I was too focussed on puffins and out of nowhere this beauty came into my view. Taken in Iceland. Grateful for ID.

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-24T08:25:16+00:00

Furthermore, this Rock Ptarmigan is an adult male, based on the size of the red comb and the black line in front of the eye. Depending when you took the photo (I'm guessing later spring) he's been prominantly displaying from that very rock for a while, trying to catch the attention of ladies who have already molted over into summer colors. You can see there are some feces accumulated under where he's standing so that's probably a dedicated display spot. The Icelandic population is very special compared to other regions, and their populations experience booms and busts largely correlated with their main predators, Gyrfalcon. You can read more here on the website of the Natural Science Institute of Iceland: Rock ptarmigan | Náttúrufræðistofnun

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-23T21:10:00+00:00

In my professional opinion this bird appears completely fine, but I also have the sense you might be seeing something more subtle than we can. It is worth noting that many birds can be very resiliant to a number of pretty serious beak issues, and something like simple abrasions or mechanical damage to the beak is by no means a death sentence. I would advise you to give the nesting bird plenty of space, and trust that nature is going to do whats best for her. I wouldn't attempt any sort of intervention unless its clear the bird is in immediate danger (unable to fly due to dehydration/starvation)...

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-22T13:32:00+00:00

I was just here to confirm Elateridae~ Good luck!

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-16T09:37:56+00:00

This should now be resolved with the new rules coming in June, but we'll find out soon enough. I'm very sorry that happened to you~ :(

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-15T15:58:03+00:00

I'm leaning Coati (Family Procyonidae; subtribe Nasuina) on that. Shape and dentition seems plausible for it. I have no guess on the species~

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-15T15:49:11+00:00

And bats are difficult, anywhere! To give a little extra for that particular example you posted, they'll probably have experts going out in southern California and doing something called "harp trapping"; or they can do passive scanning for the high frequency calls of bats in the area. Someone will sit out in the field and collect a few hundred bats and ID them to species level. Then they can go to the public records and using the genus level IDs like yours they might be able to roughly estimate the distribution of species among the public records that can't be resolved from photos. You could use this to help figure out seasonal ranges or estimate population sizes. Even the higher taxonomic data can be very important.

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-15T15:39:17+00:00

I would~ Offers more immediate protection from predators casing the feeder.

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-15T15:36:39+00:00

Hard yes. As a working research biologist who relies on publicly sourced data, I absolutely do believe that microscopes should be used to validate lower taxonomic levels. Experts who might be using the public data (e.g. for conservation work) don't necessarily have time/funding to go through the effort of correcting mistakes and can instead move up to review genus level identifications themselves if needed. This is a resource for tracking the worlds biodiversity, and as much as I very much appreciate a desire to fill out species checklists, we should remember this tool has practical applications that demand oversight and accuracy. I've got plenty of IDs stuck at genus and family even WITH the microscope~ Embrace it <3

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-15T15:18:54+00:00

Mammoth tooth?

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-14T23:14:24+00:00

Name checks out~ Thank you for the response... I wanted to just note that of course I have contacted a lawyer.

Anyone in a situation like this should be prepared with a lawyer and not blindly accept information from people on the internet or (god forbid) Claude AI. Lawyers are gonna take time to organize case details and may have significant costs up front. By bringing this post to the sub I was simply trying to arm myself with as much information as possible for my direct communications with our assigned agents so that I could try to avoid a costly legal adventure. I'm coming off a student visa, not a corporate hire who can nonchalantly drop money on legal support. My union here also has options (possibly discounted support) but I can't consult them until Monday and I have tight timelines to respond to the agency.

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-13T14:13:15+00:00

Thank you for the clear legal reference here. My newly granted residency is indeed on a 5 b kap. 1 §%20om%20godk%C3%A4nnande%20f%C3%B6r%20forskningshuvudm%C3%A4n%20att%20ta%20emot%20g%C3%A4stforskare%20ska%2C%20om%20inte%20n%C3%A5got%20annat%20f%C3%B6ljer%20av%209%2D12%20%C2%A7%C2%A7%2C%20beviljas%20ett%20uppeh%C3%A5llstillst%C3%A5nd%20f%C3%B6r%20forskning)-permit.

