Rosemary Mosco

@rosemarymosco.com

119889 Followers 516 Following

Nature comics (Bird and Moon). Books about nature. Talks. Bird facts. rosemarymosco.com She/her.

Did you grow up in a family that looked perfectly normal from the outside? Hi Rosemary, I picked up A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching: Getting to Know the World's Most Misunderstood Bird because that question stopped me cold.
I know what it feels like to look at the natural world and see endless wonder, to be fascinated by weird science facts, adorable animals, and the sweet wit of a cartoonist who understands that nature is both hilarious and profound. I know what it feels like to want to level up your birding, to grab your binoculars and dive into a world of feathered hilarity and fact filled comics. I know what it feels like to need a book that combines science, humor, and a strong environmental message in a way that makes you laugh out loud while learning something new. I know what it feels like to need a collection that is perfect for anyone who loves birds and the natural world. That is what you wrote. And I felt every single page of it. You did not just create a comic collection. You created a delightful first collection that combines weird science facts, adorable animals, and sweet wit with a strong environmental message. You gave us eighty plus fact filled, laugh out loud comics about birds and nature, all in an enlarged trim size with bigger, bolder images and sixteen
An image of a book called Birding Is My Favorite Video Game: Cartoons about the Natural World from Bird and Moon by Rosemary Mosco, covered in cartoon birds, against a cloud background with words saying "Pre-order incentive: Get a downloadable print."
A wooden carved and painted sculpture of a white-breasted nuthatch sitting on some nuts with a nutmeat with wings flying away into the sky.
A six-panel comic titled "what to do if you find a wild baby bunny in North America." There's a drawing of a cute baby bunny on a patch of grass with some daisies, and it's saying "You found me. Hello." A drawing of rabbit nests. The text says "Most North American rabbits don't burrow. The mom rabbit makes a nest on the ground." There's an image of a circle of dried grass against a green lawn, labeled "It's well-hidden under dry grass or leaves." Then there's an image of baby rabbits curled up in fur, labeled "Underneath, the young are in a fur-lined bowl". "Check your lawn before you mow!" An image of a mom rabbit nursing her tiny young who are crawling out of the nest against green grass and daisies. Text says "If you find a nest and don't see the mom, don't worry. She only visits for a few minutes every day to nurse." The mom says "Dinner is served." Text at the bottom says "Leave the nest alone and be sure to keep dogs and cats away." An image of the top of the nest against green grass with a tic tac toe pattern of dried grass on it. Text says "If you think the babies have been orphaned, do this test: Use sticks or long grass to make a Tic Tac Toe pattern on the nest. Come back after at least 18 hours. If the pattern hasn't been disturbed, contact a wildlife rehabilitator." An image of a small baby bunny sitting on some green grass. Text says "A baby bun leaves the nest in 3-4 weeks. If you find a bun on its own that looks like this, ears stick up, open eyes, 4-5 inch (10-13 cm) long, hops well, furred, uninjured, then it's just fine. Don't kidnap it!" A cute bunny is jumping over green grass, and another is sitting up and saying "Thank you for bunderstanding." Text says "If not, or if a bun was touched by a cat, contact a wildlife rehabilitator. These are just the bun basics. For more detailed advice, consult your local wildlife rescue!"
An image of a book called Birding Is My Favorite Video Game: Cartoons about the Natural World from Bird and Moon covered in cartoon birds, against a cloud background with words saying "Pre-order incentive: Get a downloadable print."
A 6-panel comic with yellow to maroon hues, titled "6 Facts About Heat Waves." Each panel presents a fact. Fact #1 says: Scientists say that 2026 heat waves in the US and Europe would have been "virtually impossible" without climate change, which is super-charging heat waves around the world. There's an image of a woman holding her forehead and sweating in extreme heat against a city background.
A design on a black background of the word Heron in red metal writing, above a stylized cartoon great blue heron in a circle squawking "Kraagh" in front of a background of red cattails.
