research Archives - Page 4 of 11 - American Ornithological Society

17 June 2020

2020 Coues Award Winner: Thomas Smith

The Elliott Coues Award recognizes outstanding and innovative contributions to ornithological research, regardless of the geographic location of the work.

12 June 2020

AOS

2020 Miller Award Winner: Erica Nol

The American Ornithological Society’s Loye and Alden Miller Research Award is given for lifetime achievement in ornithological research.

Differences between Partners in Flight roadside sample-based population estimates and spatial model “pixel”-based population estimates align with roadside count and habitat representation differences across 81 species in Northern Alberta, Canada. Red dots indicate species that are well-represented along roads; blue dots indicate species that are under-represented along roads. Filled dots indicate statistically significant differences between population estimates, P < 0.05. (Species codes and values for species represented by unfilled dots can be found in the paper.)

21 May 2020

AOS

Three Things You Should Know About Population Estimation

Population size estimation is experiencing a bit of a renaissance, due in no small part to the recent “three billion birds lost” paper by Rosenberg et al.

A spectrogram of a female Black-capped Chickadee fee-bee song. Inset photo by Kimberley Campbell.

18 May 2020

AOS

Investigating Female Song Use in Black-Capped Chickadees

Bird song has long been considered a sexually selected signal, used predominantly by male songbirds for territorial defense and mate attraction.

american golden-plover — American Golden-Plovers prefer to nest in areas with shorter vegetation at higher elevations than Pacific Golden-Plovers. Photo by Rachel M. Richardson, U.S. Geological Survey.

14 May 2020

AOS

Ocean or Mountain View: How to Choose a Summer Home in a Changing Climate

If you were searching for a summer home for your young family, would you choose a place amidst lush coastal meadows, or high up in the mountains?

trays of preserved bird specimens — The crucial series of specimens collected by Robb Brumfield and currently held at the UW Burke Museum. Photo by Rafael Marcondes.

12 May 2020

AOS

An Obscure Bird and the Richness of Biological Specimens

The beauty of specimens in biological collections is that they keep serving researchers for an indefinite period of time after they have been collected.

(A) Schematic phylogenetic tree showing proposed position of Jacamatia luberonensis relative to extant and extinct taxa of Piciformes and relatives. (B) Artist’s view of J. luberonensis (watercolour painting © Anaïs Duhamel).

11 May 2020

AOS

A Tiny Fossil Reveals Part of the Complex History of Puffbirds and Jacamars in Europe

When the fragment of calcareous plate was unearthed in sunny southeastern France, there was a hint of the presence within it of small fossil bones.

08 May 2020

AOS

Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day With Six Cool Migration Studies

In celebration of World Migratory Bird Day, here are six favorite migration-related papers published in AOS journals in the past year.

A Zebra Finch investigates a novel foraging task. Photo by Morgan Slevin.

07 May 2020

AOS

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.

In an idea-mapping activity in August 2014 from the research application, participatory workshop with stakeholder groups in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, a Chamelco college student explains her biodiversity-friendly agroecosystem design with terracing, shade coffee, milpa polycultures, and fruit trees. Photo by Gemara Gifford.

30 April 2020

AOS

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.