A birdwatcher who's determined to discover an unknown species stumbles upon a strange little sparrow. Genre: Science Fiction

Excerpts:"It's a blue cardinal, look." "There's no such bird, Andre." "That's because no one has seen him, until now." Andre submitted to the group that he had spotted a Labrador duck on a recent work trip. The Labrador duck was not a new species. It was an extinct one. None had been seen in the wild for a hundred and fifty years. "Does it ever bother you…you've never seen a bird that no one else has ever seen before?"

The Wheel of Fiction Turns. What did it land on this time?Each Season 9 story follows a theme chosen by the Wheel of Fiction. Thirteen spokes. Eight are the themes from previous seasons. One is "Turn Again." One is a wild card. And three are covered in question marks and will be revealed when the wheel lands on them. See a story trailer and a (satisfying) video of the wheel turning here: The Man Who Cried Bird This episode landed on CHALLENGE. A story somewhat inspired by the singular goal of the boy who cried wolf. The boy was driven by mischief. What drives the man who cried bird? Find more stories and episodes inspired by challenges here: Year of Challenge

MERCH!Interested in merch, like mugs and notebooks, featuring my artwork?Please visit my Store page for info on where you can buy: STORYFEATHER STORE

NEWSLETTERSStoryfeather Gazette (if you'd like to keep up with the fiction I create) Fictioneer's Field Guide (if you'd like writing tips and guidance from me) Choose what you want. (Either way, you're choosing high jinks.)

FICTION-WRITING ARTICLES & RESOURCES (New)Come and explore the Fictioneer's Field Station.

MY FIRST BOOK (yay)Ever wonder how I've gotten all these hundreds of stories written? I have a method. You can learn it in my book called Fictioneer's Field Guide: A Game Plan for Writing Short Stories. It's now available from Amazon as an eBook, paperback, and hardcover. You can also get there from my Store page: STORYFEATHER STORE

Music:"4th Ave. Walkup" by LEE ROSEVERE (Intro)"All the Answers" by LEE ROSEVERE (Outro)"Abstract Vision #5" by ANDREW SITKOV (Outro)

Music by LEE ROSEVERE"All the Answers""Start the Day""Decompress""4th Ave. Walkup""Knowing the Truth""Early Morning Song (Finch Duet)""Awkward Silences (version a)"

Track by Andrew Sitkov is part of a music and sound effects bundles I purchased from Humble Bundle and sourced from GameDev Market.

Music by Andrew Sitkov is licensed from GameDev MarketMusic by Lee Rosevere is licensed under CC BY 4.0Sound effects from AudioJungle, GameDevMarket, and Soundly (through Hindenburg)Vocal effects created with Audacity Changes made to the musical tracks? Just cropping of some to align with my narration.

Find more music by Andrew Sitkov at gamedevmarket.net Find more music by Lee Rosevere at freemusicarchive.org/music/lee-rosevere and leerosevere.bandcamp.comFind more stories by Nila at storyfeather.com

Episode Art Description:Digital drawing. Bottom half, a pair of binoculars, forward facing. Perched on the right side top is the translucent silhouette of a sparrow, in right profile, with beak open. Through the sparrow's form and in the lenses of the binoculars are hazy layers of foliage, tree canopies. Branching shapes covered with light thorny patches frame the right and left side. Watermark of "Storyfeather" under the bird's tail feathers.