A drawing of a turkey vulture carrying a letter, with text that says "Join my mailing list, Flight Club, at buttondown.com/rosemarymosco. It's short, monthly, and contains a weird-bird-of-the-month."
A design on a black background of the word Heron in red metal writing, above a stylized cartoon great blue heron in a circle squawking "Kraagh" in front of a background of red cattails.
A design on a black background of the word Heron in red metal writing, above a stylized cartoon great blue heron in a circle squawking "Kraagh" in front of a background of red cattails.
A piece of paper torn from a dictionary that says "hybridization: noun. When birds belonging to two different species produce offspring. Hybrid offspring often display a mix of characteristics from both parents' species." The next panel shows a labeled Common Hybrids showing a golden-winged warbler and blue-winged warbler hybrid, a beautiful blue and yellow songbird with a black mask, and a mallard x northern pintail, with a green head, rusty breast and long curled tail. The third panel, labeled Rare Hybrids, shows a yellow warbler x black-throated blue warbler, a pale gray and yellow songbird with gray markings, and a green jay x blue jay, a bird with a black mask on a blue face and a fancy blue tail. The fourth panel, labeled Hybrids I Want to See, shows a ruby-throated hummingbird x grater sage grouse hybrid, with a tiny head, tiny wings, and huge air sacs for display, and a northern cardinal x anhinga, a red bird with a long snaky neck and tiny cardinal head.
One of the reasons why variations on “the end of” myths are so popular is because we collectively forget the myths that surround the history of technology. Cyberspace gurus encourage us to think that we have reached the end of history, the end of geography and the end of politics. Everything has changed. So we can apply the mute button to whatever has come before. After all, history has nothing to say to us because it knows nothing of cyberspace. But quite to the contrary, history is filled with myth-making about technology and has more to say than ever before about how we invent myths whenever we invent technology. We want to believe that our era is unique in transforming the world as we have known it. The end is preferred to more of the same; the transcendent to the routine; the sublime to the banal. So we not only view our age as revolutionary. We forget that others looked at earlier technologies in the same way.
An 8 panel comic. The first three panels are labeled "Where you think you'll see a rare bird." Panel 1 is labeled "Lush forest" and shows a beautiful rich forest with tall conifers, a waterfall, and mountains. Panel 2 is labeled "Perfect sunlit branch" and shows a branch rising above the trees, shaped like a great bird perch. Panel 3 is labeled "Area near an informational plaque about a rare bird" and shows a forest with a sign in front displaying an image of a Spruce Grouse and informational text. The next set of images are labeled "Where you'll actually see a rare bird". They include "Tree behind a Walmart", with Cabanis's ground-sparrow singing in a tree, "Skating rink parking lot" with a Lewis's woodpecker climbing a palm, "Spooky cemetery" with a Vermillion Flycatcher standing on a gravestone in a foggy spooky cemetery, "Sewage treatment plant" with a tufted duck gliding through the water, "Flying over your car" with a golden eagle sailing above a red car that's driving down the highway, and "Text from Uncle Ron" with a text exchange in which Ron says "Weird bird landed in my yard" and sends a picture of a whooping crane, to which you reply "Wow! Is it still there???" and he says "no".
A four-panel comic. The first panel shows an arrow pointing down at a happy-looking nuthatch bird, and a caption: This is a nuthatch. The caption says "It's called a nuthatch because... wait no" and we see the nuthatch standing on a pile of nuts, tucking them under it. The caption says "That's not... wait" and the nuthatch is roosting comfortably on the pile of nuts. The caption says NO. And we see that one of the nuts has hatched and some walnut meat is flying happily into the air on little wings.
