C.U. ornithologists track birds during hurricane, make rare sightings

C.U. Ornithologists try to forecast how birds move across the sky with a Birdcast, a collaborative project with NOAA and Microsoft scientists.

Monday at exactly 1:53 pm the first fluffy, white Red-tailed Hawk hatchling emerged from its egg and joining Cornell's Big Red and Ezra family.

Thousands of bird enthusiasts from around the country participated this past weekend in the annual Great Backyard Bird Count - largest instantaneous snapshot of bird populations ever recorded.

University efforts monitor the appearance of the H5N1 virus — more commonly known as "bird flu" — at live bird markets from around the state.  Prof. K. A. Schat studies the genome of the virus, which has the potential to mutate and infect humans.

When Abby Duvall ’11 was in middle school, she acquired an incubator and started hatching chickens on her family’s farm. At that time, she only had access to chickens. However, after meeting breeders through game bird clubs and swaps, she began raising exotic birds – mandarin ducks, all types of pheasants, partridges and peacocks.

“I saw birds on the field, but a little sparrow, way out in the distance, wasn’t as interesting to me as being able to hold the bird and learn more about them up close.”  

Ever since, Abby has involved herself in the breeding, the rehabilitation, and the public education of birds. 

Prof. Ronald Hoy, neurobiology and behavior, has an ear for fine music, and he uses it to study the sounds of life.  From Beethoven and Vivaldi to mosquitoes and birds, Hoy listens to the sounds of life, and connects animal movement to communication.

A new exhibition at Mann Library, "The Sweet-Voiced Bird has Flown: Portraits of Common Birds in Decline," combines the aritistic talents of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators with the confounding research in the science community. It illustrates threatened birds, facing the possible perils of climate change and human development.

Although extinct for 65 million years, dinosaurs find themselves deeply imbedded in popular culture. Dinosaurs project strong imagery, along the lines of a Jurassic Park chase scene. Audiences rarely think of dinosaurs with bright feathers.

It’s almost impossible to think of evolution without thinking about birds. Since Charles Darwin traveled to the Galapagos Islands, where he studied the diversity of island finches, birds have fascinated scientists with their ability to adapt to surroundings.