Hughes Mentor:  Jack Bradbury

Department: Lab of Ornithology

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An Interview with Jack Bradbury

Although he keeps himself amused out in the field by playing practical jokes on the rest of his research team, Cornell professor and researcher Jack Bradbury takes his science seriously. To him, researching is all about pursuit of the truth and he claims there is no reward more satisfying than discovering it. Bradbury first became interested in research as a high school student when offered a job collecting organisms for a coastal marine lab. Since then, his interest has not dwindled. He spent many years studying the mating systems of bats in Trinidad and Costa Rica, something that had never previously been examined. He made the discovery that the male bats defended groups of females or else the resources the females needed for survival. He then related this behavior to resource availability and patchiness. He went on to later look at this same relationship in sage grouses in California and antelopes in Kenya. Today he is studying the function of contact calls in wild parrots, which he thinks may vary depending on individual identity and geographic contiguity. Bradbury prides himself in maintaining a cutting edge in his research by employing the latest technology in sound recording and computer programs for his studies. He says it’s important to keep up with the latest techniques and to not be afraid to try something new. His work studying the behavior of a diverse group of species is important for the better understanding and conservation of the earth’s biota.

Jack Bradbury is also the director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Library of Natural Sounds. This is the largest collection of animal sound recordings and associated videos in the world, and Bradbury has worked hard to make it easily accessible for researchers, science museums and even commercial film producers. Some of the sounds heard in the recent Harry Potter movies were taken directly from this sound library.

When Bradbury doesn’t have to wake up before the crack of dawn to study animal behavior, he enjoys reading novels, playing guitar, singing with his wife in a bluegrass band, and of course exploring the great outdoors. It is his amazement of and curiosity about the natural world that drives him to constantly learn as much as he can in biology.

Bradbury claims he owes his success in research to a long series of excellent mentors. It is every scientist’s duty, he says, to pass on the torch and impart wisdom to students who are interested in and enthusiastic about science. The best advice he thinks undergraduates should take when looking to get involved in research is to make it a habit to talk to professors. This allows the establishment of good relations for when an exciting research opportunity comes around. He also maintains that enthusiasm along with hard work is the key to any successful research project.

An Interview with Jack Bradbury

Dr. Jack Bradbury is a professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior and is also the director of the Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Dr. Bradbury grew up in California, and attended Reed College, Oregon, as an undergraduate where he majored in biology. He obtained a PhD from Rockefeller University, New York, initially researching photoreceptors of horseshoe crabs, but then decided to pursue research on echolocation and social behavior of bats in Trinidad. Dr. Bradbury stresses the importance of mentors throughout a person’s education. Other researchers and teachers were very valuable to him as mentors throughout his life.

Much of Dr. Bradbury’s research has been focused on studying mating systems and sound communication. Currently, Dr. Bradbury is studying the vocalizations of parrots, including conures and amazons, in Costa Rica. He is interested in how they use their mimicry abilities in the wild. His research is important because it has provided field data on parrots, which are generally hard to study in the wild. In Costa Rica, local students and park workers are trained in field techniques, including play backs and radio tracking. Dr. Bradbury has also developed sound analysis techniques that can be applied to other types of research.

In his free time, Dr. Bradbury enjoys reading fiction, playing the guitar, and being outdoors.