The Last of Its Kind: The Search for the Great Auk and the Discovery of Extinction

In this readable study, Gísli Pálsson recounts how, in the spring of 1858, two Victorian ornithologists—John Wolley and Alfred Newton—engaged in a frustrating and fruitless effort to find living great auks in Iceland. Before returning to England, the pair “became anthropologists” (91) and spent several weeks interviewing people familiar with the birds, especially fishermen who, in 1844, captured and killed two auks... Read More

Guest feature | New information from old tags: getting the most out of geolocator data

Just about every bird nerd I know loves a good tracking study. As tracking tags have gotten lighter, we’ve been able to deploy them on more and more species. The movements they have uncovered have confirmed suspected migratory routes in some cases and completely flipped those expectations on their head in others. But regardless, the information we gather from tracking tags are both exciting to read about and invaluable to protecting migratory birds. Read More

Guest feature | Unveiling the secrets of the breeding season in Broad-winged Hawks: home range size and site fidelity

When studying avian breeding ecology, the first questions that come to our minds are: where does the bird breed? How much space does it need? Does it change annually? Indeed, understanding home range size, and identifying the habitat features influencing it, is key to addressing potential conservation issues. Read More

Guest feature | Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) breeding season roost site selection in a working agricultural landscape in Clay County, Mississippi

Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) have been considered a beloved gamebird of the North American hunter for generations. Unfortunately, bobwhite populations are experiencing range-wide population declines. By the early 1990s, bobwhite populations declined by 60-80% throughout approximately 70% of their range. Read More

Guest feature Studying | Bird Migration without ever capturing a single bird

The ability to attach devices such as satellite transmitters or geolocators to birds has transformed our knowledge of how birds migrate. However, these technologies have their limits. They require capturing the birds, usually twice, and the expense limits most studies to a small number of individuals within a relatively limited portion of their range. Also, some species, such as the Ruby-crowned Kinglet, are too small to allow tagging with current geolocators. Read More

Guest feature | Long-term changes in arrival timing and site functionality in two passerine species during spring migration in northeastern Pennsylvania, USA

We have been studying migratory songbirds for more than 18 years in and near Lackawanna State Park in Lackawanna County Pennsylvania, USA. Over the years we have examined a number of questions, mostly focused migration. In addition to capturing and banding birds for identification, we take assorted morphological measures, weigh, age (via plumage and measurements), and sex […] Read More

Guest feature | The influence of artificial light on the behaviour of a nocturnal bird

Light pollution caused by artificial light at night (or ALAN) is one of many factors of the ever-increasing urbanization of the planet that impact the behaviour and ecology of organisms. The use of artificial light in rural and natural areas in addition to dense urban centres mean its one of the more pervasive symptoms of urbanization and can alter natural environments even quite far from cities. However, the ecological consequences of ALAN on the behaviour of organisms is not well understood, […] Read More

Elusive Birds of the Tropical Forest Understory

Elusive Birds of the Tropical Forest Understory (Comstock Publishing Associates) makes a fine effort to introduce us to an underappreciated and relatively little-known cohort of birds.  Its attractive coffee table book format houses a compendium of portraiture sets for 41 bird species that reside in the lower to mid- strata of New World tropical forests.  Accompanying each of these sets is an accessibly-written essay by one of several contemporary, expert tropical avian ecologists. Read More

Guest feature | Sex determination of Eastern White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys leucophrys) using wing chord length

The White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) is a common, sexually monochromatic (male and female coloration is identical) songbird species that occurs across North America in different seasons. For this reason, it is one of the most commonly studied songbirds in North America. The White-crowned Sparrow has four currently recognized subspecies: Eastern (leucophrys), Gambel’s (gambelii), Nuttall’s (nuttalli) […] Read More

Aboriginal Peoples and Birds in Australia

This is a very welcome publication.  Anthropologist Philip Clarke has produced a wide-ranging survey of the historical and cultural relationships between Australia’s aboriginal peoples and its distinctive avifauna.  These relationships are both deep and complex.  When the first European settlers encountered this vast continent they were entering a world whose indigenous inhabitants had over thousands of years evolved a most detailed and intimate knowledge of their natural surroundings and its wildlife. Read More