Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
Encyclopedia
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a member-supported unit of Cornell University
in Ithaca, New York
which studies birds and other wildlife. It is housed in the Imogene Powers Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity in Sapsucker Woods Sanctuary. Approximately 250 scientists, professors, staff, and students work in a variety of programs devoted to the Lab's mission: interpreting and conserving the Earth's biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds. Work at the Lab is supported primarily by its 45,000 members. The Cornell Lab issues two quarterly publications, Living Bird magazine and the BirdScope newsletter, and manages numerous citizen-science projects and websites, including the Webby Award-winning All About Birds.
Birder/businessman Lyman Stuart, donors, and landowners purchased or donated farmland in 1954 which was set aside for the sanctuary. Stuart helped finance the construction of the first Lab building in 1957. Lab founder Arthur Allen, with colleagues Louis Agassiz Fuertes
, James Gutsell, and Francis Harper
, had dubbed the area Sapsucker Woods after discovering the first breeding Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
ever reported in the Cayuga Basin. This woodpecker is now common in the area and is part of the Cornell Lab's logo.
Today the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is housed in the Imogene Powers Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity which opened in summer 2003.
The Visitors' Center observatory features a 30 feet (9.1 m) wall of windows, seating, a fireplace, and spotting scopes. The Bartels Theater shows high-definition movies about birds and nature. A sound studio and kiosks educate visitors about bird and animal sounds. The Wild Birds Unlimited at Sapsucker Woods gift shop is also located in the observatory. Other attractions include a multimedia program, wildlife artwork, a reconstructed study with murals by renowned painter Louis Agassiz Fuertes
, a smaller second-floor observatory, and the Adelson Library which contains historical and contemporary ornithological materials, including an extensive collection of monographs and journals.
The observations of citizen scientists have helped document the declines of some species, the range expansions of others, and the spread of avian diseases. The observations of birders help the Cornell Lab study birds in cities, suburbs, and forests and help answer questions about how proximity to humans, pollution, climate change, and loss of habitat affect different species.
The Cornell Lab's citizen-science projects take place in all seasons and include Project FeederWatch, NestWatch, Celebrate Urban Birds, Birds in Forested Landscapes, CamClickr, and two projects in partnership with the National Audubon Society
: eBird
and the Great Backyard Bird Count. The Cornell Lab operates many NestCams which capture live video of nesting birds in the spring.
.
The Lab is also runs the subscription resource Birds of North America Online, which contains all the latest scientific research available for each North American species and includes sounds, images, and some video.
Informal resources include the All About Birds website with its online bird guide with pictures, sounds, and video for hundreds of North American bird species. A new video series called Inside Birding provides tips from the experts on how to get more out of the pastime.
In the Evolutionary Biology laboratory researchers are extracting DNA from living birds or specimens to uncover the relationships among species.
In addition to countless studies and published papers, the Cornell Lab's Conservation Science
Department has produced land managers' guides aimed at conserving dwindling populations of Scarlet Tanagers, Wood Thrushes, and other forest birds. The Lab worked with Partners in Flight to identify rapidly-declining species and produce the first North American Landbird Conservation Plan. Lab staff also worked with multiple partners to create the first-ever State of the Birds report in March 2009.
The Lab's Neotropical Bird Conservation Program is gathering baseline data about bird populations in Mexico, where many North American birds spend their winters, and helping colleagues in other countries with conservation training and resources.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology led the scientific arm of the search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker
, overseen by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from 2004 to 2009.
Lab scientists are currently involved with partners from industry, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations in setting research priorities to better understand the impact of wind power
facilities on birds and bats.
BRP has also developed sound-analysis software programs called Raven and Raven Lite. Engineers are working on programmable radio tags to track birds and other animals for longer periods of time and to follow bird migrations.
The world's largest collection of natural sounds is held in the climate-controlled archives of the Lab's Macaulay Library. There are more than 165,000 recordings of birds, bats, whales, insects, frogs, elephants, and other animals. Macaulay Library recordists continue to mount expeditions to collect wildlife sounds and images from around the world to expand the archive.
These sounds are used by researchers around the world. They have also been used in everything from museum exhibits and Hollywood movies to singing alarm clocks and handheld PDAs that help users identify birds in the field. These sounds are used in the Cornell Lab's extensive list of audio guides. The Macaulay Library also contains a growing collection of high-definition video. Anyone can listen to recordings and watch videos in the archive.
Each year the experts from Macaulay Library hold the week-long Sound Recording Workshop in the Tahoe National Forest
. Participants learn how to effectively handle a portable field recording system to make scientifically accurate recordings.
unit creates the underlying structure that makes the Cornell Lab's citizen-science projects work. It also converts massive amounts of data into charts, maps, and tables. Computer programmers at the Lab built the infrastructure for the Birds of North America Online and are now coordinating the Avian Knowledge Network, an unprecedented effort to link bird data records kept at institutions all over the Western Hemisphere. As of October 2009, the AKN contained more than 66.5 million records, accessible to anyone.
