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This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

Defector

Beefector

Birdfector

Animals

Barry Petchesky

Greenfinches and Goldfinches on and around a bird feeder.

You’re A Birder, James Hetfield


<p>charismatic megafauna (they/them)</p>


Sabrina Imbler

An image of Flaco in his chain-link exhibit at the Central Park Zoo

What Do We Owe Zoo Animals?

Flaco Never Escaped

Kelsey McKinney

Flaco, a brown and black Eurasian eagle owl who escaped the Central Park Zoo, roosts in a tree in New York's Central Park with a squirrel nearby.

Flaco Gave Us A Willingness To See The World

An African grey parrot looking at the camera

Let The British Parrots Say “Fuck”

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<div class="p-rich_text_section">Tom Scocca is the editor of <a href="http://indignity.net">Indignity</a>, a subscription-supported newsletter of news, essays, and commentary.</div>
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Tom Scocca

A male blue jay, perched on a branch with green foliage in the fore- and background.

Margin Of Error

The Omens Are Bad

A beautiful Streaked Shearwater in flight seen in the sea of Toshima.

Creaturefector

Get Ready With Me (A Streaked Shearwater)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 15: Flaco, a Eurasian eagle owl that escaped from the Central Park Zoo, continues to roost and hunt in Central Park, February 15, 2023 in New York City, New York. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

Flaco Has Flown Free

LAKE FOREST, CA - JULY 16: Dr. Scott Weldy of the Orange County Bird of Prey Center holds a Cooper"u2019s hawk just prior to releasing it near Lake Forest on Thursday, July 16, 2020. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

North American Birds Will No Longer Be Named After People

A pigeon looks in the photographer's camera in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on November 17, 2016. / AFP / dpa / Frank Rumpenhorst / Germany OUT (Photo credit should read FRANK RUMPENHORST/DPA/AFP via Getty Images)

Birds Are More Like Us Than You Think, Olivia Rodrigo


<p>Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.</p>


Dan McQuade

The new Saint Joseph’s Hawk, flapping his wings next to a statue of a real Hawk, with the slogan THE HAWK WILL NEVER DIE

St. Joe’s Just Couldn’t Get Any More Hawk Feathers

a magpie nest in a tree. the nest is built from a bunch of anti-bird spikes, which are long spiky needles attached to strips.

There’s No Such Thing As Hostile Architecture When You’re A Bird

This Is A Public Service Announcement For Every Bird

PHOENIX, ARIZONA - MAY 13: Starting pitcher Zac Gallen #23 of the Arizona Diamondbacks gestures at home plate umpire Ramon De Jesus #18 during the fourth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Chase Field on May 13, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Zac Gallen Is Now An Enemy Of The Birds

NCAA Division I Mascot Analysis - Four mascots listed Florida Atlantic: Owlsley Temple: Hooter Kennesaw State: Scrappy Rice: Sammy Also a milk carton with "WHERE IS HOOT?" and a picture of him on it and an OWLFECTOR logo with two little owls perching on it

College Basketball

Owl You Need To Know About Owl Mascots

Oh No! The Big, Beautiful Owl Got Out!

A domestic pigeon that has been dyed pink with hair dye.

Justice For Flamingo, Who Did Not Consent To Being Dyed Pink

Wisdom the Laysan Albatross resting on her nest

Wisdom The Laysan Albatross Is The Most Beautiful 71-Year-Old In The World

<p>Matt Ufford is the head of video and audio at Yahoo Sports.</p>


Matt Ufford

A Bird Idiot’s Guide To Winter Birding

Patrick Redford

The Dodgers Squandered A Rally Goose By Putting It In A Trash Can

WOLLOGONG, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 19: Detailed view of birds perched on a railing during the 95th UCI Road World Championships 2022 - Men U23 Individual Time Trial a 28,8km / #Wollongong2022 / on September 19, 2022 in Wollongong, Australia. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

Cycling

The Winner Of The Cycling World Championships Is: Birds

JAKARTA, INDONESIA: Indonesian boys swim on a river to catch ducks as part of game show in Jakarta, 17 August 2006, to celebrate country's 61st independence day anniversary. Outside a house in central Jakarta on the morning of August 17, 1945, a small group of nationalists gathered for a simple ceremony to declare independence for the remains of the former Dutch East Indies empire and Indonesia was born. After three centuries of Dutch colonial rule and three years of Japanese occupation, the world's largest archipelago had been declared one nation, although it was another four years before the Dutch abandoned their attempts to retake their former possession and recognised Indonesia. AFP PHOTO/Bay ISMOYO (Photo credit should read BAY ISMOYO/AFP via Getty Images)