On Zoom

Ari Rice

Approximately 16% of all bird species have been known to interbreed (i.e., hybridize) with each other, and thanks to genetic tools, eBird, and increasing numbers of attentive birders, the list keeps growing. Ari Rice is a lifelong ENSCBC member and PhD student at Texas Tech University who studies the genetic, ecological, and evolutionary outcomes of avian hybridization. Join him for a talk on why some species hybridize more than others, what can be learned from each case of hybridization, and what hybridization means for birders and bird conservation. A significant portion of this talk will also focus on his current research, which involves an unusual and little-known population of hybrid Virginia's x Colima warblers in the mountains of West Texas.