Feeding Ecology of Birds

Replay available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A49cM-9Z-6k&ab_channel=TetonCountyLibraryOfficial

Did you ever wonder how birds see at night?  Did you know that some species of birds, the specialists, eat only one thing?  Did you know that some species of birds use tools to feed?  Bill will discuss these interesting topics and many more.  Feeding ecology is the relationship between the environment, evolutionary processes, and the feeding behavior of different organisms.  Bill will explain the different categories of birds (e.g., carnivores, insectivores, fructivores); discuss the wide variety of physical adaptations for feeding (e.g., foot structure, wing shape, bill shape); discuss the acute senses of birds (e.g., sight, hearing, smell), and review the many ways birds feed.

Presenter Bill Gette began leading area, domestic U.S., and international travel programs for Mass Audubon in 1986.  Since then, he has traveled to all seven continents studying and photographing wildlife.  He joined Mass Audubon full time in 1996 as the Founding Director of the Joppa Flats Education Center in Newburyport.  At Joppa Flats, Bill developed the Birder's Certificate Program - a college level ornithology course; developed and taught the Certificate Program in Bird Ecology to train naturalist guides in Belize; and operated the Joppa Flats Bird Banding Station on the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge for over 20 years.  He retired from Mass Audubon in 2016, but remains very active teaching workshops.