Congratulations to the AOS 2021 Class of Fellows and Elective Members

Each year at our annual meeting, we officially welcome the new classes of AOS Fellows, Elective Members, and Honorary Fellows. Individuals are elected to these special membership classes in recognition of their contributions to ornithology and to the AOS. Congratulations to the newest members of these honored groups! New FellowsFellows are nominated based on their …

Do protected areas work? Long-term monitoring shows protected areas safeguard bird populations and support federal and state mandates

By Point Blue Conservation Science Linked paper: Protected areas safeguard landbird populations in central coastal California: evidence from long-term population trends by Mark D. Dettling, Kristen E. Dybala, Diana L. Humple, and Thomas Gardali, Ornithological Applications. Federal and state mandates to conserve 30% of the nation’s lands and waters by 2030 are intended to protect …

Ostrich evolution revealed: Fossil finds shed new light on the evolution of the African ratite

By Gerald Mayr, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum in Frankfurt Linked paper: Extinct crane-like birds (Eogruidae and Ergilornithidae) from the Cenozoic of Central Asia are indeed ostrich precursors by Gerald Mayr & Nikita Zelenkov, Ornithology. Until now, the early evolutionary history of ostriches was largely unknown. Together with my colleague Nikita Zelenkov from …

Congratulations to our 2021 AOS Award winners!

Each year, the American Ornithological Society (AOS) presents a range of awards honoring members for their ornithological research and their service to the society. The work of the 2021 awardees ranges across the spectrum of ornithological science, from genetics to conservation to ecology, and includes invaluable service to AOS and ornithology. This year’s awardees represent the broad diversity of our members and the contributions they are making to the scientific study and conservation of birds.

Variation in migration phenology of boreal breeding birds is linked to evolutionary adaptations for long-distance migration

By Ben Winger Linked paper: Migration distance is a fundamental axis of the slow-fast continuum of life history in boreal birds by Benjamin M. Winger and Teresa M. Pegan, Ornithology Recently, it occurred to me that the anticipation and excitement of my first spring migration—experienced more than twenty years ago—continues to inspire my research today, …

In with the Old, Out with the Mew

Keep your checklists handy because the 62nd Supplement to the American Ornithological Society’s Check-list of North American Birds, publishing today in Ornithology, includes numerous updates to the classification of the continent’s bird species. A few highlights from this year’s supplement, detailed below, include species splits for Mew Gull, Barred Owl, and Sedge Wren, among quite …

On the road to trans inclusivity in publishing at the American Ornithological Society

By Catherine Lindell, Editor-in-Chief, Ornithological Applications The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is striving to become welcoming and inclusive of all members of our community. The Committee on Publication Ethics or COPE has resources to help us on this journey. COPE “provides leadership in thinking on publication ethics, practical resources to educate and support members, and …

Welcome to Our New Members of AOS Council!

We are excited to announce the winners of the 2021 AOS Council election! The Council is AOS’s governing body, made up of member volunteers who oversee the society’s strategic direction, policies, budget, and organizational planning.