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in Ithaca, New York
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
which studies birds and other wildlife. It is housed in the Imogene Powers Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity in Sapsucker Woods Sanctuary. Approximately 250 scientists, professors, staff, and students work in a variety of programs devoted to the Lab's mission: interpreting and conserving the Earth's biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds. Work at the Lab is supported primarily by its 45,000 members. The Cornell Lab issues two quarterly publications, Living Bird magazine and the BirdScope newsletter, and manages numerous citizen-science projects and websites, including the Webby Award-winning All About Birds.
History
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology was founded by Arthur A. "Doc" Allen who lobbied for creation of the country's first graduate program in ornithology, established at Cornell University in 1915. Initially, the Lab of Ornithology was housed in the university's entomology and limnology department.Birder/businessman Lyman Stuart, donors, and landowners purchased or donated farmland in 1954 which was set aside for the sanctuary. Stuart helped finance the construction of the first Lab building in 1957. Lab founder Arthur Allen, with colleagues Louis Agassiz Fuertes
Louis Agassiz Fuertes
Louis Agassiz Fuertes was an American ornithologist, illustrator and artist.-Biography:Fuertes was the son of Estevan and Mary Stone Perry Fuertes....
, James Gutsell, and Francis Harper
Francis Harper
Francis Harper may refer to:* Francis Jacob Harper , U.S. Congressional Representative from Pennsylvania* Francis Harper , American naturalist* Frank Harper , British actor-See also:...
, had dubbed the area Sapsucker Woods after discovering the first breeding Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is a medium-sized woodpecker found in North America, Central America and the Caribbean.-Taxonomy:...
ever reported in the Cayuga Basin. This woodpecker is now common in the area and is part of the Cornell Lab's logo.
Today the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is housed in the Imogene Powers Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity which opened in summer 2003.
Building and grounds
The 226 acre (0.91459036 km²) Sapsucker Woods Sanctuary contains more than four miles (6 km) of trails taking visitors around Sapsucker Pond, on boardwalks, through wetlands and forest. More than 200 species of birds have been recorded in the sanctuary. Approximately 55,000 people visit the sanctuary and public areas of the Cornell Lab each year.The Visitors' Center observatory features a 30 feet (9.1 m) wall of windows, seating, a fireplace, and spotting scopes. The Bartels Theater shows high-definition movies about birds and nature. A sound studio and kiosks educate visitors about bird and animal sounds. The Wild Birds Unlimited at Sapsucker Woods gift shop is also located in the observatory. Other attractions include a multimedia program, wildlife artwork, a reconstructed study with murals by renowned painter Louis Agassiz Fuertes
Louis Agassiz Fuertes
Louis Agassiz Fuertes was an American ornithologist, illustrator and artist.-Biography:Fuertes was the son of Estevan and Mary Stone Perry Fuertes....
, a smaller second-floor observatory, and the Adelson Library which contains historical and contemporary ornithological materials, including an extensive collection of monographs and journals.
Organization
The Lab is an administrative unit within Cornell University. It has a separate 30-member Administrative Board that is appointed by the Cornell Board of Trustees. As of fiscal year 2010, the Lab has an annual budget of $20.5 million and income of $21.9 million. It has 18 senior staff, which includes eight holding Cornell faculty appointments.Citizen science
Collecting the observations of everyday birders for scientific use is a hallmark of the Lab. Bird watchers of all ages and skill levels help gather the data needed to capture the big picture about the distribution and abundance of birds. Approximately 200,000 people participate in the Lab's projects. The eBird database allows birders to track any of the earth’s 10,005 bird species to a single scientific database. So far, observations on 8,650 species from 200 countries have been recorded.The observations of citizen scientists have helped document the declines of some species, the range expansions of others, and the spread of avian diseases. The observations of birders help the Cornell Lab study birds in cities, suburbs, and forests and help answer questions about how proximity to humans, pollution, climate change, and loss of habitat affect different species.
The Cornell Lab's citizen-science projects take place in all seasons and include Project FeederWatch, NestWatch, Celebrate Urban Birds, Birds in Forested Landscapes, CamClickr, and two projects in partnership with the National Audubon Society
National Audubon Society
The National Audubon Society is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation. Incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world and uses science, education and grassroots advocacy to advance its conservation mission...
: eBird
EBird
eBird is an on-line database of bird observations providing scientists, researchers and amateur naturalists with real-time data about bird distribution and abundance. Originally restricted to sightings from the Western Hemisphere, it was widened to include New Zealand in 2008, and was widened to...
and the Great Backyard Bird Count. The Cornell Lab operates many NestCams which capture live video of nesting birds in the spring.