A six panel comic of female birds with confusing names, featuring a labeled portrait of each bird. In the first panel, there's a brown-headed cowbird with the label "entire body grayish-brown". In panel 2 there's a female red-winged blackbird labeled "orange-winged brownbird". In panel 3 there's a female black-throated blue warbler labeled "not-black throated" and "maybe some blue if you squint". In panel four there's a female scarlet tanager labeled "not scarlet" and "also, if we're being technical, not a tanager". In panel 5 there's a female red-cockaded woodpecker labeled "no red cockade" and "what even is a cockade?" and "don't worry about it". In the 6th panel there's a female northern cardinal labeled "mostly brown, despite being named for the red outfits worn by Catholic Cardinals" and "not allowed to become pope".
A poster titled "north american birds" that features 11 bird species in their female plumage: red-necked phalarope, painted bunting, belted kingfisher, california quail, anna's hummingbird, blue grosbeak, northern harrier, black-throated blue warbler, northern cardinal, red-winged blackbird, and common merganser.
"The Twins", about autistic savants. Dr. Sacks meets twin brothers who can neither read nor perform multiplication, yet are playing a "game" of finding very large prime numbers. While the twins were able to spontaneously generate these numbers, from six to twenty digits, Sacks had to resort to a book of prime numbers to join in with them. The twins also instantly count 111 dropped matches, simultaneously remarking that 111 is three 37s. This story has been questioned by Makoto Yamaguchi, who doubts that a book of large prime numbers could exist as described, and points out that reliable scientific reports support only approximate perception when rapidly counting large numbers of items.[7][8] Autistic savant Daniel Tammet points out that the twins provided the matchbox and may have counted its contents beforehand, noting that he finds the value of 111 to be "particularly beautiful and matchstick-like".[9] The twins in question had already been studied extensively, and no ability to identify primes had been reported. In his private journal, Sacks wrote this case was the "most flagrant example" of his distortions.[2]
Two colorful dresses and a shirt with birds printed all over them.
A comic called Fashion Tips from Nature. A dress with a monarch butterfly pattern is shown next to a dress with a viceroy pattern, with text that says "Poisonous? Share the news with bold stripes. Or coordinate with a toxic friend!" An owl moth with eyespots is shown next to shoes with eyespots on the toes, with text "Keep your dates on their toes with these terrifying eyespots." A row of tank tops are shown with text "These classic looks are timeless and practical." There's a leaf patterned one, a bark one, a bird poop one with a giant swallowtail caterpillar, and a tank top with a false head on it next to a hairstreak. A polo shirt with a yellow inflatable air sac is shown next to a greater prairie chicken and text that says "inflatable air sacs keep you party-ready." A hat with incredibly long king of saxony bird of paradise plumes is shown with text "Amaze your crush with your ability to sport this style, yet still move and find food."
An image of a book called Birding Is My Favorite Video Game: Cartoons about the natural world from Bird and Moon. Text says "My first comics collection is updated & back in print! It's out July 28, but you can preorder it wherever you buy books."
Check swamp
get stuff done by thursday
A book on a purple background. The book is called Birding Is My Favorite Video Game: Comics about the natural world from bird and moon and has a number of birds on the cover that have been assigned points - for example, the ivorybill is 5000 points but the chipping sparrow is 5 and a balloon is zero. The book is under a banner that says Preorder now!
A flyer for upcoming talks, featuring a woodcock saying "Come say hi!" May 5, 6:45 pm on Zoom: Talk for Audubon Everglades May 9, 12:30 pm, Point Pelee, ON: Talk on birding slang May 14, 4 pm, Maumee Bay, Ohio: Keynote for Biggest Week festival
A four panel comic. In panel 1, there's an image of a closeup on the head of a yellow morph timber rattlesnake, with text above it that says "Behold the snake: Cunning, cruel, and bloodthirsty, it embodies evil and sin. Who knows what malevolent thoughts lurk in its mind?" In panel 2, the snake is zoomed out slightly, and a thought bubble rises above its head with three dots inside it. In panel 3, we're zoomed out more to see the whole snake curled up on a rock with a colorful background behind it, and there's a thought bubble rising from its head that says "Mmm warm sun." In panel 4, we're zoomed out even more, and the snake is sitting on a rock at the top of a hill with green grass and trees, a vibrant background of mountains and lakes behind it, and a bright blue sky with a golden cloud and birds flying. The snake is thinking "Nice day."
