Thread by @evornithology

Thanks in part to #BirdTwitter, my @sunyoswego #Ornithology syllabus is complete! Students will be reading papers from @branchinalong, @WildlifeMcCoy, @sexinnature, @martinwikelski, @CaiafaMarcos, @lyrebirdlab, @ederry1, @teamswiftparrot, and @honeyguiding. What a lineup!

Topic #1: "how birds evolve", paper by @branchinalong et al. on the genetic basis of chickadee spatial abilities sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

Topic #2: "feathers and plumages", paper by @WildlifeMcCoy on the anatomy and evolution of super black plumage journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/22…

Topic #3: "anatomy", paper by @sexinnature on the sordid evolutionary arms race of waterfowl genitalia journals.plos.org/plosone/articl…

Topic #4: "physiology", paper by @martinwikelski group on the unbelievable ability of frigate birds to sleep while flying nature.com/articles/ncomm…

Topic #5: "food and foraging", paper by @CaiafaMarcos on the truffle pigs of the bird world sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

Topic #6: "mating and social behavior", paper by @lyrebirdlab on the deceptive courtship tactics of male lyrebirds sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

Topic #7: "vocal behavior", paper by @ederry1 who capitalized on the COVID shutdown to examine how sparrows change their songs w/ reduced human noise science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…

Topic #8: "migration and dispersal", paper by yours truly on the bizarre mix of migration and double-breeding in Phainopeplas academic.oup.com/auk/article/13…

Topic #9: "population ecology", paper by @teamswiftparrot looking at the demographic consequences of a nasty introduced predator on endangered parrots besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.11…

Topic #10: "community ecology", paper by @honeyguiding on the remarkable mutualism between humans and honeyguides in Africa science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…

Other class topics (without accompanying paper discussion) include "flight", "breeding biology", and "conservation". It's the whole kit n caboodle folks!