LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE PLATE 00 · FRONT MATTER
Field Guide · Est. on the local patch SPECIMEN ARCHIVE

Wearable field guides.
For the observant.

Larkfen is a field-guide outfit. We observe a bird, measure it, draw it by hand, verify every claim against a source — then issue the study as a plate, a poster, an edition print, and the field goods that carry its record. Correct binomial. Field marks you could call. Real numbers.

Enter the plates Read a single study Field goods
OBS. 42.4534°N · 76.4735°W · Cornell Lab
Specimens
06
Field marks verified
100%
To Cornell Lab
5% net
Larkfen specimen plate of the Great Blue Heron, on a slate Bay field.
PLATE 01 · Ardea herodias · range · year-round · wetland margin
THE LOCAL PATCH · LARKFEN FIELD GOODS
LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE PLATE 00b · THE FIELD ISSUE
§ The plate, worn

The study is the back print

Every plate ships as a field garment — the full study printed large across the back, a pocket-sized accession label at the chest. Hover (or drag) to read the print under the loupe; tap the inset to flip front ⟲ back. Three studies, three colorways.

Back · the plate
Front · the label
FIELD ISSUE · TEELF-PATCH-001
BACK · FULL PLATE PRINT Great Blue Heron tee — full study printed across the back, on Comfort Colors ivory.
The Local Patch · LF-PATCH-001

Great Blue Heron

Ardea herodias
  • Wingspan167–201 cm
  • HabitatWetland margin
  • GarmentCC 1717 Ivory
$44Open study →
Hover / drag either image to zoom · tap inset to flip
FIELD ISSUE · TEELF-VSP-001
BACK · FULL PLATE PRINT Common Raven tee — full intelligence study printed across the back, on washed pepper.
Intelligence Study · LF-VSP-001

Common Raven

Corvus corax
  • Wingspan116–150 cm
  • Brain rel.pigeon‹crow‹raven
  • GarmentCC 1717 Pepper
$44Open study →
Hover / drag either image to zoom · tap inset to flip
FIELD ISSUE · TEELF-LIFE-001
BACK · FULL PLATE PRINT Northern Cardinal tee — full life-list plate printed across the back, on Comfort Colors ivory.
Life List Nº001 · LF-LIFE-001

Northern Cardinal

Cardinalis cardinalis
  • Length21–23.5 cm
  • Field markcrest · black mask
  • GarmentCC 1717 Ivory
$44Open study →
Hover / drag either image to zoom · tap inset to flip

A faithful read of the garment — the full study plate is the back print, a small accession label sits at the chest. No compositing, no invented detail.

THE PLATE SHIPS LARGE · THE TEE CARRIES THE RECORD
LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE PLATE 01 · THE INDEX
§ Front matter / register

The plate index

Every study in the archive, in order of accession. Each plate is a record first — the field goods it produces are noted in the last column.

06 plates logged
Drop 01 · late July
Plate no.Species / studyBinomialFamilyCodeKey datumStatusGoods
LF-PATCH-001Great Blue HeronTee · Wetland TransectArdea herodiasArdeidaeGBHEWS 167–201 cmResidentOpen →
LF-VSP-001Common RavenIntelligence Study TeeCorvus coraxCorvidaeCORAWS 116–150 cmResidentOpen →
LF-LIFE-001Northern CardinalLife List Nº001 TeeCardinalis cardinalisCardinalidaeNOCAL 21–23.5 cmPerm. residentOpen →
LF-FIELD-001Bird-Band GlyphField-issue capFederal-style ringUSGS BBLBAND9-digit ringField issueOpen →
LF-LIFE-002Eastern Backyard Index12-species posterTwelve common visitors7 familiesIDX12 speciesRegistryOpen →
LF-PATCH-002Wetland TransectFramed edition of 150Ardea herodiasArdeidaeEDNEdition / 150EditionOpen →
ACCESSIONED · LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE · 6 OF 6 LOGGED
LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE PLATE 02 · HOW TO READ A PLATE
Annotated Great Blue Heron specimen plate — cream line-art shown on the slate Bay garment colorway, the grammar of a Larkfen study. PLATE 01 · the grammar of a study · on the Bay colorway
§ Anatomy of a plate · A → E
A

The top rail

Every plate opens with LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE and a plate number — the same rail that frames this whole site.

