BIOEE 4752 - [Ornithology, Worldwide Avian Diversity Laboratory]

Spring. Not offered: 2020-2021. Next offered: 2021-2022. 1 credit. Student option grading.

Prerequisite: 1 year of college-level biology, environmental science, or the equivalent.

I. Lovette, staff.

This laboratory course provides an in-depth survey of the natural history and evolutionary relationships of all Orders and Families of living birds. All sessions will make extensive use of the avian specimen materials held in the Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates collections.

Outcome 1: List all orders of birds and the families they include.

Outcome 2: Recognize the main defining characteristics of each bird family, in relation to their geographic distribution, phenotypic characters, behavior and natural history.

Outcome 3: Assign bird specimens to their corresponding family and order.

Outcome 4: Recognize the systematic relationships between extant avian orders and their position in the avian tree of life, and become generally conversant with a ‘tree thinking’ perspective on biological diversity and phylogenetic relationships.