Research Projects

Dark-eyed Junco with leg bands on pavement in front of a brick wall.

Avian Behavior, Color, and Reproduction In Novel Environments

For my MS degree at UCLA, I will be investigating Dark-eyed Junco behavior and color across native, urban, and island populations. I am also studying maternal investment and resulting fitness in relationship with novel reproductive behaviors in urban juncos.

Townsend's warbler perched on bamboo branches

Berkeley Avian Biodiversity Survey

At Berkeley, I launched a research project for the Bears for Birds club by resurrecting the Berkeley campus bird surveys that occurred sporadically since 1913. We are continuing weekly surveys during the academic year from 2023 onwards. I presented a poster of comparisons between ‘23-’24 surveys and historical surveys at AOS 2024.

Hummingbird perched on a branch with green leaves

Behavioral Ecology of Hummingbirds

During my undergraduate at UC Berkeley, I investigated various aspects of Anna’s Hummingbird behavior. I found that the chip vocalization is sexually dimorphic (Glassman et al. 2024) and that hummingbirds prefer to feed from horizontally-oriented flowers (Choi et al. unpublished).