B

Name & binomial

Engraved species name over its italic Latin binomial. The scientific name is checked first and changed last.

C

The data block

Mono label/value rows — WING CHORD · HABITAT · STATUS — set as an instrument readout, not decoration.

D

Band number

An accession like LF-PATCH-001 ties the plate to its field goods. The footer rule closes the record.

E

Field-mark callouts

Diagnostic marks are flagged head → tail — crest, mask, cone bill — the features you would actually call in the field, never decoration.

  • RailGuide + plate nº
  • BinomialGenus · species
  • Data block3–5 mono rows
  • AccessionLF- band nº
  • SourceCornell · IUCN
  • Verified100% marks
READ THE PLATE · THEN READ THE BIRD
LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE · LF-LIFE-001 PLATE 03 · NORTHERN CARDINAL
Northern Cardinal life-list plate, dark ink on cream. PLATE 03 · Cardinalis cardinalis · dark ink on cream
§ Field marks · head → tail
CrestTall, erectile crown feathers — raised in song and alarm, lowered at rest. Diagnostic at a glance.
Black maskJet-black face around the bill, eyes and chin — bold in the male, reduced to a dusky smudge in the female. Never blue.
Cone billShort, very thick orange-red seed-cracking bill; juveniles show a grey-to-black bill.
Plumage ♂Brilliant red over the whole body — wings, tail and crest all red.
Plumage ♀Pale warm brown with red tinges in wings, tail and crest — same shape, quieter colour.
TailLong, often cocked and held high while perched.
Why it is red

Diet paints the bird

The red is carotenoid pigment the cardinal cannot make — it has to eat it, in berries and fruit. A brighter male is, quite literally, a better-fed male; the colour is an honest signal of foraging skill.

  • Pigment
    dietary carotenoids
  • Length
    21–23.5 cm
  • Wingspan
    25–31 cm
  • AOU
    NOCA
Unusual fact

Both sexes sing

Unlike most North-American songbirds, the female cardinal sings — often from the nest, sometimes a longer, more complex phrase than the male's. Pairs counter-sing to hold a territory together year-round.

  • Song
    both sexes
  • Status
    perm. resident
  • Clutch
    3–4 eggs (2–5)
  • Oldest banded
    ~15 yr 9 mo
Tell it apart vs Pyrrhuloxia — grey body, stubby yellow bill vs Summer Tanager — no crest, longer pale bill vs Scarlet Tanager — red body, black wings & tail vs House Finch — no crest, streaky brown flanks
CREST · BLACK MASK · RED CONE BILL = CARDINAL
LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE PLATE 04 · THE PLATES
§ Species accounts

Six plates, on the cloth they print on

Each account is a plate before it is a product — the bird drawn from a record, with the measurements we used to draw it set alongside, on the garment colorway it actually prints on.

03 species
03 issues
PLATE 01LF-PATCH-001
Great Blue Heron plate on the slate Bay colorway.

Great Blue Heron

Ardea herodias

  • Wing chord
    430–490 mm
  • Wingspan
    167–201 cm
  • Status
    resident
Open study →  $44
PLATE 03LF-LIFE-001
Northern Cardinal life-list plate, dark ink on cream.

Northern Cardinal

Cardinalis cardinalis

  • Length
    21–23.5 cm
  • Wingspan
    25–31 cm
  • AOU
    NOCA
Open study →  $44
PLATE 02LF-VSP-001
Common Raven study plate on the Pepper colorway.

Common Raven

Corvus corax

  • Wing chord
    350–460 mm
  • Wingspan
    116–150 cm
  • Brain rel.
    pigeon ‹ crow ‹ raven
Open study →  $44
OBSERVED & DRAWN · LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE
LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE PLATE 05 · FEATURED STUDY
Common Raven study plate — an intelligence study, cream line-art on a dark field.
Study Nº · LF-VSP-001 The reasoning corvid

A bird that plans.

Corvus corax

We drew the raven the way you would log it in the field, then did the part most merch skips: the data. Relative brain size, charted honestly — pigeon to crow to raven — because the claim has to survive someone who actually knows the bird. There is no clean EQ number to put on a shirt, so we show the ranking, not a fabricated figure.

FIELD MARKS — wedge tail vs. the crow's fan · shaggy throat hackles · heavy bill · a croaking gronk · 15–30+ described call types.

