Birds occur at nearly every point on the globe. Across these varied environments they occupy a diversity of ecological niches as a result of their evolutionary adaptability, behavioral and physiological flexibility, and their various abilities to traverse land, water, and air biomes. Yet, they also generally face trade-offs that present stark challenges, such as balancing the demands of flight against the constraints of reproduction. Students will learn why such characteristics often make birds the subject of study for understanding ecological and evolutionary processes, as well as targets or indicators for conservation efforts. Regular field trips to various habitats across southern Oklahoma and northern Texas will provide students with the opportunity to encounter by eye and ear the diversity of bird species that migrate through or breed in the region. Students will be taught standardized survey techniques to understand how detectability can be estimated and used to inform population assessments. Each student will be expected to devise their own observation-based study to assess a relevant ecological and/or behavioral question using a species, feeding guild, or ecological community of birds as their focus.