The following UConn faculty have birds as part of their research interests and collectively contribute to the UConn ornithology group. Several of us are active on twitter, often with a focus on birds.  Margaret initiated and maintains the #birdclass on Twitter, where formal and informal students of bird biology post observations of birds and bird behavior.

Margaret Rubega (@ProfRubega) is the Connecticut state ornithologist and a professor in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. She teaches UConn’s main ornithology classes, is curator of EEB’s ornithology collection, and conducts research on functional morphology and biomechanics in order to better inform our understanding of avian ecology, evolution, and conservation.

Chris Elphick (@ssts) is an associate professor in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. He teaches courses in conservation biology and ecology. His research focuses on avian ecology and conservation and is particularly interested in understanding how best ecologists can guide management decisions so as to reconcile the conservation of biological diversity with other human activities.

Sarah Knutie (@SarahKnutie) is an assistant professor in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. She studies host-parasite interactions in the Galapagos Islands, Minnesota, and elsewhere.

Sarah Hird (@sarahmhird) is an assistant professor in Molecular and Cell Biology. She studies phylogeography, host-associated microbiota, and bioinformatics, and is especially interested in the fauna of bird guts.

Chad Rittenhouse (@CDRittenhouse) is an assistant research professor in Natural Resources & the Environment and coordinator of the Sustainable Environmental Planning & Management online graduate certificate program. He studies landscape ecology and conservation, largely from a forest-wildlife perspective, with a focus on conservation planning.

Stephen Swallow is a professor in Agriculture and Resource Economics. He teaches courses in environmental valuation and studies the economics of environmental resource management. Although not an ornithologist, he has training in wildlife biology and much of his research relates to bird conservation (e.g., see The Bobolink Project).