Relative brain size — ranking only
Pigeon
Crow
Raven

Relative ranking, not to scale. No precise encephalization figure is published for a single shirt claim.

Call repertoire
15–33 described call types
Cognition
Tool use · caching solves problems · plans ahead
Lifespan
~22–23 yr wild record · 40+ captive
vs. American Crow
~50% larger wedge tail · deeper gronk
Open the Corvus study
CORVUS CORAX · WING CHORD 350–460 MM · MASS 690–1,630 G
LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE PLATE 06 · COMPARATIVE MEASUREMENTS
§ Mensural data · the three flagship studies

Measured side by side

Every figure below is pulled from primary references — Cornell Birds of the World, Cornell All About Birds, Audubon — and redlined before print. Ranges, not means: a wild bird is a range.

3 species · 9 metrics
Verified 2026-06-14
Body Mensuration · 3 Specimens SHARED-AXIS RANGE · LF-VIZ-MEASURE

Shared-axis size comparison of the three flagship specimens. Total length: Great Blue Heron 97 to 137 centimetres, Common Raven 56 to 69 centimetres, Northern Cardinal 21 to 23.5 centimetres. Wingspan: heron 167 to 201 centimetres, raven 116 to 150 centimetres, cardinal 25 to 31 centimetres. Body mass: heron 2000 to 3600 grams, raven 690 to 1,630 grams, cardinal 42 to 48 grams.

Specimen key Great Blue Heron Common Raven Northern Cardinal
Total Length bill tip → tail tip · cm
HeronArdea herodias 97–137 cm
RavenCorvus corax 56–69 cm
CardinalCardinalis cardinalis 21–23.5 cm
0306090120150
Wingspan tip → tip · cm
HeronArdea herodias 167–201 cm
RavenCorvus corax 116–150 cm
CardinalCardinalis cardinalis 25–31 cm
0306090120150180210
Body Mass adult · g
HeronArdea herodias 2000–3600 g
RavenCorvus corax 690–1,630 g
CardinalCardinalis cardinalis 42–48 g
01000200030004000
Wingspan to scale · 0 → 210 cm
Great Blue Heron 201 cm
Common Raven 150 cm
Northern Cardinal 31 cm
Bar = published min–max range; ticks mark the extremes Axis is per-metric, shared across all three specimens · Data: Cornell Lab / IUCN
§ Conservation status & population trend · the three flagship studies
Status & TrendLF-PATCH-001
LC Least Concern
LC · NT · VU · EN · CR
Great Blue Heron — N. America Stable
±0%net / decade
Great Blue Heron abundance index 1970 to 2019: stable, no net change.
197019952019
Decline Increase
Source · USGS BBS / PIF Wingspan 167–201 cm · Mass 2.0–3.6 kg · largely resident
Status & TrendLF-VSP-001
LC Least Concern
LC · NT · VU · EN · CR
Common Raven — Western / Northern Increasing
+1.4%per year
Common Raven abundance index 1966 to 2019: increasing.
196619932019
Decline Increase
Source · USGS BBS 1966–2019 56–69 cm · Wingspan 116–150 cm · resident W/N
Status & TrendLF-LIFE-001
LC Least Concern
LC · NT · VU · EN · CR
Northern Cardinal — Eastern US Increasing
+0.5%per year
Northern Cardinal abundance index 1966 to 2019: slight long-term increase.
196619932019
Decline Increase
Source · USGS BBS 1966–2019 21–23.5 cm · Mass 42–48 g · permanent resident
Key · how to read this graphic
IUCN Red List status
LCLeast Concernlow risk
NTNear Threatenedwatch
VUVulnerableat risk
ENEndangeredhigh risk
CRCritically Endangeredextreme
Population trend · diverging
Increaserising indexslate
Stableno net changesage
Declinefalling indexoxblood
No datainsufficient survey≠ zero
Magnitudedarker / longer = stronger% · yr
Metric Great Blue HeronArdea herodias Common RavenCorvus corax Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
AOU codeGBHECORANOCA
Order · FamilyPelecaniformes / ArdeidaePasseriformes / CorvidaePasseriformes / Cardinalidae
Culmen / bill123–152 mmlong, heavy ⚑stout red cone
Clutch3–5 eggs (2–6)4–6 eggs (3–7)3–4 eggs (2–5)
Incubation~26–29 d · both sexes~18–21 d · female11–13 d · female
Oldest banded~24 yr 6 mo~22 yr~15 yr 9 mo

⚑ Flagged for redline — precise raven culmen in mm is not cleanly published; held qualitative rather than fabricated. Cardinal & raven wing-chord in mm sit in the Birds of the World appendices and are pending verification. Heron taxonomy follows the modern AOS/IOC placement in Pelecaniformes (older guides list Ciconiiformes). Size, wingspan, mass and conservation status are charted above. Data: Cornell Lab / IUCN.

