We were surprised and delighted to find that our 2015 phylogeny paper in the Auk has won the first Brina Kessel Award, which will be given every two years to recognize “an outstanding paper published in the four preceding years in The Auk.” A fun element of the backstory is that we sent this paper to the Auk specifically because we thought that it should come out in the journal that serves the most relevant ornithological constituency. Here is a photo of the authors, all of us looking quite a bit younger than today, from the very beginnings of this collaborative endeavor all the way back in 2003. Special congratulations to Keith for being the prime mover on this paper, as well as first author.
Citation: Barker, F. K., K. J. Burns, J. Klicka, S. M. Lanyon, and I. J. Lovette. 2015. New insights into New World biogeography: An integrated view from the phylogeny of blackbirds, cardinals, sparrows, tanagers, warblers, and allies. Auk 132:333-348.