Jul 10, 2026
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
NEWSLETTERS
Storyfeather 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
CREDITS
Story: “The
Man Who Cried Bird” Copyright © 2022
by Nila L. Patel
Narration,
Episode Art, Editing, and Production: Nila L. Patel
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 Market
Music by
Lee Rosevere is licensed under CC
BY 4.0
Sound 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.com
Find 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.