RANGES NOT MEANS · A WILD BIRD IS A RANGE
LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE PLATE 07 · FIELD GOODS
§ The back print · spread by colorway

The plate is the back print

Each study prints full-size across the back of its garment, on the colorway drawn for it — heron and cardinal on Comfort Colors Ivory, the raven on washed Pepper. A pocket spec-label sits at the chest. Same record, two faces.

Back · full plate
Front · spec-label
Great Blue Heron tee — full plate printed across the back, on Comfort Colors Ivory.
BACK · FULL PLATELF-PATCH-001

Great Blue Heron

Ardea herodias

CC Ivory $44
Common Raven tee — full intelligence study printed across the back, on washed Pepper.
BACK · FULL PLATELF-VSP-001

Common Raven

Corvus corax

CC Pepper $44
Northern Cardinal tee — full life-list plate printed across the back, on Comfort Colors Ivory.
BACK · FULL PLATELF-LIFE-001

Northern Cardinal

Cardinalis cardinalis

CC Ivory $44

Read the back print under the loupe in the field-issue device at the top of the page — flip to the chest label, zoom either face. No compositing, no invented detail.

Eastern Backyard Index poster on the wall — the full 12-species life-list grid.
The wall study · LF-LIFE-002

Eastern Backyard Index

Twelve common visitors · the life-list grid

The full registry, printed: twelve verified binomials in a hand-set grid, with a check-box waiting for your own date. The poster every Larkfen room is built around.

Archival 18×24 $38 View the poster →
Bird-Band Glyph Cap — stone dad-cap with embroidered LF sunburst glyph.
FIELD ISSUE · CAPLF-FIELD-001

Bird-Band Glyph Cap

Federal-style band ring

Khaki · Stone$38
Larkfen Field Journal — a kraft hardcover field notebook with the Great Blue Heron plate label on the cover and a slate elastic band.
FIELD ISSUE · JOURNALLF-FIELD-002

Larkfen Field Journal

Hardcover · 160 dot-grid pages

Kraft · slate band$24
Wetland Transect plate, black-framed edition of 150.
EDITION · FRAMEDLF-PATCH-002

Wetland Transect

Ardea herodias · framed

Edition of 150$125
Heron transect plate, black-framed, on a deep slate-blue wall over a desk.
WALL STUDY · FRAMEDLF-PATCH-002

On the wall

The transect, in the room

Archival print$125
THE PLATE SHIPS LARGE · THE TEE CARRIES THE RECORD
LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE PLATE 08 · SIMILAR SPECIES
§ Confusion pairs · separating the near-twins

Tell them apart

The core work of any field guide is separation — the marks that split a bird from the species it is mistaken for. These are the calls our flagship studies are drawn to make.

3 pairs
Diagnostic marks
PAIR 01 · CORVIDAECORA / AMCR
Common RavenCorvus corax vs American CrowC. brachyrhynchos
  • SizeRaven 56–69 cm, much larger than the crow (~40–53 cm)
  • TailRaven shows a wedge / diamond; crow's tail is squared and fans out
  • ThroatRaven has shaggy hackles; the crow's throat is smooth
  • FlightRaven soars on swept "hands," ~5 finger primaries; crow flaps, ~4
  • VoiceRaven's deep croak vs. the crow's higher caw
PAIR 02 · WADERSGBHE / SACR
Great Blue HeronArdea herodias vs Crane & EgretAntigone · Ardea alba
  • NeckHeron flies with neck folded into a tight "S"; the crane flies neck outstretched
  • vs CraneCrane is bulkier with a fluffy "bustle" tail and bare red crown skin
  • vs EgretGreat Egret is smaller, all white, thinner bill; heron is gray-blue
  • CrownHeron shows a black crown stripe on a whitish head
  • BillMassive yellow dagger, flushing orange briefly at breeding
PAIR 03 · RED BIRDSNOCA / PYRR
Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis vs Pyrrhuloxia & TanagersC. sinuatus · Piranga
  • Key markCrest + black face mask + heavy red cone bill = cardinal
  • vs PyrrhuloxiaStubby yellow parrot-like bill, gray body with red trim; SW range
  • vs Summer TanagerAll rose-red, no crest, longer thin pale bill
  • vs Scarlet TanagerMale has black wings & tail; cardinal is uniform red
  • FemaleWarm brown with red tinges — still crested, red-orange bill
SEPARATION IS THE WHOLE JOB · CALL THE MARK
LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE PLATE 09 · RANGE & LEGEND
Wetland margin transect plate — Great Blue Heron forage zone, measured. PLATE 01b · wetland margin transect · forage zone
§ Range key

