PUBlic Professor Series | Dr. David Logue
Join psychology professor, Dr. David Logue, as he explores
The Science of Birdsong
Birdsong is a window into Nature’s soul, and an enduring mystery to science. How do songbirds make their music? Who are they singing to? And why do they bother? This interactive lecture teaches the foundations of birdsong science through examples, demonstrations, and stories from a career in birdsong research. Once we understand the basics, we’ll get into the weird stuff, like duets, soft song, and the dawn chorus.
Dr. David Logue is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology. Growing up in the foothills of Northern California, David loved to search for frogs and snakes and dreamed of exploring tropical forests. As a student at UC San Diego, he lucked into a chance to study tropical ecology in the jungles of Costa Rica. It was everything he had hoped it would be. Hooked on the tropics, David arranged a PhD studying duet singing wrens in the Panamanian rainforest. He went broke doing research, moved into his mom’s basement, and eventually landed a postdoc at the U of L. The week after he arrived, he met a mysterious artist named April Matisz. April and David married and moved to Puerto Rico, where David served as a professor of biology for six unforgettable years. When David was offered a position at the U of L, the growing family came back home to Southern Alberta. These days, David teaches classes in animal behaviour, animal communication, and decision-making, mentors a bunch of wonderful graduate students, and (still) studies how tropical birds communicate with songs.
With special thanks to our talk sponsor:
