Researchers Identify Previously Unknown Hybrid Zone Between Hummingbird Species

We usually think of a species as being reproductively isolated – that is, not mating with other species in the wild. Occasionally, however, closely related species do interbreed. New research just published in The Auk: Ornithological Advances documents the existence of a previously undiscovered hybrid zone along the coast of northern California and southern Oregon, …

Despite Habitat Protection, Endangered Owls Decline in Mount Rainier National Park

When the Northern Spotted Owl was protected under the Endangered Species Act in 1990, the primary threat to the species was the loss of the old-growth forest it depends on. However, new research published in The Condor: Ornithological Applications shows that the Northern Spotted Owl population in Washington’s Mount Rainier National Park has declined sharply in the …