A four-panel comic. In panel 1, two people are standing in the forest, wearing backpacks. The red-haired person says "I've never hiked with a naturalist before! I'm excited. I hope I brought enough water." The brown-haired person says "I'm sure you did. Let's go!" In panel 2, the brown-haired person points at various nature features. "Look, a red eft! It's the teenaged form of the Eastern Newt. Ooh, wintergreen! Wanna smell it? I hear a Chestnut-sided Warbler. Glacial till. Rubble of the last ice age!" In panel 3, the naturalist points to more nature items. "This forest seems early successional. Aw, a leafcutter bee with a piece of leaf! Wow, deer poor! Wow, fungi growing out of the deer poop!!" The red-haired person says "Okay, but..." In panel 4, the red-haired person continues, "It's been an hour and we've walked three feet." The brown-haired person exclaims, looking excited, "Three amazing feet!"
An image that says "Join my mailing list Flight Club: buttondown.com/rosemarymosco. It's short, monthly, and contains a weird bird of the month." There's an image of a cute cartoon turkey vulture with a heart over his head, carrying a letter.
A drawing titled "Wild Rabbit vs. Easter Bunny". On the left, there's a wild cottontail bunny sitting down looking alert. On the right, there's a cartoonish Easter Bunny wearing a little polkadot vest and standing next to some colorful eggs. The wild bunny is labeled "Eyes on the sides of the head to watch for predators." and the Easter Bunny "Forward-facing eyes to hunt for meat." Wild bunny: "Active all year." Easter Bunny: "Only active in Spring - otherwise in diapause as a cyst?" Wild bunny: "Walks on four legs." Easter Bunny: "Unusual bipedal stance." Wild bunny: "Plain brown and white fur." Easter Bunny: "Distinctive vest-like markings." Wild bunny: "Gives birth to live young." Easter Bunny: "Steals and redistributes eggs; parasitic reproductive strategy?"
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A six panel comic. In panel 1, a banner says "Pigeons make milk" and a smaller banner says "A fact you didn't need to know". A pigeon stands looking at the reader next to a carton of milk. In panel 2, the text says "Like mammals, pigeons feed milk to their babies. Both male and female pigeons produce it." Two pigeons sit next to their pink and gray babies, all looking happy, and one of the parents says, "Teamwork." In panel 3, the text says "Pigeons don't have nipples. They make milk in a part of their esophagus and regurgitate it." Two pigeons stand next to each other, one with a cow udder and one with a line of nipples down its chest, with red X's next to them. In panel 3, the text says "Amazingly, it evolved independently from mammal milk but it's triggered by the same hormone, prolactin." A black and white dairy cow looks down at a pigeon, who says "We're not so different, you and I." In panel 5, the text says "Like our milk, it has fats, proteins, immune-supporting substances, and more." A cow foot and a pigeon wing are shown high-fiving, and text says "milk high five". In panel 6, the text says "However, it's very chunky, so don't trust any pigeon to make you a good latte." A white coffee cup steaming with a latte inside is shown with the contents censored, and a pigeon leans into the frame looking proud of itself.
A screenshot of part of a drawing of a pigeon with the words "Pigeons don't have nipples."
A six-panel comic called Signs of Spring, Ranked. In panel 1, #10 is Robin, showing an american robing standing on a lawn - not always a useful sign since robins are quietly present in winter in many areas. In panel 2, there's #9: Daffodil - nice, mundane, #8: Skunk Cabbage - unusual, cool, and #7: Dutchman's Breeches, a flower that looks like a pair of underwear with a hole - lol. In panel 3, there's #6: Turkey vulture migrating - gloriously ominous, a humbling reminder of life's transience, and #5: very very small bunny - wow, the little ears. In panel 4 there's #4: Snake sunbathing, with a gartersnake warming itself - underappreciated, looks cozy, and #3: Woodcock going peent - the perfect sound. In panel 5 there's a wood frog calling from a pond, and #2: small frogs yelling as loud as they can, with a wood frog floating in a pool inflating itself to make a loud quack - they crave love, or at least they crave the external fertilization of 1500 gelatinous eggs. In panel 6, there's a drawing of a spring peeper and #1, Even smaller frogs yelling, with a spring peeper sitting on the ground making loud calls - yes, YES.
