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Populations of American crows, tufted titmice, gray catbirds and brown thrashers dropped below normal during the cicada emergence year—and then increased the following year, after which they stabilized.

Keeping a written list of the visiting birds — goldfinches, yellow warblers, brown thrashers — made him feel connected to the memory of his birdwatching father, who died 11 years ago.

Georgia picked the brown thrasher, a fiercely territorial bird with a repertoire of more than 1,000 song types.

But when he and his team genetically sequenced the feathers, the results surprised them: the quills came from a land-based songbird called a brown thrasher.

From outside would come the resolute tapping of woodpeckers and the morning calls of gray catbirds, brown thrashers, and mockingbirds, all singing their hearts out.