Current News | FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology

APNR Southern Ground-Hornbill Project Report – October 2026

The APNR Southern Ground-Hornbill Research Project's October 2026 report is now available.

Fitz Director elected Fellow of the RSSAf

Fitz Director, A/Prof Susie Cunningham, has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa.

Alumni do the Fitz proud

Fitz alumni, Dr Gareth Tate and Helen Davies, delivered the University of Cape Town’s Faculty of Science Distinguished Alumni Lecture on the 15th of October.

Graduation September 2026

Congratulations to the FitzPatrick Institute students who graduated at the 8 September 2026 Science Faculty graduation ceremony!

Understanding the drivers of giant petrel demography in a changing ocean

Michelle Risi studies giant petrels to gain insights into how seabirds are coping with environmental change

Applications close soon

Applications for the 2027 Conservation Biology MSc Programme close on the 31st of August.

brown skua nesting near a penguin colony

Brown skuas coastal shift puzzles scientists

Scientists believed that the recovery of petrel populations on Marion Island would lead to more skuas breeding inland, where petrels historically formed part of their diet, but their study revealed that this has not happened.

How changing weather affects birds on Marion Island

Research by Chris Jones and Avumile Bawuli will help explain how changing weather on Marion Island may affect surface-nesting seabirds.

iOrnithology: How online images are reshaping ornithological research

What is iOrnithology and how is it changing ornithological research? Co-authors Connor Panter and A/Prof Arjun Amar discuss their study, published in the latest issue of Ibis, which led to this neologism.