Of A Feather: Passerines
More than half of all bird species are perching birds: the Passeriformes. This order includes house sparrows, American robins, crows, and thousands of others.
This print shows 6,500+ species of Passeriformes arranged radially by wing length, using data from the AVONET database. Each mark represents one species, with colors extracted from Wikipedia's text descriptions using natural language processing. The shortest-winged birds appear near the center, while longer-winged species extend toward the edges, creating a visualization where both physical measurements and descriptive language shape the final composition.
The color patterns reflect how we describe these birds: the most vividly described species use bright colors, while birds described in more muted tones (browns, grays, and soft greens) help show how many passerines blend into their environments.
Art prints are on Enhanced Matte Art paper, 200gsm, and are printed with archival quality inks.
Frames are natural wood. Motheye is the top-of-the line anti-glare glass.
About the Artist
About the Artist: Jer Thorp is a data artist whose work has appeared at The New York Times, the Museum of Modern Art, and in publications like Scientific American and The New Yorker. Originally trained as a geneticist, he works at the intersection of science and art. He is a National Geographic Explorer and author of "Living in Data."
Support Bird Rescue!
5% of profits from the Of A Feather project go to The Wild Bird Fund, New York City's only bird rescue and rehabilitation organization.
Shipping Notes
Shipping is calculated by weight and region, and will be added at checkout.
Everything is shipped plastic-free where possible.
*NOTE* These prints will begin shipping on or around November 14th
