday morning I saw two new behaviors in a House Sparrow, a bird I've looked at perhaps more than any other. One was panting like a cormorant, cooling down. A mating pair used a different, more liquid chirp while they were getting down.
I'm amazed how much constant newness there is to life.
I'm amazed how much constant newness there is to life.
Beginner birders often take a while to understand that how birds look is a lot less variable than how individually different humans or dogs look to us. Generally, a bird is going to look like other members of its species and age group at a given time of year.
December 28, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Beginner birders often take a while to understand that how birds look is a lot less variable than how individually different humans or dogs look to us. Generally, a bird is going to look like other members of its species and age group at a given time of year.
Reposted by Richard Littauer
And if you want to write that crossover story of Bertie going into space on a flying London, then you can, because James Blish, the author of "Cities in Flight" (and a bunch of Star Trek novelisations) also died in 1975.
December 28, 2025 at 12:22 AM
And if you want to write that crossover story of Bertie going into space on a flying London, then you can, because James Blish, the author of "Cities in Flight" (and a bunch of Star Trek novelisations) also died in 1975.
Reposted by Richard Littauer
The Māori word for the smallest and cutest of kiwis, the lesser spotted kiwi, is pukupuku.
In Japanese, pukupuku (ぷくぷく) is an onomatopoeic word describing something cute, chubby, pudgy, or puffed up.
The two languages are from divergent language families. So WTF?
(Photo not mine; credit in alt)
In Japanese, pukupuku (ぷくぷく) is an onomatopoeic word describing something cute, chubby, pudgy, or puffed up.
The two languages are from divergent language families. So WTF?
(Photo not mine; credit in alt)
December 27, 2025 at 6:19 AM
The Māori word for the smallest and cutest of kiwis, the lesser spotted kiwi, is pukupuku.
In Japanese, pukupuku (ぷくぷく) is an onomatopoeic word describing something cute, chubby, pudgy, or puffed up.
The two languages are from divergent language families. So WTF?
(Photo not mine; credit in alt)
In Japanese, pukupuku (ぷくぷく) is an onomatopoeic word describing something cute, chubby, pudgy, or puffed up.
The two languages are from divergent language families. So WTF?
(Photo not mine; credit in alt)
Reposted by Richard Littauer
Look, it's the 21st century, and a comprehensive science has been developed to explain the universe. But last year, New York City had both a total eclipse and an earthquake just prior to the fall of the American constitution, and I can sort of see where the Babylonians were coming from.
December 27, 2025 at 3:49 AM
Look, it's the 21st century, and a comprehensive science has been developed to explain the universe. But last year, New York City had both a total eclipse and an earthquake just prior to the fall of the American constitution, and I can sort of see where the Babylonians were coming from.
Reposted by Richard Littauer
Great piece this one. A man learns Welsh as an adult and connects, sort of, with his mother and late Nain: https://yalereview.org/article/dan-fox-learning-welsh
Dan Fox: “What Happened When I Began to Speak Welsh”
Dan Fox on learning his family’s many-layered language and picking up a portable inheritance.
yalereview.org
December 27, 2025 at 2:52 AM
Great piece this one. A man learns Welsh as an adult and connects, sort of, with his mother and late Nain: https://yalereview.org/article/dan-fox-learning-welsh
Felt particularly low this morning. Tried coffee. Didn't work. Tried going outside. Didn't work.
Biked 25 miles for two hours around the bays. Unsurprisingly, I now feel different. Tired, sure, but different.
Go for a bike ride.
Biked 25 miles for two hours around the bays. Unsurprisingly, I now feel different. Tired, sure, but different.
Go for a bike ride.
December 27, 2025 at 2:19 AM
Felt particularly low this morning. Tried coffee. Didn't work. Tried going outside. Didn't work.
Biked 25 miles for two hours around the bays. Unsurprisingly, I now feel different. Tired, sure, but different.
Go for a bike ride.
Biked 25 miles for two hours around the bays. Unsurprisingly, I now feel different. Tired, sure, but different.
Go for a bike ride.