Overview

• Researchers analyzed roughly 100,000 audio recordings and nearly 10,000 app observations collected during the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse.
• Of 52 species detected, 29 changed vocal activity before, during, or after totality, highlighting species-specific sensitivity to light.
• Many birds fell silent during darkness, then increased singing when the sun reappeared in a widespread false dawn chorus.
• American Robins sang about six times their usual rate and Barred Owls called roughly four times more often during the event.
• The team combined the SolarBird community-science app with BirdNET identification, a model that can inform light-pollution mitigation and guide future eclipse studies.