A G O N Y

Ok, it's not that huge of a deal or anything, but I am excited about it.

I took Ornithology last spring, and we had to do a project for the class. We drew neotropical tanager species names out of a box, and we had to write extensive reports on the bird we selected. Our finished reports were to be published at Cornell University's Neotropical Bird website/database. Sounds easy, right? Not so fast! The catch was that there is very little known about the species which we were assigned. People have seen them and they have obviously been described as a species, but little is known about the ecology and natural history of these birds. Most of them live in dense, unpopulated rainforests, so it's no wonder. We had to dig through field manuals for Central and South America and try to get basic information, and then do journal and article searches (many of my references were from the 60s and 70s). Most of the references you actually find have maybe a paragraph about your species, but most often it's just a few sentences.

Anyway, I worked really hard on this and got a nearly perfect grade, so I hope it's enjoyable to anyone that wants to read it!


TL;DR: I worked super hard on this article that's posted on the Cornell Neotropical Bird website!

P.S. At least look at the picture and listen to the songs and calls.

http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p_spp=44576

Congratulations!!! That is really exciting. I should be published sometime next year for the work I've been doing on pet ownership attachment. I've only read the abstract so far but I think it's so important to study birds, 90% of them are socially monogamous and I think we could learn a lot from their mating structures alone. But cheers to you, this is important work!

Congrats! Mrs. Brain has gotten a few articles pubbed recently, she's always giddy with excitement when they come in.

Publication is the first step to a career in academia, so congratulations are in order. Awesome.

Very very cool Adrie, congratulations!!!!

Congrats! Publication is a big deal! Next, cheesy romance novels!

Grats! its very well organized

Halie wrote:I should be published sometime next year for the work I've been doing on pet ownership attachment.

Did Stromm consent to your use of him in the study?

-Remagi

Oh snap.

Did Stromm consent to your use of him in the study?

duh, my work would be thrown out without the proper use of informed consent.

Pretty cool. As far as the sounds that this fella makes, can you actually distinguish species based on their calls? I listened and it sounds just like any other bird. Is there something specific to listen for?

Also, as far as these mixed species flocks...how do they work? Do you have info on that? I have never heard of such a thing.

Thanks everyone for the kind words.

Gonz,

To answer your question: yes, species have distinct songs and calls. However, some of the differences can be difficult to notice if you don't know what to listen for. It's important to note the difference between a song and a call. In the Oscines (i.e. Passeri or "songbirds"), only the male sings, but both genders make calls. Birds use a complex organ unique to them called a syrinx to produce song. In the Oscines, it's highly developed allowing them to sing elaborate songs. You can think of calls from birds like chickens, ducks, hawks, and owls and compare them to songs of songbirds like sparrows, mockingbirds, wrens, mynas, finches, etc. Really though, it just takes practice. I'm so familiar with most of our backyard feeder birds that I can name almost every one of them based on sound.

Here are a couple of comparisons of similar sounding but distinct bird calls (click on the play button where it says "typical voice"). Listen closely and you will be able to hear the difference.

American Crow: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Crow/id

Common Raven: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/common_raven/id

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Red-tailed Hawk: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/id

Red-shouldered Hawk: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk/id

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Here are three of my favorites!

House Wren: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/house_wren/id

Bewick's Wren: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/bewicks_wren/id

Song Sparrow: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/song_sparrow/id


And for your second question, let me get back to you on that. I don't know much about it, and I wouldn't want to lie to you.

Huzzah, Adrie!
*obligatory Moonkin/Cowhed bird joke*

TLDR: bird squeaks.

the layout is easy on the eyes, and i found the content easy to follow despite knowing next to nothing about birds. nice project