Matthew Halley

Matthew R. Halley, Ph.D joined the Collections and Research Division as Collections Manager of Birds in June 2021 and served as Interim Curator of Birds from December 2021 to October 2022, when he was promoted to Assistant Curator of Birds. Dr. Halley received his doctorate in environmental science from Drexel University and the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, where he primarily studied the systematics of the nightingale-thrushes (genus Catharus) and the evolution of seasonal migration. His field research spans a wide range of countries including Panama, Venezuela, Nicaragua, India, Israel, Canada, and the United States.

Dr. Halley’s interdisciplinary research focuses primarily on the systematics and social evolution of American birds, as well as analysis and reinterpretation of the work of historical American scientists from the 18th and 19th centuries. His research utilizes many different technologies including genetics, video cameras, tracking devices, and analysis of audio recordings and museum specimens. In addition to being a historian and scientist, Dr. Halley is also a lifelong musician and featured on numerous albums, including his own self-titled album Matthew Halley (2020). His broad expertise in history, science, and art allows him to continually contribute to the research of a wide multitude of subjects.

Visit his website to learn more. 

Twitter: @MatthewHalley

Education

• Ph.D. Drexel University, The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University 2021
• M.S. Delaware State University 2014
• B.A. Pennsylvania State University 2004

Recent Publications:

B = Biology related
H = History related

2023

Halley, M. R. (in press). Why was John James Audubon denied membership at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia in 1824? Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. H

Halley, M. R. 2023. The Philadelphia Breeding Bird Census of 2020. Cassinia 78: 14–45. B LINK

Halley, M. R. 2023. Some primary sources relating to the oölogical collection of J. Hoopes Matlack (1832–1916). Cassinia 78: 75–82. B + H LINK

Halley, M. R. 2023. The “self-portrait” of John James Audubon is a copy. Cassinia 78: 55–59.H LINK

2022

Halley, M. R. 2022. A new subspecies of Black-headed Tailorbird Orthotomus nigriceps (Cisticolidae) and clarification of age-related plumage sequences. Journal of Asian Ornithology 38: 129–134 B DOWNLOAD PDF

Halley, M. R. 2022. Comments on the first specimen of Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra) from the northeastern United States: a Delaware state record. Delaware Ornithologist 51: 9–11. B DOWNLOAD PDF

Halley, M. R. 2022. Audubon’s diary transcripts were doctored to support his false claim of personally discovering Lincoln’s Sparrow Melospiza lincolnii (Audubon, 1834). Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club B + H LINK

Halley, M. R. (in press). The Philadelphia Breeding Bird Census of 2020. Cassinia B

Halley, M. R. (in press). Some primary sources relating to the oölogical collection of J. Hoopes Matlack (1832–1916). Cassinia B + H

Halley, M. R. (in press). The “self-portrait” of John James Audubon is a copy. Cassinia H

Halley, M. R. 2022. Historical records of Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis) in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Birds 35(3): 157. DOWNLOAD PDF B + H

Halley, M. R. 2022. Rediscovery of the holotype of the American Goshawk, Accipiter gentilis atricapillus (Wilson, 1812), and a commentary about Alexander Wilson’s contributions to the Peale Museum. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 167: 171–178 B + H DOWNLOAD PDF

Halley, M. R. 2022. Comments on the first specimen of Cave Swallow (Petrochelidon fulva) from Delaware. Delaware Ornithologist 50: 5–6. B DOWNLOAD PDF

2021   

Halley, M. R. 2021. Lectotypes resolve the taxonomic entanglement of the Acacia Pied Barbet Tricholaema leucomelas (Piciformes: Lybiidae) and Pied Puffbird Notharchus tectus (Piciformes: Bucconidae). Zootaxa 5071 (3): 447–450. B + H LINK

Halley, M. R. 2021. Integrative systematics and evolution of seasonal migration in the nightingale-thrushes (Aves: Turdidae: Catharus). Ph.D. dissertation, Drexel University. 293 pp.  LINK

Catanach, T. A., Halley, M. R., Allen, J. M., Johnson, J. A., Thorstrom, R., Palhano, S., Thunder, C. P., Gallardo, J. C., and J. D. Weckstein. 2021. Systematics and conservation of an endemic radiation of Accipiter hawks in the Caribbean islands. Ornithology 138: 1–23.  https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukab041

Halley, M. R. 2021. The correct scientific name of the Black Crake (Gruiformes: Rallidae). Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 141:211–215.  https://doi.org/10.25226/bboc.v141i2.2021.a11

Halley, M. R. 2021. Neotypification of Catharus ustulatus (Nuttall). Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 141:109–112.  https://doi.org/10.25226/bboc.v141i1.2021.a9

2020   

Halley, M. R. 2020. Audubon’s Bird of Washington: unravelling the fraud that launched The Birds of America. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 140:110–141. DOWNLOAD PDF

Halley, M. R. 2020. Rediscovery of a lost type specimen of Alexander Wilson. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 132:206–213. https://doi.org/10.1676/1559-4491-132.1.206

Halley, M. R. [editor]. 2020. Cassinia volume 77. Delaware Valley Ornithological Club, 107 pp. DOWNLOAD PDF

Halley, M. R. 2020. The theft of Morton’s Hawk, now known as Harris’s Hawk. Cassinia 77: 26–33. DOWNLOAD PDF

Halley, M. R. 2020. Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush (Catharus fuscater), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. [Note: This is a rebranded version of my 2014 article in Neotropical Birds Online] https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.sbnthr1.01.

