With springtime finally arriving in mid-Michigan, the sounds of the season have also emerged again. The song of the northern cardinal is one of hundreds recorded by Dr. Pamela Rasmussen. She's an assistant professor of zoology at Michigan State University and assistant curator at the MSU Museum.
Dr. Rasmussen's studies in ornithology have led to an authoritative reference work on the birds of South Asia, and her involvement in the Avian Vocalizations Center at MSU. The center, or AVOCET, is an online database of more than 10,000 recorded bird sounds from more than 3,100 species. Rasmussen has personally recorded on all the world's continents for this project.
Current State's Peter Whorf recently visited Rasmussen on campus to talk about some newly discovered owl species and their unique calls.