Category Archives: News

Ornithologist, conservationist Robert Ridgely receives 2013 Allen Award

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology bestowed its prestigious Arthur A. Allen Award for 2013 to Dr. Robert Ridgely, at a ceremony May 14 at the New-York Historical Society Museum and Library. The award, named for Cornell Lab founder Arthur Allen, was established in 1967 to honor those who have made significant contributions to ornithology by making it [...]

Bicknell’s Thrush Surveys Turn Up Illegal Clearing in Dominican Republic

Surveys for a rare North American songbird are shedding light on illegal forest clearing in the Dominican Republic, according to researchers from the Vermont Center for Ecostudies and Grupo Jaragua. The ongoing cutting in Sierra de Bahoruco National Park threatens some of Hispaniola’s last remaining undisturbed cloud forest. The park’s forests are a winter home [...]

Vote in March Migration Madness and Get Your Own Printable Bracket

Our third annual March Migration Madness tournament kicked off on Tuesday, March 12, when the Whooping Crane faced off against the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. After more than 2,700 total votes, the crane stretched its long legs and walked away with the victory. It will reappear in Round 2 against the winner of the American Kestrel vs. [...]

Get ready for the 2013 GBBC with our 2012 photo contest winners

This year’s Great Backyard Bird Count is happening Feb 15–18. Last year’s count set a new record for participation, netting more than 100,000 checklists. This year could be even bigger, because for the first time ever, the GBBC is going global. Drawing on the international reach of eBird‘s online checklists, we can now accept entries [...]

New Young Birders Network Centralizes Resources for High-School Birders

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Black Swamp Bird Observatory are excited to introduce the Young Birders Network. This new website offers a wealth of resources geared toward birders of high-school age. This site enables young birders to connect with peers, find clubs in their area, discover conferences and events, and find information on colleges [...]

With Digitization Complete, Hear 7 of the Coolest Natural Sounds in Our Archive

To a computer, it’s just a complex combination of ones and zeros. Decoded for our ears, it becomes wondrous sound—a symphony, or the song of a lark. Thanks to digital technology, recordings of bird, insect, mammal, fish, and amphibian voices in the Lab’s Macaulay Library will last virtually forever. It’s taken more than 12 years, [...]

What we do: 8 TED-style talks about birds and saving the world

At an event in Washington, DC, this weekend, Cornell Lab directors presented a set of short, crisp, exciting talks about the work that we do. They’re a great introduction to the kinds of exciting research, conservation, and outreach that consume our lives. Lab director John Fitzpatrick kicked things off with his argument that birds really [...]

9/11 Tribute in Light Illuminates Thousands of Migrating Songbirds

On the eleventh anniversary of 9/11, twin spotlights once again shot into the night sky above Manhattan to offer a tribute to the men and women we lost during the 2001 attacks. It was a clear and cool night, almost calm and with a hint of a southerly breeze. In another long-repeated annual event, thousands [...]

eBird passes the 100 million mark!

For a few weeks now we’ve been looking forward to a major milestone in our eBird project: the addition of our 100 millionth bird observation. It couldn’t have arrived in better style: Liron Gertsman, a keen young birder from Vancouver, British Columbia, reported an American Robin along with 23 other species as part of his [...]

New Bird Species Discovered in Peru, Named for Cornell Lab Director

 A colorful, fruit-eating bird with a black mask, pale belly, and scarlet breast—never before described by science—has been discovered and named by Cornell University graduates following an expedition to the remote Peruvian Andes. The Sira Barbet (Capito fitzpatricki) is described in a paper published in the July 2012 issue of The Auk, the official publication of [...]