Bored Panda reached out to Dr. Kathi Borgmann, the Communications Coordinator of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, who has been studying bird songs and recording their vocalizations throughout Central and South America. Today, Borgmann’s love of birds and the natural world drives her to share her passions to educate and inspire.

Borgmann confirmed that photographing birds in flight is particularly challenging, “because it can be hard to get a sharp focus on a swift-moving bird.” She argues that capturing any fast-moving animal is more challenging, so it’s better not to expect picture-perfect photos from the get go.

We were also eager to find out about how Borgmann studies bird songs. “There are many ways to study bird song, but one primary way is to analyze the characteristics of a bird's song.”

“That starts with recording the vocalizations of many individuals using recording equipment. After gathering enough vocalizations, researchers start to examine the pitch, number of notes, song complexity, and more to understand, for example, how the vocalizations might differ between individuals in different regions,” Borgmann explained.

To all the young people thinking of studying ornithology, Borgman shared a piece of advice: “If you are thinking of studying ornithology, join a local birding group or nature society in your town. Go on outings with the group and start watching birds, paying attention to what they are doing and start asking questions and noting your observations in a field notebook.”