Jessie Williamson

Thanks, Elisa! We can’t WAIT to have you here 🎉🐎🤩

What, the average person isn’t out there trying to ID every giant hummingbird they see?! 😉🤣 Thanks, Dani!!

Journal of Field Ornithology: Vocalizations distinguish the cryptic giant hummingbird species and clarify range limits Vocal traits are often essential for distinguishing phenotypically cryptic taxa. The hummingbird genus <em>Patagona</em> comprises two species that differ in important aspects of their ecology and phy...

Oh! Link to paper: journal.afonet.org/vol97/iss1/a... Happy to provide a pdf copy to anyone who needs it.

ML642932325 - Giant Hummingbird - Macaulay Library Macaulay Library ML642932325; © Jessie Williamson; Lima, Peru

As always in science: team work makes the dream work. Couldn't have done this w/out fantastic coauthors (incl @msbbirds.bsky.social + folks not on Bsky). If you’re in the Andes, keep your ears peeled! Here’s what the 2 sound like vocalizing over each other: macaulaylibrary.org/asset/642932...

A fun and unanticipated finding of our fieldwork is that we uncovered a previously unknown zone of overlap around Lake Titicaca, Bolivia...stay tuned for more follow up work on that front.

We found that the two species sound *really* different––you can hear this and see it in spectrograms. Satisfyingly, Northern and Southern Giant Hummingbirds can be told apart by their vocalizations across their ranges, and at any time of year (This stands in contrast to plumage: TL;DR: it's cryptic)

That observation raised obvious ?s: Do vocals differ quantitatively? Can they consistently distinguish the 2 species? We analyzed our own + public database recordings from Ecuador to Chile to find out. @cornellbirds.bsky.social then-undergrad Ryan Zucker was instrumental in making this happen.

This project had been brewing for years –– but it really came to fruition after 2023 fieldwork in Peru: Awesome co-author Bryce Robinson and I had both species together on the non-breeding grounds and we noticed that each had a distinct vocal type...

Want a reliable way to tell the two cryptic giant hummingbird species apart while birding in the Andes? Use your ear! 🎶 In a new @fieldornith.bsky.social J. Field Ornithology paper, we show how their vocalizations differ clearly—making sound a slam dunk for identifying them in the field.

Job Opportunities | .

The Wyoming Game & Fish Dept. is hiring two Black Rosy-Finch technicians to conduct alpine surveys in Wyoming's high elevation mountains during June 1st to Aug 31st 2026: www.governmentjobs.com/careers/wyom.... Spread the word!

New Job Search Announcement: Curator of Paleontology at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science:

careers.share.nm.gov/psc/hprdcg/E...

I've slowly been reformatting notes from my population and conservation genetics course at Montana State University into a web book—a rough draft is now live here: elinck.org/popgen_conge...

Opportunities ***PhD and MSc openings – Movement ecology and conservation*** I will periodically support graduate students, postdocs, and other staff through the Biology Department at the University of New…

I’m recruiting a PhD and MSC student for fall 2026 working on the movement ecology and conservation of Mexican spotted owls in SW forests and rocky canyonlands. Exciting partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory. Great vibrant lab group, high impact research! 🦉

gavinmjones.com/opportunities/

Figure with a photo of a member of then Solomons Monarch complex, a map of the Solomon Islands (divided into four island groups, Makira being the most isolated), and a principal component analysis highlighting the distinct between-island-group structure, with moderate structure within the New Georgia Group and weaker structure within the Bukida group (highlighted in an inset).

Just out in Systematic Biology, we explore the role of gene flow in island phylogeography of the Solomons Black-and-white Monarch complex. doi.org/10.1093/sysb...

Up first, strong genetic structure between islands groups and weak (but present!) structure between Pleistocene-connected islands (🧵)

It’s been a long wait for this fantastic @bou.org.uk event:

“A day at the museum: collections-based ornithological research in a changing world” #BOUasm25

Come and join us here in Cambridge! Applications open for a new faculty position, for a researcher in computational and/or theoretical biology, based jointly in Genetics and Mathematics. Happy to answer questions about research, teaching and working here.

www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/faculty...

Thanks, Kayce!

Thanks, Andre!

Jackson! You are too kind. Hope to see you on the Great Plains soon.

My lab is hiring a 2-yr hummingbird evolution and genomics postdoc and a 1-yr salaried research and lab tech. Both with full U. Wyoming benefits. Please spread the word! Info below. Best consideration date Nov 1, start dates early Spring 2026.

Assistant Professor, Tenure-Track, Department of Biology, University of San Francisco Job Title: Assistant Professor, Tenure-Track, Department of Biology, University of San Francisco Job Summary: The Department of Biology at the University of San Francisco invites applications for a fu...

Tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Bioinformatics in the Department of Biology at the University of San Francisco
usfca.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/USF_Fu...

🚨🚨 DREAM JOB ALERT 🚨 🚨

Congrats, Darren and Libby! Can’t wait to add this to the journal club list.

THRILLED to announce that my NSF "Closing the gap: The history of river connections with the formation of the isthmus of Panama and its impact on the evolution of plants in rivers" in collab w/Carlos Jaramillo at STRI and Caroline Strömberg at UW was awarded! Add for a PhD student+a postdoc to come🧵

Kenyon is hiring a TT microbiologist! Please share widely. I’m the search chair & am happy to answer any questions. careers.pageuppeople.com/695/cw/en-us...

Text: Society for the Study of Evolution Graduate Research Excellence Grants. Rosemary Grant Advanced Awards, Deadline: September 15, 5:00 PM Eastern.

Applications now open for the SSE GREG Rosemary Grant Advanced Awards! These grants provide up to $3500 to expand your dissertation work. Submit your proposal by September 15!
www.evolutionsociety.org/content/soci...

the ad is up! applications due 7/15: evol.mcmaster.ca/brian/evoldi...

YouTube video by Evolution Meetings ASN Presidential Address - EVOLUTION 2025

My @asn-amnat.bsky.social Presidents Address for #Evol2025 is now available on YouTube:

m.youtube.com/watch?v=soPd...

I’m YOUR fan @coereba.bsky.social !

so... which Pacific seabirds need the most attention? Ask the experts! Excited to share a new paper in @society4conbio.bsky.social We interviewed 70+ seabird scientists, cultural practitioners and managers across the Pacific.

conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...