Fact Check

Is Twitter's 'Home' Icon a Birdhouse?

File this under "Things we just realized."

Published May 13, 2022

 (Benoît Prieur/Wikimedia Commons)
Image Via Benoît Prieur/Wikimedia Commons
Claim:
The Twitter "Home" icon is designed to look like a birdhouse.

Fact Check

Some realizations come late, as when, for example, parts of the internet recently figured out that the Twitter "Home" icon could actually be a based off a birdhouse.

This is the Twitter "Home" button at the top of the column:

Here are pictures of birdhouses:

Bird Feeder, Outdoors, Porch

mrmrchaves/Wikimedia Commons
Animal, Bird, Wood

Benoît Prieur/Wikimedia Commons

Birdhouses come in all shapes and sizes, but mainly function as a shelter for birds. Often referred to as “nest boxes,” according to the Audubon Society, they “provide valuable homes for many species of birds and a wonderful opportunity for birdwatchers to enjoy viewing the age-old process of breeding.”

The button has been referred to as a “birdhouse” for years in the media. In 2017, when discussing Twitter’s redesign, Wired wrote, “The home icon is still a birdhouse, but it lost the perch — you'll see just one hole instead of two.” In 2021, the New York Times wrote about Twitter’s failed attempt at “Fleet” and described all the icons: “All of the little mixed-metaphor icons — the birdhouse, the magnifying glass, the bell, the envelope, the quill (?) with a plus sign (??) — seemed to be in order.”

A Twitter spokesperson confirmed to us directly that the “Home” icon is actually a birdhouse. We thus rate this claim as "True."

Sources

“Birdhouses.” Mass Audubon, https://www.massaudubon.org/learn/nature-wildlife/birds/birdhouses. Accessed 12 May 2022.

Herrman, John. “Twitter Is Stuck With Itself, Too.” The New York Times, 4 Aug. 2021. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/04/style/twitter-fleets.html. Accessed 12 May 2022.

Pierce, David. “Twitter Redesigned Itself to Make the Tweet Supreme Again.” Wired. www.wired.com, https://www.wired.com/story/twitter-redesigned-itself-to-make-the-tweet-supreme-again/. Accessed 12 May 2022.

Nur Nasreen Ibrahim is a reporter with experience working in television, international news coverage, fact checking, and creative writing.

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