Welcome to Battling Birds: Panama Edition!


Panama Fruit Feeder Cam
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Welcome

This Bird Cams Lab investigation is centered on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Panama Fruit Feeder cam. Watch the cam and see the resources below to get started.

Get started

Video: Introducing the Bird Cams Lab
About Bird Cams Lab
How to Join and Use the Forum
The Data Collection Tool
What’s a Testable Question?
Refining Your Questions

Stay up-to-date by following Bird Cams Lab on Twitter

Calendar

Week of December 7
Brainstorm and discuss on the Wonder Board
Week of December 14
Live Webinar
Week of December 21
Vote on what data we’ll collect
Week of January 18
Test data collection protocol on Zooniverse
Week of January 25
Collect data on Zooniverse
Week of February 15
Organize data for data exploration
Week of March 22
Explore the data
Week of April 29
Review final report
Week of June 23
Share final report

Project Feedback

Please share your feedback about your experience. Help us understand what you’ve liked about it and how we can make improvements. Thank you!



An illustration of a Rufous Motmot battling a Chestnut-headed Oropendola.

The Panama Fruit Feeder cam features a feeding table located on the grounds of the Canopy Lodge in El Valle de Antón, Panama. Here, birds feed on one of the many feeding tables located at the lodge that allows both guests at the lodge and online viewers to enjoy the incredible views of these tropical birds. In our first investigation with this cam, Panama Live, we learned about the arrival patterns of six common species. 

Bird Cams Lab teamed up with Dr. Eliot Miller for a second investigation, Battling Birds: Panama Edition. Similar to Battling Birds, we set out to study the social behavior of birds at a feeder, but this time in Panama. Panama Fruit Feeder cam viewers expressed interest in wanting to learn more about aggression, a behavior that Dr. Miller studied in North American feeder birds. With the community’s interest and Dr. Miller’s expertise, we pieced together the puzzle and created a pecking order or social dominance hierarchy. We found out, when birds come to a feeder, the heavier the bird, the more likely it is to successfully displace its opponent. You can read about what the community did and found out in the investigation’s Final Report.

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