Mark Erno Hauber is an American

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

and Endowed Professor at the

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

. His research considers the development of avian recognition systems.

Early life and education

Hauber was born and raised in Hungary. He has said that he always wanted to become an

. He attended high school in Italy, before moving to the United States for college. Hauber was an undergraduate student at

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

, where he majored in organismal biology. He started focusing on birds, and the differences between the brains of different species. He worked toward his doctorate at the

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

, where he studied brood parasitic

cowbird Cowbirds are birds belonging to the genus ''Molothrus'' in the family Icteridae. They are of New World origin, but some species not native to North America are invasive there, and are obligate brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of o ...

s. After graduating, Hauber moved to the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

as a postdoctoral research fellow.

Research and career

In 2003, Hauber moved to New Zealand, where he joined the faculty at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

. Whilst in New Zealand, he studied psychology, and earned a

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

on avian recognition systems. His doctoral thesis for this degree was entitled ''Cognitive ecology of avian recognition systems : studies of brood parasitic and parental taxa''. He returned to the United States in 2009, where he joined the faculty at

Graduate Center of the City University of New York The Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York (CUNY Graduate Center) is a public research institution and postgraduate university in New York City. Formed in 1961 as Division of Graduate Studies at City University ...

. Here he oversaw the biopsychology and behavioural neuroscience program. Hauber was appointed to the faculty at the

in 2017. He established the Cowbird Laboratory, which investigates the evolution of recognition systems. For example, Hauber has studied the color and shape of eggs that "host" birds will accept in their nests. He has shown that pointy eggs are more likely to survive being in a bird's cliffside nest. Hauber focused his research on parasitic birds and the impact of climate change. He showed that in unstable climates, distributing eggs amongst a variety of different nests made a species more resilient. Hauber studies the birds that live in tree farms in East

Urbana, Illinois Urbana ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. It is a principal city of the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, which had 236,000 residents i ...

Selected publications

* * *

Books

* The Book of Eggs

Personal life

Hauber came out as gay after moving to the United States. He is a member of the grassroots organization 500 Queer Scientists.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hauber, Mark Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Cornell University alumni Yale College alumni University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty Academic staff of the University of Auckland CUNY Graduate Center faculty American ornithologists Hungarian ornithologists