Shy birds hiding evolutionary insights: cryptic sexual dimorphism in the Sulawesi Babbler
PhD student Fionn Ó Marcaigh on his research investigating sexual dimorphism in the Sulawesi Babbler
The remarkable bird life of the Wakatobi Islands, SE Sulawesi: hidden endemism and threatened populations
Working on the avifauna of the Wakatobi Islands was an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of some great ornithologists and biogeographers, out to a remote string of islands off South-east Sulawesi, Indonesia. The Wakatobis have always sat in glorious isolation, they’re a coral uplift which formed upon a platform of Australasian origin and have …
Surveying birds on an unexplored tropical island – the TCD/Opwall expedition to Menui, South-east Sulawesi, Indonesia.
A big draw for those who study the natural world is the search for adventure – the chance to make a novel discovery, and to explore regions unknown to science. Despite that, in today’s world, such an opportunity rarely presents itself, and it is exceedingly rare to truly break new ground. However, in the summer …
PhD Retrospective: Finding new bird species in Sulawesi
Almost as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a Zoologist. Growing up on a steady diet of Attenborough documentaries, I dreamed of exploring new lands, discovering weird and wonderful species. I wanted to be the next Darwin. The next Wallace. In a lot of ways, my PhD research has been the fulfilment …
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Two new bird species from the unique and understudied Sulawesi region
This blog was first published on #theBOUblog. Check it out at https://www.bou.org.uk/blog-oconnell-two-new-white-eye-species-sulawesi/ The Wallacea region has always been known to be home to many unique species, with birds of paradise, giant reptiles and marsupial versions of sloths found among its many islands! The region takes its name from Alfred Russel Wallace, who along with Darwin, developed …
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Sulawesi Bird Expedition 2013
Ah the summer, how I miss it! In mid-June I departed (on the horrendously long journey) to the beautifully sunny, tropical islands off the south-eastern coast of Sulawesi, Indonesia. No, I wasn’t on holidays; I am fortunate enough to call this part of the world my study site. During the six week visit, I aimed …
Sulawesi field report
July and August of this year saw members of the Behavioural and Evolutionary Ecology research group embark on another field season studying the birds of tropical south-east Sulawesi, Indonesia. Principal investigators Dr. Nicola Marples and Dr. Dave Kelly were joined this year by PhD student Seán Kelly, as well as a number of undergraduates from …
Upcoming 2022/23 EcoEvo Photo Competition
As the semester flies by, the EcoEvo annual Photo Competition draws ever closer! The 2022/2023 showcasing will be the sixth instalment in the series and if previous years are anything to go by, the judges will have an extremely tough time choosing a winner. Year on year, the bar seems to have risen ever higher …
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No new thing under the sun? Finding sunbird species in Wallacea
Our understanding of how species interact and evolve depends on accurate knowledge of the species that exist on Earth. There are still many species to be identified, however, even in evolutionarily significant regions such as Wallacea in central Indonesia, site of Alfred Russel Wallace’s pioneering work. Our new paper, completed jointly with researchers from Universitas …
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Tramps in Transition: Wallacea’s monarch flycatchers and their evolutionary natural experiment
A warm welcome back to all our readers! The new year is now well and truly upon us and we hope you’ve all had a safe and energised return to work. This blog is written by Fionn Ó Marcaigh, summarising his new paper. Congratulations Fionn and we hope our readers enjoy learning about your research …