Next time you have a chance to view a total solar eclipse, watch and listen to what the birds around you are doing! That is what several researchers in Indiana did in April of 2024 when the path of a total solar eclipse passed across their area during the period when vocalizations relating to territorial establishment and mate attraction are leading up to breeding season. They set up microphones to record bird vocalizations the day before, the day of, and the day after the eclipse for a period each day centering on the time of totality. But that isn’t all they did. In an excellent example of encouraging active public engagement in science (“citizen or participatory science”), they created a smartphone app that allowed users to record observed behaviors (such as singing, flying, eating) and they recruited observers not only in the path of totality from Mexico to Maine, but elsewhere across the continent. Extensive statistical and AI analysis of thousands of observations showed that the behavior of 29 of 52 species was significantly affected by the brief darkness, but with considerable variation. Nineteen species produced a “dawn chorus” as light returned (notably American robins and a barred owl), fewer species (11) responded with a dusk chorus as daylight dimmed, and during totality 6 of 12 species increased vocalizations and 6 decreased. Movement dropped noticeably during totality.
This natural experiment shows that the biological rhythms of most birds are indeed affected by light/dark cycles—even when “night” lasts for just 4 minutes—and that citizen science can be a powerful tool for understanding the natural world.
Based on an article in Science, 9 October 2025