An international collaborative effort has recently uncovered the genome of the zebra finch, a songbird model that has provided unique insights into an array of biological phenomena.

The snow finch complex (Montifringilla, Pyrgilauda, and Onychostruthus) has its center of distribution on the Tibetan plateau, with six out of seven species in the genera occurring there. Phylogenetic relationships among these six species of three genera have been studied based on DNA sequence data obtained from the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and the nuclear myoglobin gene. The results sup...

Recent noteworthy advancements in the field of incoherent digital holography (the production of 3D images) include optical scanning holography and Fresnel incoherent correlation holography (FINCH) techniques.1, 2 The latter acts as a single channel incoherent interferometer (a device that splits light into two beams and recombines them to produce an interference pattern) and does not require an...

Take-off mechanics are fundamental to the ecology and evolution of flying animals. Recent research has revealed that initial take-off velocity in birds is driven mostly by hindlimb forces. However, the contribution of the wings during the transition to air is unknown. To investigate this transition, we integrated measurements of both leg and wing forces during take-off and the first three wingb...

The house finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) is a native songbird of western North America that was introduced to the eastern United States and Hawaiian Islands in historic times. As such, it provides an unusually good opportunity to test the ability of molecular markers to recover recent details of a known population history. To investigate this prospect, genetic variation in 172 individuals from 16...

Introduced pathogens and other parasites are often implicated in host population level declines and extinctions. However, such claims are rarely supported by rigorous real-time data. Indeed, the threat of introduced parasites often goes unnoticed until after host populations have declined severely. The recent introduction of the parasitic nest fly, Philornis downsi, to the Galápagos Islands pro...

Unlike the human brain, which produces few neurons in adulthood, the brains of songbirds continue to produce new neurons throughout life. The function of these new neurons is not know, although it has been suggested that they endow the avian brain with a remarkable regenerative capacity that does not exist in mammals. It has also been proposed that the addition of new neurons in adulthood under...

Understanding host-parasite interactions requires that the multi-faceted relationships among ecological, behavioral and molecular processes be characterized and integrated. The introduced parasitic fly of birds, Philornis downsi (Diptera: Muscidae), was accidentally introduced to the Galápagos Islands circa 1960s and the consequences of its introduction represent one of the most challenging con...