Caleb Centanni

I’m an avian ecologist fascinated by how the diversity of sound reflects the diversity of life. As a practitioner of both science and artistic communication, I aim to build interdisciplinary pathways to species and landscape conservation by integrating scientific inquiry with community engagement.  My current research is focused on whether vocal cultures in the nomadic cardueline finches (Fringillidae) can reveal patterns of evolution, ecology, and conservation potential in this enigmatic family of seed-eating birds. The focal point of my PhD is the Evening Grosbeak, a stunningly beautiful, once-familiar finch of backyard feeders which has become one of North America’s most imperiled birds, with a 92 percent population decline since 1970. With the help of emerging and expanding methods such as passive acoustic monitoring via machine learning, genetic analysis, and community science, I hope we can come to understand, spotlight, and conserve this species and others like it before their plight becomes too great.

My research approach is rooted in my dual beginnings as a community science leader and musical artist. Early experiences as a Christmas Bird Count compiler, a reviewer for Cornell’s eBird, and president of the OSU Bird Nerds club inspired me to pursue a career in listening to and sharing the music of birds. As an undergraduate, I stumbled upon the Red Crossbill, a wandering mountain finch which has a remarkable 12 unique vocal cultures, or call types, just in North America. Encountering this species, its hidden diversity of sound, and its wild alpine habitats changed everything for me, and I was soon enmeshed in a three-year honors thesis project merging community science with field recording to map its call types’ foraging ecology in my home state of Oregon. With the help of the many birders and volunteers I had met through community science work, I built a comprehensive library of the Red Crossbill’s social vocalizations in the state and the first complete description of its ecology in the Pacific Northwest. 

Collaboration is my central ethic and guiding light as a scientist. The ever-more-complex problems we face as ecologists and conservationists today require a synthesis of disciplines and perspectives that’s only possible when we work together, so let’s do so! Please reach out if you’d like to join forces to study avian vocal diversity, cultural evolution, emerging conservation technologies, science engagement, or other topics; I’d love to hear from you!

Outside of work, I’m an obsessive birder and explorer of landscapes, a poet and songwriter, and a lover of the arts. If you’d like to go birding, hiking, etc., please feel free to reach out.