Among all vertebrates, birds are rather conspicuous and easily seen by the general public. Particularly, many birds are not shy under the ongoing trend of urban sprawl and some even have developed phenotypic adaptations or shifts to the urban environment. This makes birds a relatively intimate wildlife partners with human beings, effectively attracting people to know more about birds and support the conservation of birds. However, because of the overlap with human activities, conflicts inevitably arise. This Ornithology course aims to cover all basic fields in avian biology, introducing avian systematics and morphological diversity, life histories, physiological adaptations, and their diverse behaviors, in the hope that students who completed the course will become ambassadors to further disseminate the knowledge about birds to more people. Moreover, this course will also include practices on literature synthesis, introductions and practices on the commonly adopted methods on the front of current ornithological research, in an attempt to provide basic training to graduate students who are interested in ornithology for their further academic endeavors.
在目前全球高度都市化的狀態下，鳥類可說是最容易目擊的野生脊椎動物，不像其他野生脊椎動物類群，在都會區中較為隱蔽且習於避開人類活動。鳥類因此與人類關係十分密切，且易於引起大眾的好奇心。正面來說人們較願意親近鳥類且支持鳥類的保育活動，但同時許多衝突也因一般人對於鳥類的生物習性不十分了解而產生。本課程擬涵蓋鳥類生物學的基本範疇，從鳥類的系統分類及型態多樣性、生活史、生理適應，乃至諸般之行為，介紹背後之生物學原理，以期同學們能將對鳥類的基本認識傳播至親友之間，逐步擴及大眾。同時，作為一進階課程，也將透過文獻之閱讀與整合，及小規模研究之實作練習，使有興趣投入鳥類學研究的同學，對於鳥類學領域常用之研究方法與目前前沿之研究問題，建立基礎訓練。
Among all vertebrates, birds are rather conspicuous and easily seen by the general public. Particularly, many birds are not shy under the ongoing trend of urban sprayl and some even have developed phenotypic adaptations or shifts to the urban environment. This makes birds a relatively intimate wildlife partners with human beings, effectively attracting people to know more about birds and support the conservation of birds. However, because of the overlap with human activities, conflicts inevitably arise. This Ornithology course aims to cover all basic fields in avian biology, introducing avian systems and morphological diversity, life histories, physical adaptations, and their diverse behaviors, in the hope that students who completed the course will become ambassadors to further disseminate the knowledge about birds to more people. Moreover, this course will also include practices on literature synthesis, introductions and practices on the commonly adopted methods on the front of current ornithological research, in an attempt to provide basic training to graduate students who are interested in ornithology for their further academic endeavors.
Under the current globally highly urbanized state, birds can be said to be the easiest wild vertebrae to be targeted. Unlike other wild vertebrae groups, they are more concealed and avoid human activities in the metropolitan area. Birds are therefore very closely related to humans and are prone to arouse the curiosity of the public. On the contrary, people are more willing to approach birds and support bird conservation activities, but at the same time many conflicts arise because the average person does not have a good understanding of the biological nature of birds. This course covers the basic scope of bird biology, from the system classification and varied types of birds, life history, physiological adaptability, and even general behaviors, to introduce the principles of biology behind it, so that students can spread their basic understanding of birds to friends and gradually expand to the public. At the same time, as an advanced course, we will also establish a basic training through the reading and integration of literature and the practical practice of small-scale research through the study of birch research through students who are interested in bird research and establish a basic training on commonly used research methods and current cutting-edge research issues in the bird learning field.
1. Handbook of Bird Biology 3rd ed., Lovette, I.J. and Fitzpatrick, J.W. (eds) 2016
2. Ornithology, 4th ed., Gill, F.B. and Prum, R.O., 2019
3. 噢！原來如此！有趣的鳥類學, 陳湘靜, 林大利
1. Handbook of Bird Biology 3rd ed., Lovette, I.J. and Fitzpatrick, J.W. (eds) 2016
2. Ornithology, 4th ed., Gill, F.B. and Prum, R.O., 2019
3. Oh! so it is! Interesting Birds, Chen Xiangjing, Lin Dali
| 評分項目 Grading Method | 配分比例 Grading percentage | 說明 Description |
|---|---|---|
| Literature discussion and topic essayLiterature discussion and topic essay Literature discussion and topic essay |
30 | Each week, students shall complete the reading assignments in advance and take turns to lead literature discussions in class. The leading student is also required to prepare a written report, summarizing the topic in the form of a mini-review essay. |
| Course project presentationCourse project presentation Course project presentation |
30 | All students are supposed to complete a small-scale research project, one that can be done in 4-6 weeks (at most 8). Students should form a group of 1-3, find a topic/question of interest, design the study, execute it and present the results in the last weeks of the course. |
| Course project reportCourse project report Course project report |
30 | After the course project, students should prepare a written report, following the format of an scientific paper. |
| Class attendance and performanceClass attendance and performance Class attendance and performance |
10 | There won't be any roll calls, but I will remember each and every student. |
