Cognition, the Gut Microbiome, and Forty-Two Hungry Zebra Finches
The gut microbiome has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years, and Morgan Slevin is studying how its diversity affects cognition in birds.
Social Science Is an Integral Part of Neotropical Bird Conservation
Human dimensions are critical in understanding, preserving, and managing birds that eat crop pests, provide economic opportunities, and bring us joy.
Unraveling the Origins and Family Tree of the Euphonia and Chlorophonia Finches
In the first year of my PhD, I spent a lot of time studying the phylogenetics literature to spark ideas for research into the diversification of songbirds in the Americas.
How Does Habitat Fragmentation Affect Amazonian Birds?
The Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project began in 1979 and is the world’s longest-running experimental study of tropical forest fragments.
Helping Migratory Birds While We Drink Our Coffee
The Andean mountains of Colombia, my homeland, are home to the world’s highest diversity of birds and are a major coffee-producing region.
900 Tiny Toe Bones Tell a Story About Prehistoric Eagles
Oona Takano’s research focuses on how something big — Pleistocene megafauna extinctions — affected something very small: the toe bones of eagles.
Climate Change May Be Making Migration Harder By Shortening Nightingales’ Wings
The Common Nightingale, known for its beautiful song, breeds in Europe and parts of Asia and migrates to sub-Saharan Africa every winter.
Scytalopus Tapaculos, a Continental Non-Adaptive Radiation
Birds in the tapaculo genus Scytalopus are a perennial source of headaches for ornithologists interested in species limits.
Is Intensive Agriculture Reducing Mourning Dove Reproduction in the Eastern U.S.?
Populations of some common bird species, including the familiar Mourning Dove, have been on the decline for decades in North America.
Is the Darién Region of Colombia a Migratory Bottleneck for Neotropical Migrants?
Our passion for migratory birds and curiosity to reveal the mysteries of migration took us to one of the most spectacular regions of Colombia: the Darién.