Tracking Guam’s Snake Survivors

For bird aficionados, waking up on Guam can be a surreal experience. The soundscape is nearly devoid of birdsong other than the clucking of chickens and the occasional chirp of a Eurasian Tree Sparrow. Guam’s silent forests are the work of the brown treesnake, an invasive predator that was accidentally introduced to the island after World War II.

2019 AOS William Brewster Memorial Award Winners: Helen James & Craig Benkman

The William Brewster Memorial Award goes to the author or coauthors of an exceptional body of work on birds of the Western Hemisphere. Established in 1921, the award consists of a medal and an honorarium and is in honor of William Brewster, one of the founding members of the American Ornithologists’ Union. For the first time this year, AOS is awarding two separate Brewster Awards, one to Dr. Helen James and one to Dr. Craig Benkman.

2019 Elliott Coues Award Winners: Linda Whittingham & Peter Dunn

The Elliott Coues Award recognizes outstanding and innovative contributions to ornithological research, regardless of the geographic location of the work. The American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU) established this award in honor of Elliott Coues, a pioneering ornithologist of the western United States and a founding member of the AOU. The award consists of a medal and an honorarium provided through the society’s Elliott Coues Achievement Award Fund. The 2018 Elliott Coues Award goes to Dr. Linda Whittingham and Dr. Peter Dunn.