The video is and runs for 2:20.

Stutchbury also took part in a phone-in show about local birds on CBC Radio’s “Maritime Noon” May 12 where she answered callers' questions about their backyard visitors.  The segment begins at the 4:20 mark and runs to the end of the program. The .

Her efforts to use the book to promote conservation of bird habitats was also covered on

A rapid decline in the number of songbirds across North America should serve as a wake-up call about what is being done to the environment, a Canadian biologist warned Friday.

Bridget Stutchbury, Canada Research Chair in Ecology & Conservation Biology in 91ŃÇɫ’s Faculty of Science & Engineering, said a growing number of bird species will be at risk unless immediate action is taken to protect large natural areas that serve as breeding grounds.

“The facts can be shocking, and so shocking they are almost hard to believe,” Stutchbury said in Fredericton. “When you talk about biodiversity loss, very realistic forecasts are that in the next 100 years we are going to lose 10 to 15 per cent of the world’s birds in terms of species.

Stutchbury said the decline is the result of a loss of habitat due to clear-cutting and urban sprawl, not climate change. She said Canada’s boreal forest serves as a bird nursery for the continent and must be protected to, in turn, protect birds.

“Unless something radical is done in terms of setting aside protected areas for wildlife and plants, it’s all going to unravel because there are dozens of species on a straight-line trajectory to zero,” she said.

It was also covered in :

Bridget Stutchbury was at Fredericton’s Conserver House on Friday to speak about the decline of the songbird population in Canada and what can be done to save them.

The 91ŃÇÉ« scientist and author of Silence of the Songbirds, which was nominated for a Governor General’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction, recently authored a new book called The Bird Detective: Investigating the Secret Lives of Birds.

Stutchbury stressed the impact the drastic decline in the songbird population will have on biodiversity in the province.

Conservation Council of New Brunswick executive director David Coon and Stutchbury agreed there are simple things individuals can do to protect the environment and the birds’ habitat.

Stutchbury suggested buying local and organic products, recycled paper and shade-grown coffee. She said the issue is hitting close to home, as there are several New Brunswick songbirds on the list of declining species. “The bird decline is so widespread, it affects all Canadians, no matter where you live,” Stutchbury said. “But in the area of the Acadian Forest (in New Brunswick), we are seeing more.”

Stutchbury’s comments were also reported on radio stations in Chatham, Owen Sound, Ottawa and Belleville, Ont. and Calgary, Alta., and in Bathurst and Fredericton, NB, and Bridgewater, NS.

Last but not least, her book was :

Reading these essays is almost as good as seeing the birds ourselves. The same is true of The Bird Detective, by Bridget Stutchbury. An ornithologist at 91ŃÇÉ«, she has accumulated a wealth of knowledge on bird behaviour from her own research and that of other biologists, and lets us in on the secret lives of both birds and ornithologists.

Here is the rare academic who can make research accessible to the public without dumbing it down. But Stutchbury does more than that: she makes it exciting. Her description of birds’ sexual adventures, combined with Stutchbury’s ornithological adventures, propel the book forward, and made me wish I could travel along with her in the field.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile– 91ŃÇɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

The post Video and Audio: Professor Bridget Stutchbury interviewed on CBC's The National appeared first on Research & Innovation.

In , Bridget Stutchbury roams forests and jungles studying the sexual antics and social lives of birds, and details the science behind their surprisingly sophisticated and often amusing behavior. The book, published by , hits shelves April 16.

Stutchbury, a and a professor in the Department of Biology in 91ŃÇɫ’s Faculty of Science & Engineering, also explains how understanding birds’ behaviour will help to conserve increasingly-threatened species.

Using radio-tracking technology, Stutchbury and 91ŃÇÉ« post-doctoral student Bonnie Wolfenden solved a mystery that had puzzled biologists: how were female Acadian flycatchers getting fertilized by neighbouring males who lived hundreds of metres away?

“We had the genetic evidence of their infidelity, but we never did catch a female sneaking away from its nest. It turned out to be the males making clandestine visits to the females,” Stutchbury says.

Divorce is a regular part of life for almost all birds; most live with one partner for only a few months or years, depending on the species. Annual divorce rates range from 99 percent in the Greater Flamingo to zero in the Wandering Albatross.

“There are a number of theories about why birds go their separate ways,” Stutchbury says. “One hypothesis is that birds that are genetically or behaviourally incompatible separate when both can benefit from finding a new partner.” Another theory is that birds, like humans, realize they can do better: one pair member initiates divorce for selfish gain, leaving its former partner high and dry.

Left: Bridget Stutchbury

As in humans, divorce can take its toll on offspring, creating a situation where one partner is left to care for eggs or young. “In the worst-case scenario, birds may abandon the breeding attempt and leave the offspring to die in favour of starting over with a new, better partner,” Stutchbury says.

Birds are also known to exhibit favouritism when it comes to their young. They must invest more effort into raising sons, as males are larger and require more food.

“We see birds providing extra food and care to one gender of offspring over another, depending on environmental circumstances,” says Stutchbury. In ye

ars where food is plentiful, some birds may raise male hatchlings exclusively.

In The Bird Detective, Stutchbury also gives a first-hand account of how she and her team became the first researchers in the world to track migratory songbirds from breeding to wintering grounds. Last winter, she published a paper in the journal showing the tiny birds’ astonishing speed in migration, finding that they fly three times faster than previously suspected.

Stutchbury emphasizes that these aspects of behaviour aren’t mere curiosities: they’re crucial puzzle pieces that will help researchers protect birds from threats like climate change, habitat destruction, and other environmental concerns.

“There’s truly a pressing need for behavioural research – otherwise there’s no way for us to know how to best protect species.”

A book launch for The Bird Detective will take place Thursday April 29, at 7:30pm at .

Stutchury is also the author of , which was a finalist for the .

By Melissa Hughes, media relations officer, with photos courtesy of YFile– 91ŃÇɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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