"Global Avian Diversity" (BIOL 7800)
Spring 2013
J. V.
Remsen, Jr.
SCHEDULE: once/week for 1.5 hours; Mondays 7-8:30 PM.
CREDIT HRS: 2
TEXT: None required. However, the "Birds of the World" Appendix in
Gill's Ornithology text is helpful, albeit outdated. Even more outdated
but still useful is O. L. Austin's little Families of Birds (Golden
Science Guide, Golden Press, 1971).
GOAL:
To teach students (1) to identify to Family any (well, almost any) bird
in the world, and (2) to have an understanding of the approximate species
richness in each family.
OVERVIEW: The LSU Museum of Natural Science is one of the few university-based
bird collections in the world in which every bird Family is represented. This
course allows students to take advantage of that resource to gain an
appreciation of bird diversity and expertise in identification (to Family).
GRADE: The entire grade will come from one final exam: a "lab
practical" that consists of identification of 60 study skins to Family and
knowing the approximate number of species in each of those families. With
several generations of bird graduate students having taken the course,
competition is high for placement in the "all-time standings"
on final exam.
FINAL EXAM: TBA. I can only set this exam up once
(it takes several hours), so no late/early finals allowed. Typically, the exam
consists of about 60 specimens, for which you have to provide the correct
family and approximate number of species. I also usually have bonus
identifications and also give bonus points for genus and species names for any
specimens as long as the genus isn't the type genus for the family (e.g., Tyto
won't get you any points for Tytonidae if a species from that genus is used on
the exam).
MECHANICS: Remsen will meet with class once/week to go through specimens in the
collection to point out key identification features for all the Families until
we get through all of them. Students will be allowed access to the entire
collection to work on their identification skills for the final exam.
FAMILY NAMES AND NUMBER OF SPECIES: click
Useful links:
Don Roberson's "Bird Families of the World"
Handbook
of the Birds of the World’s “Internet Bird
Collection”:
Mango
Verde World Bird Guide