Chris Sweeney
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cbsweeney.bsky.social
Chris Sweeney
@cbsweeney.bsky.social
-Author of “The Feather Detective: Mystery, Mayhem, and the Magnificent Life of Roxie Laybourne"
-Fan of magazines.
-Sounding alarm on antibiotic resistance for AMR Action Fund.
www.cbsweeney.com
If you’ve not read The Feather Detective yet, what are you waiting for? You too may be inspired to volunteer to skin #birds at your local #museum. It has murders, airplane crashes, and the bad ass that is Roxie Laybourne

Order here: bookshop.org/p/books/the-... #mystery #truecrime #wildlife
October 16, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Whoever put together the NYT list of most influential magazine covers entirely overlooked city mags.
October 1, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Jeez talk about serendipity, from @washingtonpost.com review of Bobbi Brown’s new memoir.
September 23, 2025 at 12:49 AM
What a good cover from @science.org
September 10, 2025 at 12:38 AM
My father died last week. He spent 26 yrs in the NYPD and had *many* stories. Him being among the first responders to John Lennon’s murder was among my favorite. I’d somehow never seen this illustration before his passing.
August 11, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Incredible to speak with Scott Simon on Weekend Edition @npr.org about Roxie Laybourne and The Feather Detective. Listen here: www.npr.org/2025/07/19/n...
July 19, 2025 at 3:40 PM
The blurbing process is pretty painful for many authors, self included. But it also allowed me to reconnect with the great Amy Stewart. So grateful so took the time to do this Q&A with me: amystewart.substack.com/p/the-feathe... #books #birds
July 18, 2025 at 7:33 PM
If you live in the Providence area and like cool shit, including crazy bird-related disasters and crimes, come to Riffraff book shop next Thursday. It’s gonna be fun!
July 16, 2025 at 10:08 PM
The fine folks at Elle name The Feather Detective one of the best books of summer and give it a stylish review. Yessss! www.elle.com/culture/book...
June 24, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Coming this summer, the first biography of Roxie Laybourne, who pioneered the field of forensic ornithology and forever changed our understanding of birds and the feathers they leave behind! Preorder here: bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
May 30, 2025 at 1:54 PM
My book about Roxie Laybourne drops two months from today. If you’re interested in birds, disasters, true crime, tough women, and pioneering science, please preorder a copy of The Feather Detective here bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
May 22, 2025 at 4:33 PM
This snowy owl at @vinsnaturecenter.bsky.social is named
LaGuardia because it was rescued from the airport in 2014 after sustaining bad injuries from a “jet blast.” One lucky bird… Love VINS and the work it does. If ever in Vt, pop by and say 👋 to LaGuardia and the many other raptors in care
May 15, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Pavos absolutely flexing in Medford, Mass.
May 11, 2025 at 7:18 PM
I don't write about this in The Feather Detective, but one day while hanging around the Smithsonian's Feather ID Lab, I noticed a book about Bong Joon Ho's "Snowpiercer." Seemed out of place but turns out Roxie Laybourne inspired the costume for Minister Mason, played by Tilda Swinton
May 8, 2025 at 1:48 AM
What a great spread design @bostonmagazine.bsky.social
April 29, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Weird combo
April 20, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Nice @nytimes.com reporting on seemingly extreme avian challenges at S Korea’s Muan International Airport, where a Jeju Air flight crashed after striking some ducks in December, killing 179 #birdstrike nytimes.com/2025/04/15/wor…
April 15, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Doing something right.
April 9, 2025 at 11:12 PM
I really wanna know how big this beaver was to warrant a parenthetical “massive”
March 8, 2025 at 10:17 PM
“Everyone in the village is sick.” Such a fun @outsidemag.bsky.social piece. www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adve... thx @longreads.com for flagging
March 7, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Old pic I found while researching the book. Birds (and a plane) at a dump near DeKalb-Peachtree Airport. Crazy. A Learjet eventually crashed as a result, hitting an apt building and several cars in a parking lot.
February 28, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Direct impact during a short-window on northwest Ohio’s Lake Erie. Birds (and birders) are very good for business. See @nicosgonzalez.bsky.social short 🧵👇 for more about 🦅🦆 & 💸🤑
February 27, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health is shutting down its very good digital magazine. This is a real shame, especially in context of @dicktofel.bsky.social piece below about the need for sustained & substantive coverage of public health. Timing could not be worse.
February 24, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Washboard ridges on an Anhinga's tail feathers. So pretty.
February 24, 2025 at 3:19 AM
Short-eared owl hunting at Plum Island yesterday. #SuperbOwl
February 9, 2025 at 4:02 PM