On Tuesday evening, December 10th, 2019 the Linnaean Society of New York 2019/2020 Speaker Program will feature two new presentations sure to be of interest to New York birders:
6:00 pm — Vulture: The Private Life of an Unloved Bird – Kathleen Fallon Vultures are often overlooked, underappreciated, and unloved, despite the vital role they play in healthy ecosystems. Worldwide, vultures are more likely to be threatened or endangered than any other group of raptors, but in the United States, Turkey and Black Vultures may be increasing in number. This presentation will discuss the life and times of the noble Turkey Vulture, including its feeding, nesting, and roosting habits, migratory behaviors, and common misconceptions. Katie Fallon is also the author of Cerulean Blues: A Personal Search for a Vanishing Songbird (2011), which was a Finalist for the Reed Award for Outstanding Writing on the Southern Environment. Katie has taught creative writing at Virginia Tech and West Virginia University, and teaches in the low-residency MFA programs at Chatham University and West Virginia Wesleyan College. She is a founder of the nonprofit Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia as well as current President of the Mountaineer Chapter of the National Audubon Society. 7:30 pm — Dancing Birds, Sexual Selection, and the Evolution of Cooperation in a Tropical Forest – Emily DuVal Males of many species engage in fierce competition for mates. This competition can take the form of intense battles with rivals or flashy displays that attract females, but in just a few species, males do something truly unusual: instead of competing, they cooperate. Male Lance-tailed Manakins form long-term two-male partnerships and display together for females, but only dominant “alpha” males mate with the females a pair attracts. Why do males cooperate, and what are females looking for, anyway? Drawing on 20 years of empirical research into Lance-tailed Manakin cooperation and mate choice, DuVal will explore the astounding behaviors that have resulted from intense sexual selection while questioning long-held assumptions about how sexual selection works. Emily DuVal first became involved in ornithological research in college, collecting data on Great-tailed Grackle mating systems. Following graduation from Rice University, she traveled as a Watson fellow to study conflicts between conservation and cultural traditions in Guyana, Australia, and New Zealand. She studied Lance-tailed Manakins for her doctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley, then did postdoctoral at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen, Germany. DuVal is now an Associate Professor at Florida State University. Both presentations are free and will be held in the Linder Theater on the first floor of the American Museum of Natural History <x-apple-data-detectors://7> in New York City. Enter at West 77th Street <x-apple-data-detectors://8> between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. All welcome! Complete details of these exciting presentations and the rest of the 2019/2020 program can be found here: https://linnaeannewyork.org/programs-trips/lsny-programs.html <https://linnaeannewyork.org/programs-trips/lsny-programs.html> -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
