Iridescent little fairywrens drew doctoral student Jordan Boersma to the grasslands of Papua New Guinea, but it was the unexpected generosity of the people that captured the researcher’s heart.
“I’ve traveled all over Asia and never experienced this level of hospitality. If you accept their culture, they’ll really take you in and look after you,” he says.
Hubert Schwabl, professor in the Washington State University School of Biological Sciences, says Boersma is one of the rare students who is able to do field work under difficult tropical conditions.
Boersma, who joined the project in 2015, says white-shouldered fairywrens are good models for mate selection studies. The sparkly birds, found only in Papua New Guinea, are easy to observe as they hop around in the grass looking for insects.