Michael Reed | Staff Writer

Among the courses that are always offered at Buena Vista University BVU are some new courses with different material. Among the new group of classes is ornithology, which may be considered the most unique.

Ornithology is the study of a variety of information about birds including origin and evolution, relationships, anatomy, and ecology. Assistant Professor of Biology Heather York is instructing the class and has prior experience in teaching this course. York instructed the course at Doane College in Nebraska for two years.

Later in the semester, students will also be studying the sounds of the birds. Senior Abbey Kinney says that the course will become active outside of the classroom once the weather begins to warm.

“We haven’t done too much in the class yet because it has been too cold. When the weather is warmer, we are going to go bird watching in various places. Some of them will be just around town and others we will have to drive to. We are also going to set up nets and hopefully catch birds, which I think will be really cool,” Kinney said. “We have also mentioned going to the zoo towards the end of the semester. So far in the class, we have been learning bird calls, different types of birds, and their anatomy. We were supposed to dissect birds today, but they were still frozen.”

This is the first time the course has been offered at BVU. According to York, the course will be offered again for new students to have the opportunity to experience the subject. It is currently offered as a 4.0 credit hour class with lab on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 a.m.

“For it being the first time that this class is offered, there really aren’t a lot of people taking the class. It is a 400 level class at 8 a.m., so that could have affected the number of students,” Kinney said.

Graphic by Keyla Sosa