A fitting end to teaching speciation in the last week of undergrad evolution. Darwin 1858 March 11th, definitely was running on empty in week 10 of the quarter.
12.03.2026 16:04
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A fitting end to teaching speciation in the last week of undergrad evolution. Darwin 1858 March 11th, definitely was running on empty in week 10 of the quarter.
WHAT IF YOU JUST WENT FUCKING BIRDING INSTEAD www.androidpolice.com/i-use-gemini...
Related - did you see how I avoided a "dangling this" there? I have you to thank for that. All of my students do too.
But it sounds fancier than "use" - how else will we show everyone how smart we are? In all seriousness, I see this word A LOT in undergraduate lab reports. I'm trying to root it out there, but it's an uphill battle!
Our new article appears in today's issue of Ethology:
"In the Danger Zone: Wrens Respond More Strongly to Experimentally Simulated Predators Near Their Nest"
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
We presented 3D-printed owls near versus far from nests of tropical wrens. How did wrens respond?
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come for the first time in history that Ted Cruz and Purple Martin populations have been meaningfully linked, stay for the spectacular paper. Well done team!
New paper! Bird nests (Wood Warblers) are hubs of invertebrate biodiversity on forest floor, hosting more species/individuals than leaf litter. Probably due to heat & food detritus. Losing Wood Warblers = ecological networks lost. #ornithology
resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
1937 article of a Red-Tailed Hawk carcass discovered to have choked, seemingly to death, on a squirrel skull.
I never, ever weary of the treasures to be found among the deep tracks, I mean DEEP STACKS, of Natural History.
Newest paper from my undergrad research with the wonderful Dr. Kira Bailey:
When science isn't beautiful... 🧠🎨
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
total number of billionaires in each year
"The richest Americans saw their net worth soar 120% between 2017+2025, a colossal leap from the 45% growth they had seen over the previous nine years.
The number of U.S. billionaires jumped 50% by some estimates between 2017+2025, to more than 900 people."
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/u...
Our oldest kid thinks that my entire job is based around catching birds. Almost everyday as I'm leaving he says, "good luck catching birds today!" I decided against correcting him, mostly because catching birds everyday would be an amazing job.
You forgot to include the step where you didn't save your password when you made the account and have to reset it before you can do the two factor authentication and then pay for parking.
For anyone that didn't visit the site yesterday - one of the FAQs was, "Will my professor find out?" It clearly went from being billed as a cheating site powered by AI to to tutoring site in 24 hours. Just astounding. companion.ai/einstein
I know this AI generated a lot of discussion yesterday, and it's shocking how much the pitch on their website changed overnight. It went from "Einstein does the work for you." to "Einstein is your partner and tutor." Either the negative press mattered or they got a lawyer. companion.ai/einstein
Hadn't seen that one yet. That's bleak. I guess we're at the point where we need to question whether online/fully remote courses are even an option? Obviously there are ways to try and enforce honesty, but this arms race is soul crushing.
Field job in the beautiful mountains of NE Oregon doing passive acoustic monitoring and woodpecker demography just went live. Please share!
jobs.rwfm.tamu.edu/view-job/?id...
I am hiring a research assistant (vampire bats), a Panama fieldwork coordinator (vampire bats), and also considering postdoc apps (social behavior, any species): socialbat.org/2026/02/19/h...
Very nice study! It's fascinating how little overlap there is in amplitude between the distant and close countersinging. I think song sparrows were similar with their soft v. broadcast song. It really suggests that the intended receiver is the nearby bird, not everyone else in the community.
Image of the title and abstract of our new paper, with a cartoon Ovenbird superimposed. The title of the paper is: Hushed disputes between noisy neighbours: ovenbirds vary song amplitude during conflicts with territorial rivals.
Our new paper is out today in Animal Behaviour: "Hushed disputes between noisy neighbours: Ovenbirds vary song amplitude during conflicts with territorial rivals." By Connor Acorn, Jenn Foote, & me. @animbehsociety.bsky.social
How loud is an Ovenbird's song? It depends...
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Students are always surprised/confused to learn that roadrunners are in the same taxonomic order as cuckoos (Cuculiformes). Until I saw this video, I never gave much though to how similar their vocalizations could be.
We (as a society) are good and truly f*cked
Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin
The Birdsong Lab is recruiting graduate students to study vocal communication in tropical birds. The deadline to apply is less than a week away! #birds #birdsong #ornithology #animalbehavior #BirdsCanada #AcademicSky #SciComm
Can confirm it's possible to fully unplug from Amazon Prime. We did last year and ended up spending a large portion of those recaptured dollars at local small businesses. But, change is hard, goods are more expensive than ever, and Amazon remains the fastest, cheapest option for too much.
NSF GRFP applicants (and mentors): Was your application Returned Without Review and deemed ineligible despite fitting in the allowed topics?
1) Write NSF
2) Write your Congressperson
3) CC us at grfp@grant-witness.us so we can compile + follow up
Details and template at grant-witness.us/grfp-letter
Looks like an amazing tool, especially for those of us teaching Ornithology, Evolution, etc. Also, just fun to cruise around and learn about new birds and taxonomic relationships.
I first learned about the misleading scale of the Mercator projection in college geography and was astounded. So much of what I thought I knew about the world had to be reevaluated. I think about that moment often.
The Birdsong Lab is recruiting graduate students! Links in the comments. Please repost!
I finally broke down and asked for a @birdfybynetvue.bsky.social feeder for Christmas. So glad that I did! It’s been fun watching the usual suspects, but yesterday I would’ve totally missed this relative rarity without it. Enjoy the red-breasted nuthatch!