Sandhill cranes leap into the air to argue, against a backdrop of prairie and snowcapped Colorado mountains.
Thousands of sandhill cranes fly in and gather on a plain at sunset in front of a misty brown hill.
Thousands of cranes croaking
Three thousand sandhill cranes fly and strut in front of onlookers on a plain in Monte Vista.
American Dipper in a stream
A drawing titled "psst genetic engineers: I have a proposal." It shows ten duck species being combined into one best duck, which has a long-tailed duck's tail plumes, a king eider's wing spikes, a hooded merganser's hood, a white-winged scoter's eye markings, a redhead's eye and red head, a ring-necked duck's bill pattern, a northern shoveler's bill shape, a northern pintail's neck pattern, a harlequin duck's blue, and a ruddy duck's upturned tail.
Eventually a new technology comes along. Utopia beckons, and the process begins again. “One generation after another has renewed the belief that, whatever was said about earlier technologies, the latest one will fulfill a radical and revolutionary promise,” Vincent Mosco, a technology historian, wrote in “The Digital Sublime: Myth, Power, and Cyberspace.”
A collection of six ominous bird valentines set against a background of pink hearts. In the first one, a Canada Goose looks angry and hisses and the text says "Baby, I'll make you fall head over heels if you approach within 10m of my nest." In the second, an American white pelican opens its mouth to eat the reader and the text says "There are plenty of fish in the sea, but I want this one." In the third valentine, a Black Vulture looks suspiciously at the reader and the text says "I will love you until you die. And after that, I'll love you even more." A Southern Cassowary stands proudly against the heart-covered background. The text says "My wattles are red. My head is blue. My deadly reputation has been somewhat overblown, but I'd kill for you." In the fifth valentine, a Northern Giant-Petrel stands open-billed next to a large brown furry object, and the text says "Let's seal the deal by sharing a 3000 kg elephant seal carcass." In panel 6, a happy-looking Bearded Vulture holds a bone in its beak, and the text says "I love every part of you, especially your bones."
A four panel comic. In panel 1, there are three beautiful blooming roses, and the text says "Roses are red..." In panel 2, there are some lovely violets budding and blooming, and the text says "Violets are blue..." In panel 3, there are some terrifying red and flesh colored plants with toothy maws and the text says "Hydnora are leafless, bizarrely fleshy, and incapable of producing chlorophyl..." and in panel 4 there are some cute hearts and the text says "And so are you. Happy Valentine's Day"
A great blue heron is standing in a marsh reading a book. The book says "They lived at opposite ends of the pond. From afar, she admired his long plumes and excellent fishing technique." The heron gets more flustered as she reads: "One day he came flying toward her. Watching him approach, she wondered: What did he want? And was he... carrying something in his beak?" The heron gets even more flustered as she reads: "Her heart skipped a beat as he landed beside her. Fluffing his neck feathers, he said those three special words:" The heron falls backwards in a swoon as she reads, "Here's a stick."
A comic called the four seasons of bird watching. In panel 1, labeled elegant songbird spring, a yellow-throated vireo sings against a green background. In panel 2, labeled subtle treasures of summer, a hermit thrush stands on moss in a dark green forest. In panel 3 labeled magnificent fall migrations, broad-winged hawks soar over fall foliage. In panel 4, labeled weird duck time, a northern shoveler, surf scoter, and red-breasted merganser open their strange bills and yell.
