Kathi Borgmann

Photos Reveal Purpose of Black Facial Markings in Peregrine Falcons

By Kathi Borgmann
Many animals have black markings under the eye that are said to reduce the amount of glare entering the animal’s eye, improving their ability to see especially in bright conditions. Athletes also subscribe to this idea, often placing black grease or strips under their eyes to reduce glare from the sun or stadium lights. Until…

Sounds from the Macaulay Library Provide the Backdrop to Maya Lin’s Ghost Forest Installation

By Kathi Borgmann
The sounds of species once common in Manhattan form the backdrop of a new art installation designed to evoke memories and highlight the impacts of habitat loss and climate change on our planet. Ghost Forest, a towering stand of 49 haunting Atlantic white cedar trees, designed by Maya Lin, an internationally recognized designer and sculptor,…

One Million Audio Recordings Powering Science, Conservation, and Birding Tools

By Team Macaulay Library
On April 26, 2021, Christopher McPherson recorded a Blue-headed Vireo, marking the one millionth audio recording in the Macaulay Library. This incredible milestone was made possible by 20,000 recordists and birdwatchers who have shared their audio recordings of birds, mammals, amphibians, and insects with the Macaulay Library over the past 92 years. Thank you, for…

Recordings Plus Specimens Reveal Female Song in a Flycatcher Species

By Kathi Borgmann
In the last several years, song in female birds has been documented more and more frequently, thanks to community scientists, sound archives, and dedicated researchers. But for groups of species like flycatchers in which males and females look identical, female song can easily go unnoticed. New research out this month in the Wilson Journal of…

Merlin Bird ID Gets New Photos and Audio for Birds in the US and Canada

By Macaulay Library Team
Merlin Bird ID, the premier bird identification app from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, launched in 2014 with 285 species in the United States and Canada. Since then, Merlin has grown leaps and bounds. Now Merlin helps users identify more than 7,500 species of birds around the world and is jam packed with hundreds of…

Recordist of Note: Mort and Phyllis Isler

By Kathi Borgmann
The path to ornithology and sound recording came late in life for Mort and Phyllis Isler, but that has not stopped them from making significant contributions in the field. In their late 40s and early 50s, after establishing successful careers in other fields Mort and Phyllis found themselves working alongside some of the most pre-eminent…

Macaulay Library Year in Review

By Team Macaulay Library
2020 was a record-setting year for eBird, Merlin, the Macaulay Library, Birds of the World, and BirdCast, delivering a new era of scientific and conservation applications, innovative new birding tools, and much more. This year more than any other our community grew in exciting new ways. Millions of bird enthusiasts visited our websites and nearly…

Publications Using Macaulay Library Assets in 2020

By Kathi Borgmann
Acevedo-Charry, O., and W. Daza-Diaz (2020). First record of Rufous-thighed Kite Harpagus diodon in Colombia. Bull. B.O.C. 140:104–109. Adams, D. B., and D. M. Kitchen (2020). Model vs. playback experiments: The impact of sensory mode on predator-specific escape responses in saki monkeys. Ethology 00:1-13 Adsett, W. J., and L. Lieurance (2020). First breeding record, vocalisations…