I currently work with Dr. David Westneat (University of Kentucky) and Dr. Sarah Sloane (University of Maine at Farmington) on a project investigating the relatedness of bushtits (Psaltriparus minimus). Combining field observations of a bushtit population in Portland, Oregon from 2018-2023 and blood samples collected from 2019-2023, I am utilizing ddRAD-seq to investigate the social relationships of bushtits with the goal of determining: i) the relatedness among individuals within flocks and at nests, and ii) parent-offspring relationships at nests. Bushtits are highly social facultative cooperative breeders that can have two broods in a breeding season, so my work will help elucidate their complex mating strategies.