The group of songbirds known as Darwin’s finches that Charles Darwin collected in the Galapagos on his 1830s HMS Beagle expedition are frequently (and mistakenly) associated with his formulation of the theory of evolution by natural selection, but recent genetic studies have established that these birds are actually tanagers in the family Thraupidae. John Bates, the Rowe Family Curator of Evolutionary Biology at the Field Museum, will join us to explain the research behind these new revelations and other insights provided by genetic research into the relationships in this amazing family of New World birds.

European Goldfinches are stunning birds that are obviously native to Europe, but they began showing up in Lake County as early as 2001, presumably because they were released cage birds. By 2024, they were so common in pockets around the U.S. including Illinois and Wisconsin that they were added to the countable Illinois and American Birding Association checklists. Louise Bodt, a PhD candidate in the Committee on Evolutionary Biology at the University of Chicago and a scientific affiliate at the Field Museum, will explain how this happened and its relation to her research into how introduced species can serve as a model for understanding how species change in new environments.