Read the patch.

The transect maps a single wetland margin from open water to mudflat — the half-mile where the heron stands and waits. The range key reads the same on every Larkfen plate.

Residentpresent year-round on the patch
Breedingpresent in the nesting season
Migrantpassing through on passage

The transect is the local patch; the seasonal map below reads the continental range on the same legend — and teaches that absent is not the same as no data.

Ardea herodias Great Blue Heron · seasonal range
Seasonal range map of the Great Blue Heron across North and Central America: largely resident across the contiguous United States and the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, breeding across interior Canada, nonbreeding through Mexico and Central America, with northern passage and far-northern rare records.
  • Residentyear-round
  • Breedingsummer only
  • Nonbreedingwinter only
  • Passagemigration only
  • Rarevagrant
  • No datanot surveyed
STATION MARKER · WETLAND MARGIN TRANSECT · FORAGE ZONE
LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE PLATE 10 · METHOD
§ How a plate is made

Four passes

From observation to print. The whole point of the brand lives in this sequence — designed, not generated.

Pipeline
04 passes
PASS 01

Observe

It starts as a record on the patch — the bird logged, the diagnostic marks noted in the order you would actually call them.

PASS 02

Measure

Real measurement ranges — wing chord, length, wingspan, mass — pulled from primary references before a line is drawn.

PASS 03

Draw

The plate is built by hand around what separates the bird from its near-twins, then typeset as an instrument readout.

PASS 04

Verify

Every claim is checked against a source and redlined. Only then does the plate become a tee, a poster, or an edition.

Before · first draft
BinomialCarduelis tristis
WoodpeckerPicoides pubescens
Heron mass~5 kg (guess)
After · redlined
GoldfinchSpinus tristis
Downy Wpr.Dryobates pubescens
Heron mass2.0–3.6 kg
OBSERVE · MEASURE · DRAW · VERIFY
LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE PLATE 11 · THE INDEX REGISTRY
§ Eastern Backyard Index · LF-LIFE-002

Twelve common visitors

The life-list registry behind the poster — twelve verified binomials, in current taxonomy. Check them off as you find them on your own patch.

12 species
Archival 18×24
NºCommon nameBinomial☐
01Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis☐
02Black-capped ChickadeePoecile atricapillus☐
03Blue JayCyanocitta cristata☐
04American GoldfinchSpinus tristis☐
05Downy WoodpeckerDryobates pubescens☐
06White-breasted NuthatchSitta carolinensis☐
07Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor☐
08Carolina WrenThryothorus ludovicianus☐
09Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis☐
10Mourning DoveZenaida macroura☐
11American RobinTurdus migratorius☐
12Song SparrowMelospiza melodia☐
Eastern Backyard Index plate — 12-bird silhouette grid with checkboxes. LF-LIFE-002 · the wall study
LOG AS YOU FIND THEM · COMPLETE [ ] ALL TWELVE
LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE PLATE 12 · GLOSSARY
§ Terms of the field · topography & convention

A glossary of field terms

The vocabulary every data block on this site is built from — the parts of a bird, the standard measurements, and the molt conventions. Defined once, used everywhere.