A four-panel comic titled "how to get into nature". In panel 1, a person kneels in the woods, looking down at a red-backed salamander, and the text says "notice a living thing." In panel 2, the text says "notice some other things that live near it," and there's a starflower, springtail, ant, little wood satyr butterfly, and salamander on the leaf litter. In panel 3, covered in creatures, plants, and a colorful starburst, the text says "Notice the connections between them, discover the wider ecosystem, learn about its histories, and find yourself following links from bedrock to stratosphere, between biotic and abiotic, at scales both microbial and massive, until you’re hopelessly overwhelmed by the wonder of it all." In panel 4, the text says "Fall into a daze and let moss engulf you." The person from the first panel is still kneeling in the woods, looking happy as moss slowly engulfs them, and they're saying "This is for the best."
See, brown like Rosemary here are the ultimate racists, they will only care about their own kind. Whites gave them the opportunity to become a part of their country but browns refuse and think they're entitled to everything without giving anything back. Racists like Rosemary have no place in modern society
Some sources: CBS Boston: Marcelo Gomes and other speak after he’s released from ICE custody https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=qZV8dOiRuQg WGBH: Milford teen released from ICE detention, says ‘All glory goes to God’ https://www.wgbh.org/news/local/2025-06-05/ milford-teen-released-from-ice-detention \The Boston Globe: ‘I was in shock, I didn’t know what was going on.’ Milford teen released from ICE detention after immigration judge’s ruling https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/05/metro/milford-teen-ice-detention-court-hearing
An image of a volleyball against a blue background. The text says: In my home state of Massachusetts, ICE is hunting a man who has an expired visa. They find the man’s car, but the driver is just the man’s son, a teen heading to volleyball practice. ICE arrests the teen.
A group of six nature valentines. A picture of a bog with pitcher plants, with text saying "Our love is like a bog. Built up over time, resistant to decay, deeply interesting to just a small number of people." A yellow slime mold stretching out and exploring. "Our love is like a slime mold. Collaborative, complex, at times unnerving to behold." A piece of limestone with a small trilobite in the corner. "Our love is like limestone. Layered, useful for many purposes, shaped by the friends we met along the way." A ring-billed gull with a french fry on a beach. "Our love is like a ring-billed gull. Abundant, found in North America, sometimes sustained by french fries." An Atlantic horseshoe crab walking on the sand. "Our love is like a horseshoe crab. Tough, timeless, unrelated to true crabs." A drawing of the phosphorus cycle, with arrows connecting various parts of a scene, including algae and fish and a farm and a river and a forest. "Our love is like the phosphorus cycle. Important, really hard to draw."
A six-panel comic titled "Wildlife Tracking Tips". In panel 1, the text says "A white-tailed deer traveled through here," and there are white-tailed deer prints in fresh snow. In panel 2, the text says "An American Red Squirrel came by," and the leap marks of a red squirrel are in the snow. In panel 3, the text says "A Snowshoe Hare passed through," and there are the distinctive fluffy-footed marks from a snowshoe hare jumping across the snow. n panel 4, the text says "The Snowshoe Hare found a sword," and one of the front paw marks in the track has been replaced with a long thin line running alongside the track. In panel 5, the text says "The Snowshoe Hare is dual wielding," and both front paw marks have been replaced with long thin lines. In panel 6, the text says "The Snowshoe Hare tamed a mount, vastly increasing its jumping distance. You should run," and the Snowshoe Hare trail runs into a deer track and disappears.
A striped and spotted black, white, and rusty bird standing on a branch in a dry tropical woodland.
A yellow-billed dark gray bird with amazing bright red plumes above its tail, seeking fruit in a tropical tree.
A dark glossy rainbow starling with a yellow eye on a branch in a tropical forest.
A maroon-headed green and blue parrot standing on a stalk of a large tropical plant in a forest.
A golden-hooded tanager, a multicolored and black patterned small songbird, standing on a mossy twig.
A soft round green broadbill in a forest eating a small seed.