Thursday, February 8, 2024 – “Leveraging Hunter Knowledge to Find and Conserve Bird Species in New Guinea”

Dr. Jordan Boersma
Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Jordan will talk about how his team leveraged the immense natural history knowledge of local hunters to find the Black-naped Pheasant-pigeon, a species with no scientific documentation since the 1800s. They used an innovative approach to gauge accuracy of knowledge and determine whether this critically endangered species was familiar to local hunters, then worked with experienced hunters to capture the first-ever photos and video of this species. He will also highlight pending efforts to conserve the remaining habitat for the Black-naped Pheasant-pigeon, and how their methods can be applied to other elusive and potentially imperiled species. Depending on his field schedule, he may also have stories to share about using the same methods to search for another bird species with no previous photographic evidence.

Dr. Jordan Boersma’s curiosity for birds developed in his backyard in W Michigan, where he spent his childhood. He headed west to study wildlife biology at the University of Montana, which led to an opportunity to study ornate and elusive birds in Borneo, where he spent much of four years before pursuing a Ph.D at Washington State University. His dissertation work centered on physiology and behavior of fairywrens, a colorful and socially complex family of birds native to Australia and New Guinea. During extensive field seasons in New Guinea he learned that indigenous people harbored immense knowledge of local fauna, and is now working with local communities to study and conserve rare and potentially imperiled species as a postdoctoral researcher at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Look for the Zoom link in your email a few days prior to the meeting. The Zoom Room will open at 6:45 PM.  Don’t wait until the last minute to sign on, you might be left out!