Educational resources
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has multiple ways for people to learn more about birds. More structured avenues include the self-paced, college-level Home Study Course in Bird Biology. The BirdSleuth curriculum is designed to help elementary and middle-school students discover science through bird projects. A five-week online course "Courtship and Rivalry in Birds" is now available through eCornellECornell
eCornell is an online learning company established and wholly owned by Cornell University, an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, U.S...
.
The Lab is also runs the subscription resource Birds of North America Online, which contains all the latest scientific research available for each North American species and includes sounds, images, and some video.
Informal resources include the All About Birds website with its online bird guide with pictures, sounds, and video for hundreds of North American bird species. A new video series called Inside Birding provides tips from the experts on how to get more out of the pastime.
Research
Cornell Lab scientists, students, and visiting scholars are carrying on much original research in behavioral ecology, conservation, education, evolutionary biology, information systems, and population genetics. Cornell Lab engineers also develop hardware and software tools used in researching bird and animal communication and patterns of movement.In the Evolutionary Biology laboratory researchers are extracting DNA from living birds or specimens to uncover the relationships among species.
In addition to countless studies and published papers, the Cornell Lab's Conservation Science
Conservation science
Conservation science is the interdisciplinary study of cultural heritage conservation through the use of scientific inquiry and analytical equipment...
Department has produced land managers' guides aimed at conserving dwindling populations of Scarlet Tanagers, Wood Thrushes, and other forest birds. The Lab worked with Partners in Flight to identify rapidly-declining species and produce the first North American Landbird Conservation Plan. Lab staff also worked with multiple partners to create the first-ever State of the Birds report in March 2009.
The Lab's Neotropical Bird Conservation Program is gathering baseline data about bird populations in Mexico, where many North American birds spend their winters, and helping colleagues in other countries with conservation training and resources.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology led the scientific arm of the search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker
Ivory-billed Woodpecker
The Ivory-billed Woodpecker is or was one of the largest woodpeckers in the world, at roughly 20 inches in length and 30 inches in wingspan. It was native to the virgin forests of the southeastern United States...
, overseen by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from 2004 to 2009.
Lab scientists are currently involved with partners from industry, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations in setting research priorities to better understand the impact of wind power
Wind power
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....
facilities on birds and bats.
Bioacoustics research
The Lab's Bioacoustics Research Program (BRP) creates remote recording devices used by researchers in projects around the world. These autonomous recording units (ARUs) consist of a hard drive, housing, and microphone array that can be mounted in a forest or anchored to the ocean floor. ARUs have been used in the Elephant Listening Project in Africa, studies of whales, and in the search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker.BRP has also developed sound-analysis software programs called Raven and Raven Lite. Engineers are working on programmable radio tags to track birds and other animals for longer periods of time and to follow bird migrations.
Sound archives
From its earliest days, the Cornell Lab has had a special interest in bird and animal sounds. Founder Arthur Allen and his students were pioneers in the field, recording the first bird songs on a film sound track.The world's largest collection of natural sounds is held in the climate-controlled archives of the Lab's Macaulay Library. There are more than 165,000 recordings of birds, bats, whales, insects, frogs, elephants, and other animals. Macaulay Library recordists continue to mount expeditions to collect wildlife sounds and images from around the world to expand the archive.
These sounds are used by researchers around the world. They have also been used in everything from museum exhibits and Hollywood movies to singing alarm clocks and handheld PDAs that help users identify birds in the field. These sounds are used in the Cornell Lab's extensive list of audio guides. The Macaulay Library also contains a growing collection of high-definition video. Anyone can listen to recordings and watch videos in the archive.
Each year the experts from Macaulay Library hold the week-long Sound Recording Workshop in the Tahoe National Forest
Tahoe National Forest
Tahoe National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in the state of California, northwest of Lake Tahoe. It includes the peak of Sierra Buttes, near Sierra City, which has views of Mount Lassen and Mount Shasta. It is located in parts of six counties. In descending order of forestland area...
. Participants learn how to effectively handle a portable field recording system to make scientifically accurate recordings.
Information science
The Information ScienceInformation science
-Introduction:Information science is an interdisciplinary science primarily concerned with the analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information...
unit creates the underlying structure that makes the Cornell Lab's citizen-science projects work. It also converts massive amounts of data into charts, maps, and tables. Computer programmers at the Lab built the infrastructure for the Birds of North America Online and are now coordinating the Avian Knowledge Network, an unprecedented effort to link bird data records kept at institutions all over the Western Hemisphere. As of October 2009, the AKN contained more than 66.5 million records, accessible to anyone.
Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates
The Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates is also housed in the Johnson Center and holds 1,000,000 specimens of fish, 45,000 birds, 3,200 eggs, and 15,000 each of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, some now extinct. Students and scientists use the collections in their studies.Other
- Living Bird Magazine, Autumn 2003, ISSN 1059-521-X
External links
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- All About Birds: Online Bird Guide
- Ivory-billed woodpecker
- Macaulay Library is the world's largest collection of animal sounds and associated video.