It has been a while since I was active on Twitter, and during that time I moved across country to my new postdoc, taking many pictures along the way that I haven't gotten to share yet. So, here are some of my top photos taken from my phone from my travels this year!

Im now a postdoctoral scholar at Oregon State University, where I am continuing to work with blackbirds to test how they categorize predatory snakes of varying levels of danger, and how they use social and environmental info to make adaptive decisions when facing unfamiliar predators. So stay tuned!

Past studies showed that yellow warblers experienced decreased parasitism when nesting near blackbirds, and so this discovery had us wondering whether blackbirds also benefit from nesting near yellow warblers. Turns out, they also are parasitized less the closer they nest!

Through a series of studies, I found that red-winged blackbirds listen to seet calls of their yellow warbler neighbors, paying extra close attention when they have eggs themselves, and are at highest risk of brood parasitism!

Perhaps the most interesting thing to come out of my PhD was the discovery that red-winged blackbirds, another host for cowbirds that nests close to yellow warblers, actually eavesdrop on seet calls and use them to their advantage!

It was so dark sometimes that we also had to use temperature buttons in the nest to monitor nest sitting behaviors by the females!

The brood parasite that the yellow warbler's call warns about? That would be the brown-headed cowbird! These birds parasitize over 200 species, including the yellow warbler. Its not great being parasitized, especially if you're a smaller host, but the yellow warbler has a trick up its sleeves!

During my Ph.D., I explored these questions in yellow warblers, a cute bird that's common across North America. These birds have evolved a special ability to communicate a specific type of threat - brood parasites. Brood parasites do not make their own nests, and instead parasitize other species

Thanks so much for the follows everyone! Its great to see there's already a good community here :) Since this is a fresh account, let me introduce you to my research!

I study how birds perceive and categorize different types of threats, and how they communicate that information to others (thread)