New Online Course About Bird Behavior from the Cornell Lab

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is pleased to announce the launch of a new online course where participants can develop skills and knowledge to understand why birds do what they do. "Courtship and Rivalry in Birds" launched on October 21, 2009, and will be offered again starting November 11, 2009 and January 6, 2010. This five-week course is offered completely online through a partnership with eCornell, and involves interactive tutorials, frequent online discussions with an expert instructor and other students, and guided presentations featuring videos from the Macaulay Library, an NSDL collection of animal behavior multimedia.

Courtship and Rivalry was authored by Colleen McLinn and Kevin McGowan of the Cornell Lab, after much collaborative effort with Cornell Lab and eCornell content and production experts. The course emphasizes developing observation skills and knowledge that can help you understand the bird behaviors you see: from the territorial behaviors of Red-winged Blackbirds in your backyard, to the elaborate courtship rituals of the birds-of-paradise in New Guinea.

You can watch a 2.5-minute video about the course at http://www.ecornell.com/birds. Cornell Lab members are eligible for a significant discount, and can sign up by phone at (866) 326-7635.