Colombian biologist bridging songbird research gap in Canada's southernmost region

Nelsy Nino says she's always found it amazing how birds communicate through sound.

So much so that the Colombian biologist moved to Canada to study birds in the country's southernmost region.

"You can close your eyes, but you can't close your ears," said the University of Windsor international PhD student in the faculty of science.

"A lot of people love birds for how colourful they are — like their plumage, their displays, their behaviour — but vocal behaviour is just so amazing."

Nino says of particular interest is how some songbirds imitate other songbirds.

"We have the northern mockingbird which is a really good imitator, so they imitate like northern cardinals do of the tufted titmouse," she said.

"In the tropics we don't know much about mimicry."

And it's her Colombian roots that allow her ears to catch different sounds than a typical Canadian, she says.

WATCH | Why Nelsy Nino moved to Canada to study birds:

"I'm from the tropics, so when you enter a forest you see a few species, but you hear a bunch of them. There's a lot of information that you're taking out for that vocal and acoustic channel."

According to Nino, her home country has one of the highest avian diversity populations and endemic birds you can't find anywhere else which has helped with her transition to Canada to study.

"Particular groups interest me a lot for their vocal behaviour."

Dan Mennill from the University of Windsor says Nino grew up listening to the soundscape of birds in Colombian forests, giving her an expertise that's invaluable to the program he oversees.

The professor and associate dean of science says Nino has innovated a PhD project focused on a group of birds called seedeaters that shows both males and females mimic sounds of other birds in their temperate zone environment.