Halley, M. R. 2020. Book review: The Wonderful Mr Willughby: The First True Ornithologist. The Auk: Ornthological Advances, ukz075, https://doi.org/10.1093/auk/ukz075.  

2019   

Halley, M. R. 2019. The misidentification of Turdus ustulatus Nuttall, and the names of the nightingale-thrushes (Turdidae: Catharus). Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 139(3): 248–69.DOWNLOAD PDF

Halley, M. R. 2019. Rediscovery of the holotype of the extinct cephalopod Baculites ovatus Say, 1820 after nearly two centuries. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 167: 1–9. DOWNLOAD PDF

2018   

Halley, M. R. 2018. Jefferson’s ornithology reconsidered. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 162(3): 231–258. DOWNLOAD PDF

Halley, M. R. 2018. The ambiguous identity of Turdus mustelinus Wilson, and a neotype designation for the Veery Catharus fuscescens (Stephens). Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 138(2): 78–91. DOWNLOAD PDF  B + H

Halley, M. R. 2018. Audubon’s famous banding experiment: Fact or fiction? Archives of Natural History 45(1): 118–121. LINK  B + H

Halley, M. R. [editor]. 2018. Cassinia volume 76. Delaware Valley Ornithological Club, 116 pp. LINK  B + H

Halley, M. R. 2018. Lost tales of American ornithology: Reuben Haines and the Canada Geese of Wyck (1818–1828). Cassinia 76: 52–63. DOWNLOAD PDF  H

Halley, M. R., and A. W. Croasdale. 2018. The Philadelphia Breeding Bird Census of 2016. Cassinia 76: 5–26. DOWNLOAD PDF  B

2017   

Halley, M. R. 2017. Origin of the phrase “Indian Summer.” Notes & Queries 64(3): 503–505. doi.org/10.1093/notesj/gjx078  H

Halley, M. R., Klicka, J., Sesink Clee, P., and J. D. Weckstein. 2017. Restoring the species status of Catharus maculatus (Aves: Turdidae), a secretive Andean thrush, with a critique of the yardstick approach to species delimitation. Zootaxa 4276(3): 387–404. DOWNLOAD PDF B

2016   

Halley, M. R. 2016. Neglected type specimens of Western Meadowlark Sturnella neglecta from Audubon’s last expedition. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 136(4): 287–290. DOWNLOAD PDF  B + H

Halley, M. R., Heckscher, C. M., and V. Kalavacharla. 2016. Multi-generational kinship, multiple mating, and flexible modes of parental care in a breeding population of the Veery (Catharus fuscescens), a trans-hemispheric migratory songbird. PLoS ONE 11(6): e0157051. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0157051  B

2015   

Halley, M. R. 2015. The Heart of Audubon: Five unpublished letters (1825–1830) reveal the ornithologist’s dream and how he (almost) achieved it. Commonplace: the journal of early American life. READ ONLINE  H

Halley, M. R., Holmes, A. L., and W. D. Robinson. 2015. Biparental incubation and allofeeding at nests of Sagebrush Brewer’s Sparrows. Journal of Field Ornithology 86(2): 153–162. DOWNLOAD PDF  B

Halley, M. R. 2015. Sexual behavior of Tufted Titmice in the Mid-Atlantic Piedmont and southern New Jersey. Cassinia 74-75: 66–70. DOWNLOAD PDF  B

Heckscher, C. M., Halley, M. R., and P. Stampul. 2015. Intratropical migration of a Nearctic-Neotropical migratory songbird (Catharus fuscescens) in South America with implications for migration theory. Journal of Tropical Ecology 31: 285–289. DOWNLOAD PDF  B

Halley, M. R. 2015. Melvin’s Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis): An iconic migratory species returns to the Atlantic Seaboard. The Winnower. READ ONLINE  B + H

2014   

Halley, M. R. 2014. Use of light-level geolocators in the study of avian migration: ethics and opportunities. Science 345(6192): 24–27, online edition. DOI: 10.1126/science.345.6192.24 READ ONLINE  B

Halley, M. R. 2014. Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush (Catharus fuscater), Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. READ ONLINE  B + H

Halley, M. R. 2014. Kin structure and mating system of the Veery (Catharus fuscescens) in the Mid-Atlantic Piedmont. MS Thesis, Delaware State University  READ ONLINE  B

2013   

Halley, M. R., and C. M. Heckscher. 2013. Interspecific parental care by a Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) at a nest of the Veery (Catharus fuscescens). Wilson Journal of Ornithology125(4): 823–828. DOWNLOAD PDF  B

Kneidel, A. K., and M. R. Halley. 2013. Notes on berry foraging and vocal behavior of a male Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus). Delmarva Ornithologist 42: 28–31. DOWNLOAD PDF  B

Halley, M. R., and C. M. Heckscher. 2012. Multiple male feeders at nests of the Veery. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 124(2): 396–399. DOWNLOAD PDF  B

2012   

Halley, M. R. 2012. Direct evidence of Kentucky Warbler (Geothlypis formosus) breeding success from a disturbed Mid-Atlantic Piedmont forest in Delaware. Delmarva Ornithologist 41: 7–9.  DOWNLOAD PDF  B

Halley, M. R., and A. Goel. 2012. A novel color morph and additional population of Raorchestes akroparallagi (Anura: Rhacophoridae) and a second R. chromasynchysi population in Karnataka, India. Herpetological Review 43(2): 233–235.  DOWNLOAD PDF  B

Visit here for a complete list of Dr. Halley’s publications.