Once a satirical conspiracy theory, bird drones could soon be a reality : Short Wave

https://www.npr.org/2026/01/01/ [login to see] /birds-drones-engineer-biomimetics
Millions of people in the U.S. are bird watchers. But, a couple of years ago a satirical conspiracy theory gained popularity because of an absurd claim: that those birds were also watching people.

Specifically, it suggested that "the U.S. government killed over 12 billion birds in the American skies and replaced them with surveillance drone replicas that watch you and me every day," says Peter McIndoe, the founder of the satirical movement – which is called "Birds Aren't Real."

"I came up with that concept cause I thought that's one of the most outlandish things," McIndoe says. But, there was some level of possibility that there could be bird-shaped drones.