Research News

  • Preventing disease: What’s the best way to clean your bird feeders?

    Feeders can increase the risk of disease transmission in birds if they are not cleaned adequately. New research shows ideal cleaning methods to prevent the spread of disease among the feeder birds we love.

  • House Finch Eye Disease: Increased virulence as disease progresses

    Recent findings indicate that the pathogen that causes House Finch eye disease – Mycoplasma gallisepticum – is becoming stronger and more dangerous than earlier versions of the pathogen.

  • Reasons why we should keep our seed dry

    Trichomonas gallinae, a harmful parasite to birds, may have the ability to survive outside of its host. New research, however, has found that we may not have to worry. Find out what you can do to protect your feeder birds by keeping seed dry.

  • Dark-eyed Junco and American Tree Sparrow by Shirley Donald.
    Who is the toughest bird?

    You may have an intuition about which species is the toughest bird at your feeder and which species is the most peaceful. Now you have the data to find out, thanks to Project FeederWatch participants collecting behavioral observations for the past two winters. Read our blog to learn who is the toughest bird (Hint: it’s not doves!).

  • The impacts of supplemental feeding on bird populations

    Highlights from a presentation by FeederWatch project leader, Emma Greig, at the North American Ornithological Conference 2016. She summarized research being conducted by her and by Cornell Lab Citizen Science director, David Bonter.

    Food is a major determinant of the distribution,…

  • Research News: “Flapping first” hypothesis a new step in the evolution of flight

    Have you ever watched birds flit to your feeders and wondered how they achieved the magnificent ability of flight?  The evolution of flight has been an intriguing puzzle ever since evolutionary biologists realized that modern birds evolved from dinosaurs.  An…

  • Tracking the feeding behavior of birds

    The FeederWatch team continues to explore the feeding behavior of birds. Watch the video below for the latest news on our field research.
    Visit our web site for more information on using RFID technology to track birds.
    Special thanks to the Cornell…

  • Research news: What scientists are finding out about your yard.

    Many FeederWatchers do much more than just put out feeders to attract birds – they sculpt their yards to be veritable bird sanctuaries (see article in 2011 Winter Bird Highlights).  In fact, landscaping your yard can be beneficial to both…

  • Research News: ‘Gender Gap’ at our feeders

    Although males can easily be distinguished from females in many species, in Project FeederWatch we only report the largest total flock size for each species seen at one time. But what could we learn if we counted males and females…