News Room
2025 News Releases
November 19, 2025New Study Reveals Central America’s “Five Great Forests” Are Lifelines for North America’s Migratory BirdsProtecting our last tropical forests is critical to the survival of many beloved species that connect backyard birders in the U.S. and Canada to communities and forests thousands of miles away.
November 17, 2025Cornell Lab of Ornithology Receives Multiple Awards for its Visitor CenterThe Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s newly renovated Visitor Center in Ithaca, New York received the Merit Award and the Sustainability Impact Recognition Award from the Society for Experimental Graphic Design. These prestigious awards honor installations that connect people to place through storytelling, meaning, and impact.
October 23, 2025Cornell Lab of Ornithology Awarded Bezos Earth Fund Grant to Advance Biodiversity Monitoring for ConservationThe Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics received a catalytic $1.8 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund to help address global biodiversity decline through the development of cutting-edge wildlife monitoring technologies.
October 8, 2025Exploring the Colorful Lives of Australian FairywrensDr. Mike Webster, Robert G. Engle Professor of Ornithology and Director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Macaulay Library, will speak about how the bright plumage and complex songs of Australian fairywrens shape mating, behavior, and evolution, in the 2025 Paul C. Mundinger Distinguished Lectureship on October 16.
October 3, 2025Birds’ Vocal Warnings Provide New Insight Into the Origins of LanguageBirds separated by vast geographic distances and millions of years of evolution share a remarkably similar learned vocal warning to identify parasitic enemies near their nests, an international team of researchers has found.
In The News
- The Merlin Bird ID App Has Kept Me Grounded in the Present More Than Any … , World News
- Protecting the rainforests of Mesoamerica so we can keep watching migratory birds in Central Park , El País
- Winter, Ducks and Cold Feet , NewsBreak
- Central America’s forests are crucial for migrating birds: Study , World News
- This free academic AI tool is helping me reach new levels of nerd , Yahoo! News
- Celebrity crib sheet: Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are back on the red carpet – here are seven things you need to know , The Guardian
- Status Birds: How Ornithology Became Prestige TV’s Favorite Pastime , AOL
- Ariana Grande Is Getting Into Bird-watching , New York Magazine – The Cut
- How birds react to fire depends on where they live , The Journal of Wildlife Management
- Citizen Science: Tips For Turning Everyday Outdoor Moments Into Meaningful Scientific Research , Yahoo! News
Experts at the Cornell Lab
To request an interview or find additional experts, contact Kathi Borgmann, 607-254-2137, birdnews@cornell.edu.
Robyn BaileyProject LeaderNesting Biology • Nest and Egg Identification • Nest Boxes • Participatory Science
Jessie BarryProgram Manager
David BonterCo-Director, Center for Engagement in Science and NatureCitizen Science • Avian Ecology • Foraging Ecology
Kathi BorgmannCommunications ManagerScience Communication • Bird Identification • Breeding Biology • Avian Conservation • Bird Song • Wildlife Restoration Ecology
Charles EldermireProject Leader
Andrew FarnsworthVisiting ScientistBird Migration • Aeroecology • Bioacoustics • Radar Ornithology • Climate Change
John FitzpatrickDirector EmeritusAdministrative Oversight • Fundraising • Board Relations • Conservation Science • External Communication
Wesley HochachkaSenior Research AssociatePopulation Ecology • Citizen Science • Ecological Informatics • Disease Ecology
Marshall J. IliffProject LeadereBird • Status and Trends • Migration • Species Distribution • Taxonomy
Holger KlinckJohn W. Fitzpatrick Director, K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics
Irby LovetteDirector, Fuller Evolutionary Biology Program and Director, Center for Biodiversity Studies and Higher Education
Kevin J. McGowanSenior Course Developer and InstructorCrows • Behavioral Ecology • Ornithological Trivia • Bird Identification • Translating Science to General Audiences
Tina PhillipsAssistant Director, Engagement in Science and NatureCitizen Science • Evaluation • Learning • Social Science
Aaron RicePrincipal EcologistBioacoustics • Conservation Biology • Fish Biology • Marine Ecology • Animal Behavior
Amanda RodewaldGarvin Professor and Senior Director, Center for Avian Population Studies
Viviana Ruiz GutierrezAssistant Director, Center for Avian Population Studies • Program Leader, Conservation ScienceApplied Population Ecology • Conservation Science • Quantitative Ecology • Tropical Ecology and Conservation
Edwin ScholesProject LeaderBirds-of-Paradise • Audiovisual Media • New Guinea Ornithology • Evolutionary Biology
Mya ThompsonCo-Director, Engagement in Science and NatureOnline Learning • Instructional Design • Media Production • Environmental Education • Animal Communication • Science Communication
Mike WebsterDirector, Macaulay LibraryAnimal Behavior • Animal Communication • Evolution • Bird Song • Breeding Biology