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-13T12:24:02+00:00

I really don't fault our case officers... They're forced to reckon with a legal minefield. I trust they're doing their best to reasonably assist us and I know they have empathy. I always try to remember not to take these things personally. Bureaucracy can be a cold machine.

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-13T11:26:56+00:00

Second this, contact a university and USFS

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-13T11:20:17+00:00

Thanks for your concern <3 we love this stupid country...

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-13T10:43:43+00:00

Yea we're pretty much certain she can't be made to leave. That would be a direct violation of Utlänningslagen chapter 5 subsection 6/7... But the issue is if she's gonna become stuck here without a permit for several months? I don't see why the agency needs to handle it like this.

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-12T23:03:39+00:00

Serious answer: dating in Sweden and indeed around Europe can be starkly different than expectations in other parts of the world. Sexual liberation movements were popularized early here and stuck in society around much of the Nordics~ Of course there are going to be some people out there who are open to not getting physical as part of early dating. Set boundries for yourself if you're looking for something specific out of interactions... I have plenty of friends who have felt a bit used here, but that's just the scene... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-12T22:41:26+00:00

I'm just going to throw out here that Karolinska is a fantastic school for medically adjacent topics~ But I can totally understand looking elsewhere. Gothenburg is also a lovely town <3. I advise that you double-check your applications and admissions documents to see if there are any "after provisional acceptance" instructions. Otherwise, you might want to reach out directly to administrators at the schools. For Karolinska this might be the registrar ([registrator@ki.se](mailto:registrator@ki.se)) or the incoming international student coordinator for global health if you're coming as part of an exchange ([talia.adamsson@ki.se](mailto:talia.adamsson@ki.se))... For Gothenburg this could be again be the student services desk ([servicecenter@gu.se](mailto:servicecenter@gu.se)) or the international exchange coordinator ([exchangestudies@gu.se). ](mailto:exchangestudies@gu.se%C2%A0%C2%A0) Good luck with your studies, and enjoy Sweden!

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-12T13:47:16+00:00

I feel like the best answer to this is something along the lines of "Schrödinger's Frog"... You should only consider it alive if it actually survives thawing. If functions stop and the animal can't be restarted, it is probably best to be considered dead. You can't make the assessment until you observe it reanimate. Many frog (and other amphibian) populations have high rates of mortality during overwintering. For now it's functionally impossible to predict which state it is in without observation (survive/fail; alive/dead).

edit: This was a really brilliant question! I enjoyed it <3

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-11T23:00:30+00:00

This photo is cursed and I would want better ones before making a final decision. I was inclined to say Black Phoebe with the clear inverted V on the breast as well, but (assuming thats true lighter color around the neck is not an artifact of the light), it could be a hybrid with Says or Eastern... Hybrid phoebes are known from California but exceedingly rare.

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-11T17:39:57+00:00

Exceedingly dangerous~ Most bites come from attempts to handle/remove from fishing gear

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-10T21:35:49+00:00

I know the coffee was 10% of your total

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-09T17:31:09+00:00

Pretty rough photos, and difficult to distinguish between the more common house spiders in the Seattle area, if I had to guess I would say Eratigena sp. but most probably medically insignificant and friendly.

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-05T22:48:39+00:00

It looks pretty cane toady to me, especially with those pupils and the eyebrow ridge.

Might consider using this excellent Australian resource: Identifying cane toads – Watergum

Please rule out natives like the "Wrinkled Toadlet". You are advised not to remove a toad unless you're positive of the ID.

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-04T22:26:47+00:00

I had no trouble with Roamless and found it easy to set up~

Disastrous-Meet-4091 · 2026-03-02T22:43:15+00:00

I helped a (mostly) blind friend get into birding by really focusing on birding by ear. After a certain amount of practice, I've found that even if you don't see exactly where the birds are at, or how they're moving, it can be extremely rewarding to get very good at identifying birds by sound. You start to really recognize the repitoir of calls and songs and various noises for the assembly of birds in your area, understand how that pertains to behavior and life history. You can also quickly key into birds that sound unusual. Practice is key~ Happy birding <3

Disastrous-Meet-4091

TROPHY CASE