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The Feather Detective

Mystery, Mayhem, and the Magnificent Life of Roxie Laybourne

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The Feather Detective

Von: Chris Sweeney
Gesprochen von: Sierra Prasada
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Über diesen Titel

 “A biography that reads like a novel.” —The Wall Street Journal • “Laybourne was a badass.” —Los Angeles Times • “Sweeney’s biography must be read to be believed.” —The Millions • “Engrossing...Riveting...This entrances.” —Publishers Weekly • NPR Books We Love 2025 • Scientific American’s Best Nonfiction of 2025

The fascinating and remarkable true story of the world’s first forensic ornithologist—Roxie Laybourne, who broke down barriers for women, solved murders, and investigated deadly airplane crashes with nothing more than a microscope and a few fragments of feathers.

In 1960, an Eastern Airlines flight had no sooner lifted from the runway at Boston Logan Airport when it struck a flock of birds and took a nosedive into the shallow waters of the Boston Harbor, killing sixty-two people. This was the golden age of commercial airflight—luxury in the skies—and safety was essential to the precarious future of air travel. So the FAA instructed the bird remains be sent to the Smithsonian Institution for examination, where they would land on the desk of the only person in the world equipped to make sense of it all.

Her name was Roxie Laybourne, a diminutive but singular woman with thick glasses, a heavy Carolina drawl, and a passion for birds. Roxie didn’t know it at the time, but that box full of dead birds marked the start of a remarkable scientific journey. She became the world’s first forensic ornithologist, investigating a range of crimes and calamites on behalf of the FBI, the US Air Force, and even NASA.

The Feather Detective takes readers deep within the vaunted backrooms of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History to tell the story of a burgeoning science and the enigmatic woman who pioneered it. While her male colleagues in taxidermy embarked on expeditions around the world and got plum promotions, Roxie stayed with her birds. Using nothing more than her microscope and bits of feathers, she helped prosecute murderers, kidnappers, and poachers. When she wasn’t testifying in court or studying evidence from capital crimes, she was helping aerospace engineers and Air Force crews as they raced to bird-proof their airplanes before disaster struck again.

In The Feather Detective, award-winning journalist Chris Sweeney charts the astonishing life and work of this overlooked pioneer. Once divorced, once widowed, and sometimes surly, Roxie shattered stereotypes and pushed boundaries. Her story is one of persistence and grit, obsession and ingenuity. Drawing on reams of archival material, court documents, and exclusive interviews, Sweeney delivers a moving and amusing portrait of a woman who overcame cultural and scientific obstacles at every turn, forever changing our understanding of birds—and the feathers they leave behind. Akademiker & Spezialisten Frauen Nord-, Mittel- & Südamerika Wissenschaft Wissenschaft & Technik

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"“Forensic ornithologist” are two words few people would put together. But they’re the focus of this audiobook about a Smithsonian specialist whose vast knowledge of feathers led to solving mysteries surrounding aircraft accidents, murders, and other incidents. Sierra Prasada offers an able narration of this biography of pioneering researcher Roxie Laybourne. Prasada enlivens the scientist, in particular, capturing her frustration with the sexist power structure at the museum. Listeners will also hear notes of delight in Roxie’s success at thwarting or circumventing the men who were determined to see her fail."
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