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Your Chance to Learn Ornithology with New Textbook and Course
Ornithology—it sounds like something you need a Ph.D. to study, but ornithology is for anyone who wants to learn about birds. Now you can take a college-level course from the Cornell Lab called Ornithology: Comprehensive Bird Biology that's delivered in a friendly, online format enriched by online videos and interactive animations. This self-paced course uses the new third-edition of the Handbook of Bird Biology textbook. Course learners earn digital badges for passing quizzes. Those who pass the course receive a printed certificate signed by Cornell Lab director Dr. John W. Fitzpatrick. Read more about the textbook and online course.
Try It Out: Take the first lesson and a sample quiz for free. Course enrollment costs $239 and the textbook costs $135 ($199 and $121.50, respectively, for Lab members). |
 Click above to watch a video about the plight of the African Grey Parrot.
Increased Protection for a Bird Being Loved to Death
The Gray Parrot, also known as African Grey Parrot, is one of the world's most popular pet birds—but that popularity has fueled the capture of millions of parrots from the wild in Africa. Earlier this month, an international wildlife trade conference granted this declining species increased protections under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The Cornell Lab’s Multimedia Productions program produced this video summary about the plight of the Gray Parrot for the government of Gabon and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service .
The video is also available in French, Spanish and Portuguese.
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What Species Is This?
It's getting later into fall migration, but the migrants aren't done moving yet. If you live in the East, you may hear this oversized member of the sparrow family (via its distinctive metallic chewink call) before you see it. Do you have a guess for the identity of this bird that could be skulking around in your shrubs while you're raking leaves?
Read more about birding after the warbler wave of fall migration. |
 Florida Scrub-Jay by Louise Hunt.
Every Florida Scrub-Jay Can Help Save the Future of Its Species
New research co-authored by University of California, Davis, postdoctoral fellow Nancy Chen and Cornell Lab director John W. Fitzpatrick shows that even small, dwindling populations of the endangered Florida Scrub-Jay are contributing to the overall health of the species. Immigrant birds contribute genetic diversity when they move to new areas.The research shows that immigrants from small and scattered remnant populations help improve the genetic health of larger Florida Scrub-Jay populations, and thus improve the long-term outlook for the species. |
Have You Seen the New BNA?
The Birds of North America reference website recently launched a major redesign upgrade with easier navigation, more attractive profile pages, interactive eBird maps, more rich photos, sounds, spectrograms, and video than ever before. Take a look at some of the free sample accounts. Subscription options start at $5 for 30-days access (perfect for a short-term research project, school report, or just to get a better sense of what BNA is all about). |
FeederWatch Season Is Coming Up!: Next month Project FeederWatch begins its 30th year harnessing the power of backyard bird watchers to track trends among winter birds. Sign up to be a FeederWatcher today.
The Year in Review: The Cornell Lab's fiscal 2016 was a year of celebrating new beginnings, as we embark on our next 100 years as a scientific institute for birds and biodiversity. Read our annual report.
Take the October eBird Challenge: Submit 15 complete checklists using the eBird mobile app, and you could win a pair of Zeiss Conquest HD 8×42 binoculars. Read more.
Fall Festivals: Lots of great autumn bird festivals still to come, and it's not too early to start planning for winter birding trips. See what's happening near you. |
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