16 terms
Sourced, not invented
Wing chord
Standard wing measurement: the wing bent at 90°, from the wrist (carpal) joint to the tip of the longest primary. Used to compare species and subspecies.
Culmen
The dorsal ridge of the upper mandible, measured from the feathering to the bill tip — the standard bill-length metric.
Supercilium
The "eyebrow" stripe running from the bill base, above the eye, toward the rear of the head; distinct from the eyestripe.
Gorget
A distinctly coloured throat patch — classically the iridescent throat of a hummingbird.
Primary projection
How far the primaries extend beyond the longest tertials on the folded wing — a key structural ID clue.
Eclipse plumage
A duller, seasonal plumage worn by species that otherwise have a bright breeding dress — notably male ducks after breeding.
Hackles
Erectile, often elongated feathers along the neck and throat — for example the shaggy throat hackles of the Common Raven.
Malar stripe
A "moustache" line of feathers running from the bill base down along the edge of the throat.
Nape
The back of the neck, where the crown colour meets the mantle.
Lores
The areas on each side of the face between the bill base and the front of the eye.
Vent
The region between the belly and the undertail coverts.
Tarsus
The most conspicuous (lower) segment of a bird's leg, from which the toes spring — a standard measurement.
Rectrices
The long, stiff flight feathers of the tail (singular: rectrix).
Primaries
The outermost flight feathers, attached to the "hand"; the visible "fingers" in soaring corvids and raptors. Numbered distally, P1 (inner) → P10 (outer).
Prebasic / prealternate molt
Humphrey-Parkes terms: the prebasic molt produces basic (non-breeding) plumage; the prealternate molt produces alternate (breeding) plumage.
Crest
Elongated, often erectile crown feathers raised in display — as in the cardinal, Blue Jay and titmouse.
DEFINE THE TERM · THEN MEASURE THE BIRD
LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE PLATE 13 · THE STANDARD
The Larkfen Standard

Designed, not generated.

Anything can put a bird on a shirt. The line we hold is accuracy and craft — the difference between a graphic and a study.

01

Correct binomial, every time

The scientific name is checked first and changed last. Spinus tristis, not the retired Carduelis; Dryobates, not Picoides. If it is on a Larkfen piece, it is current.

02

Field marks you could call

We draw the diagnostic marks — the wedge tail, the throat hackles, the S-curved neck in flight — the details that separate a bird from its near-twins at real distance.

03

Real numbers, honestly set

Measurements and ranges come from sources, never invented for the layout. Where no clean figure exists — the raven's brain — we show a ranking, not a number.

04

A check-box waiting for a date

Every life-list piece leaves room for your own record. The plate is finished; your sighting is the part only you can add.

REDLINE ACCEPTED · LAST VERIFIED 2026-06-14
SOURCES · CORNELL ALL ABOUT BIRDS · BIRDS OF THE WORLD · IUCN
LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE PLATE 14 · LITERATURE CITED
§ Authorities · the sources behind the numbers

A guide lists its authorities

Every figure on a Larkfen plate is traceable. These are the references the studies are checked against — and changed by — before anything is printed.

Last accessed
2026-06-14
Cornell Lab — All About BirdsLife histories, identification, size & mass ranges for all six studies.acc. 2026-06-14
Cornell Lab — Birds of the WorldSpecies accounts & appendices — e.g. grbher3 (heron), norcar, range maps.acc. 2026-06-14
IUCN Red ListConservation status & population trend per species — all currently Least Concern.acc. 2026-06-14
National Audubon Society — Field GuideBehaviour, voice and field-mark corroboration for the flagship accounts.acc. 2026-06-14
AOS / AOU Check-listCurrent binomials, taxonomic order, and the four-letter alpha codes (GBHE / CORA / NOCA).acc. 2026-06-14
USGS Bird Banding LaboratoryLongevity records — oldest banded heron (~24 yr 6 mo), cardinal (~15 yr 9 mo).acc. 2026-06-14
Partners in FlightGlobal population estimates and Breeding Bird Survey trend figures.acc. 2026-06-14

Where sources conflict — heron population spans ~700,000 (PIF) to a much wider IUCN band — Larkfen prints the figure qualitatively rather than a single contested number. Items still pending verification are flagged ⚑ on their plate, never quietly invented.

TRACEABLE · CITED · LAST VERIFIED 2026-06-14
LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE PLATE 15 · CONSERVATION
5%

Five percent of net sales to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

The birds make the work possible, so they get a cut of it. 5% of net sales supports the research, monitoring and open data the whole hobby quietly runs on.

Partner Cornell Lab
of Ornithology
GIVING BACK TO THE PATCH · SINCE DROP 01
LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE PLATE 16 · FIELD NOTES
THE LOCAL PATCH · LARKFEN FIELD GOODS