Lunchtime Discovery: Feather Forensics: Murder, Mayhem, and the Life and Science of Roxie Laybourne

  • Wednesday, October 29, 2025
  • 12:00pm - 1:00pm
  • Downtown Raleigh
Book cover for The Feather Detective depicting a older woman in a blue suit surrounded by drawers full of bird specimens

Join us in-person in the SECU Daily Planet Theater or watch the livestream on YouTube Live.

Feathers turn up in the most unusual places: The nostrils of a murder victim smothered with a pillow. The cockpit of a jet that hit a flock of geese and crashed. Even the dryer lint trap of a white supremacist who tarred and feathered a Civil Rights activist. In this talk, Chris Sweeney, author of The Feather Detective: Murder, Mayhem, and the Magnificent Life of Roxie Laybourne, will explore the remarkable world of forensic ornithology and the singular woman who pioneered it.

Chris Sweeney, Author and Award-Winning Journalist

Copies of The Feather Detective: Murder, Mayhem, and the Magnificent Life of Roxie Laybourne will be available for purchase and signing by the author.


Live Presentation hosted by NC Museum of Natural Sciences’ SECU Daily Planet Curator Chris Smith and the NC Department of Environmental Quality Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs staff. Brought to you by the NC DEQ Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs and the NC Museum of Natural Sciences.

Details

Date:
October 29
Times:
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Venue

Nature Research Center
121 West Jones Street
Raleigh, NC 27601 United States
Phone:
919.707.9800

Organizer

Chris Smith
919.707.9296