New Genetic Techniques Are Improving Our Understanding of Plumage Color
Few groups of organisms possess striking visual displays that rival the bright colors and intricate patterns of bird feathers.
Ten Tips for Applying for Small Ornithology Grants
In the first two years of my PhD I applied for a slew of small grants and was roundly rejected from every single one. Multiple times.
Winter Experiences Carry Over into Swallows’ Breeding Success
There’s no shortage of studies demonstrating that conditions during one part of birds’ annual of breeding and migration cycle can affect individuals in subsequent stages — a phenomenon known as carry-over effects.
Do Prairie-Chickens Care More About Land Cover or Wind Turbine Noise?
Imagine living in a grassland landscape with an almost constant low-frequency hum from spinning wind turbine blades. The humming is distracting, so what do you do?
Songbirds Indicate Short-Term Restoration Success
To understand the impact of restoration efforts, one of the things we can do is study the wildlife that lives in these human-restored habitats.
The Threat of a Green-Headed Monster
Affectionately known to some as the “green-headed monster,” the Mallard is one of the world’s most recognizable species of waterfowl.
Chasing Evolutionary Processes in Andean Coeligena Hummingbirds
I am lucky that one of the species of hummingbird I study, the Blue-throated Starfrontlet (Coeligena helianthea), occurs on my university’s campus in the mountains of Bogotá, Colombia.
Seeking Mixed-Species Flocks in China’s Misty Mountains
Have you ever looked up at a mountaintop in the distance and wondered what birds might be living there? When mixed-species flocking fanatics like ourselves see that mountain, another set of questions catches our imagination.
How to Send a Graduate School Inquiry Email
If you are considering attending graduate school, the quality of your inquiry email to a potential advisor can make or break your chances of a receiving a response.
Black-backed Woodpeckers & the Emerging Threat of Homogenous Forest Fires
It’s fire season again in northern California. In some parts of the state, the evenings will glow with those too-familiar burnt orange sunsets while residents keep a wary eye on the news.