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stouffer and hauber
Phil Stouffer (left) and Mark Hauber (right).
Awards & Grants

2019 Stettenheim Award Winners: Mark Hauber & Phil Stouffer

In 2018, the American Ornithological Society (AOS) established the Peter R. Stettenheim Service Award, intended to carry on the tradition of the Cooper Honorary Member Award, one of the oldest awards in ornithology, which was discontinued when the Cooper Ornithological Society merged with the American Ornithologists’ Union to form AOS in 2016. This award is made in honor of a senior ornithologist who has provided extraordinary service to AOS. In 2019, the award is being presented jointly to Dr. Philip Stouffer and Dr. Mark Hauber.

alice boyle
Awards & Grants

2019 Jenkinson Award Winner: Alice Boyle

The Marion Jenkinson Service Award is given to an individual who has performed continued extensive service to the American Ornithological Society (AOS), including holding elected offices but emphasizing volunteered contributions and committee participation. The award honors Marion Jenkinson Mengel, who served the American Ornithologists’ Union as treasurer and in other capacities for many years, and consists of a framed certificate and an honorarium. The 2019 award is presented to Dr. Alice Boyle.

Awards & Grants

Congratulations 2019 Student & Postdoctoral Travel Award Winners

This year, AOS is providing a record amount of travel funding — over $125,000 — to students and postdoctoral researchers attending our upcoming annual meeting in Anchorage, Alaska. These awards make it possible for early-career ornithologists who lack other funding sources to participate in our annual meetings, present their research, and take advantage of professional …

History

Bird Paper Two

A few months ago (10 December 2018), I wrote about the first paper ever published about birds (here)—a description of a hummingbird from Barbados, published by the botanist Nehemiah Grew in May 1693. This publication was in the Royal Society’s Philosophical Transactions, and did not appear until 28 years after scientific publishing began, in 1665. …

cranes and power line
Illuminating power lines with UV lights could reduce collisions by Sandhill Cranes. Photo by James Dwyer, EDM International.
Press Releases

UV Lights on Power Lines May Help Save Sandhill Cranes

Crane species are declining around the world, and lethal collisions with power lines are an ongoing threat to many crane populations. Current techniques for marking power lines and making them more visible to cranes aren’t always effective, but new research published in The Condor: Ornithological Applications shows that adding UV lights—to which many birds are sensitive—can cut …

History

Aves mexicanus

One of the curious traits shared by birders and professional ornithologists is an abiding interest in bird names, both common and scientific. With respect to common (English) names, I have previously highlighted attempts at standardization in the 1830s (here), one recognizing a woman (here), one that is obscure and obsolete (here), a recent name change …

katma winners
From left, Brian Weeks, Benjamin Winger, Giorgia Auteri, and Teresa Pegan.
Awards & Grants

2019 Katma Award Winners: Benjamin Winger, Giorgia Auteri, Teresa Pegan, & Brian Weeks

The American Ornithological Society’s Katma Award is intended to encourage the formulation of new ideas that could challenge long-held accepted views and possibly change the course of thinking about the biology of birds. This award, proposed and sponsored by Dr. Robert W. Storer, is to be given to the author(s) of an outstanding paper related to ornithology and published in any journal that offers unconventional ideas or innovative approaches, backed by a well-reasoned argument.

Awards & Grants

Congratulations to the 2019 Student & Postdoc Research Award Winners

AOS is proud to recognize the students and postdoctoral researchers who are receiving research funding through our 2019 Student and Postdoctoral Research Awards! These annual awards, each up to $2500, honor early-career ornithologists doing research that advances our understanding of birds and their conservation. The research awards committee puts a great deal of time and thought …