Smithsonian Ornithologists

Anderton, John

Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History
Position: Research Associate
Email: catbirdseat@att.net

Research Interests: bird illustration

Angle, Claudia

USGS, National Museum of Natural History
Position: Museum Specialist
Email: anglec@si.edu

Research Interests: responsible for supervision of collection management activities of the North American species, including accessions, specimen preparation, cataloging, specimen installations, loans, information requests, and assisting visitors.

Banks, Richard C

USGS, National Museum of Natural History
Position: Research Scientist
Email: banksr@si.edu

Research Interests: long term study of white-fronted geese, AOU Check-list.

Beehler, Bruce M

Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History
Position: Research Associate
Email: b.beehler@conservation.org

Research Interests: ecology and biogeography of birds of New Guinea; conservation biology of birds of Melanesia; biology of the birds of paradise.

Bermingham, Eldredge

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Position: Research Scientist
Email: bermingham@si.edu

Research Interests: molecular population genetics and evolutionary biology; historical biogeograpy and molecular systematics of neotropical fishes and Caribbean island birds.

Bisson, Isabelle

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Position: Postdoctoral Fellow
Email: bissoni@si.edu

Research Interests: using molecular and field data (e.g., song, morphology) to explore the evolution and ecology of avian behaviour, particularly avian migration; avian microbiology; habitat selection; raptor ecology.

Braun, Michael

Molecular Systematics Laboratory, National Museum of Natural History
Position: Research Ornithologist
Email: braunm@si.edu

Research Interests: using molecular techniques to understand speciation and phylogenetics of birds.

Chesser, Terry

USGS, National Museum of Natural History
Position: Research Zoologist
Email: chessert@si.edu

Research Interests: biogeography and systematics of birds and primarily involves the use of modern molecular and cladistic techniques for reconstruction of phylogeny, character evolution, and biogeographic history

Clapp, Roger B

USGS, National Museum of Natural History
Position: Museum Specialist
Email: clappr@si.edu

Research Interests: responsible for collection management activities of the North American species, including accessions, specimen preparation, cataloging, specimen installations, loans, information requests, and assisting visitors. Interests in hole-nesting birds, birds of Virginia, and birds of the Pacific Ocean.

Dean, James P

Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History
Position: Research Scientist
Email: deanj@si.edu

Research Interests: collection management, collection conservation, and specimen preparation.

Deinlein, Mary

Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center
Position: Education Specialist
Email: deinleinm@si.edu

Research Interests: environmental education; developing and implementing science-based educational materials, programs and outreach events; writing and editing nature and conservation oriented publications

DeLuca, William

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Position: Research Technician
Email: delucaw@si.edu

Research Interests: influence of human modified landscapes on bird populations, endangered species biology, neotropical migratory bird ecology

Derrickson, Scott

Conservation & Research Center
Position: Deputy Associate Director
Email: sderrickson@si.edu

Research Interests: conservation of island avifaunas

Dove, Carla

Feather Identification Laboratory, National Museum of Natural History
Position: Research Scientist
Email: dovec@si.edu

Research Interests: identification of bird species from feathers and feather fragments using microscopic techniques.

Fleischer, Robert C

Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics, National Zoological Park, & Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History
Position: Head, Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics
Email: fleischerr@si.edu

Research Interests: evolutionary biology; systematics, population and conservation genetics of birds and mammals, and their parasites; animal behavior

Foster, Mercedes

USGS, National Museum of Natural History
Position: Research Ornithologist
Email: fosterm@si.edu

Research Interests: long-term research on the behavioral ecology of tropical birds and bird/plant interactions.

Gebhard, Christina A

Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History
Position: Research Scientist
Email: gebhardc@si.edu

Research Interests: field work and specimen preparation.

Gough, Gregory

Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center
Position: Avian Ecologist
Email: goughg@si.edu

Research Interests: communicating scientific information through the web; urban ecology.

Graves, Gary R

Department of Systematic Biology, National Museum of Natural History
Position: Research Scientist and Curator of Birds
Email: gravesg@si.edu

Research Interests: evolution, biogeography, systematics, ecology, and conservation biology, particularly of birds; null models in ecology and biogeography.

Greenberg, Russell

Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center
Position: Director
Email: greenbergr@si.edu

Research Interests: habitat selection, the ecology and evolution of migration, interspecific interaction, and use of man-modified tropical habitats.

Heacker-Skeans, Marcia

Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History
Position: Research Assistant
Email: heackerm@si.edu

Research Interests: avian species identification from microscopic and whole-feather characters.

Isler, Morton L

Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History
Position: Research Associate
Email: antbird@cox.net

Research Interests: reexamine species limits in the Thamnophilidae of the Neotropics

Isler, Phyllis R

Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History
Position: Research Associate
Email: antbird@cox.net

Research Interests: reexamine species limits in the Thamnophilidae of the Neotropics

James, Helen

Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History
Position: Museum Specialist
Email: jamesh@si.edu

Research Interests: processes of evolution and extinction in terrestrial vertebrates, quaternary paleoecology, island biogeography, human-environmental interactions, island ecosystem dynamics, and avian systematics.

Jehl, Joseph R

Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History
Position: Research Associate
Email: grebe5k@cs.com

Research Interests: the biology of birds at hypersaline lakes, migration, flight physiology, body composition, long term ecological studies at salt lakes and Hudson Bay, and using science to promote valid conservation efforts.

Ludwig, Craig A

Division of Mammals, National Museum of Natural History
Position: Research Scientist
Email: ludwigc@si.edu

Research Interests: museum collection automation, data modeling, standardization, and quality control, database design and implementation, and web page design.

Marra, Peter P

Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center
Position: Terrestrial Animal Ecologist
Email: marrap@si.edu

Research Interests: broad array of topics from basic bird ecology to environmental education to human health issues.

Milensky, Christopher M

Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History
Position: Research Scientist
Email: milensky@si.edu

Research Interests: field work, specimen preparation, bird song recording and archiving, and South American birds.

Morton, Eugene

Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center
Position: Senior Scientist Emeritus
Email: mortone@si.edu

Research Interests: Eugene Morton works on avian behavioral ecology and communication, especially in tropical birds. He also works on mating systems in relation to sex roles in breeding birds and the relation of extra-pair behavior in migratory birds to forest fragmentation. He works in Panama and Pennsylvania and is currently investigating the role of traditions in settling patterns in breeding migratory birds.

Olson, Storrs L

Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History
Position: Senior Zoologist
Email: olsons@si.edu

Research Interests: avian paleontology and systematics, avifaunas of oceanic islands prior to human-caused extinction events, biogeography and systematics of Neotropical birds, especially Panamanian isthmus.

Omland, Kevin E

Dept. Biological Sciences, Univ. Maryland Baltimore County, Asst. Prof.
Position: Research Associate
Email: omland@umbc.edu

Research Interests: plumage evolution, molecular systematics, species level-phylogeny and barcoding, sexual selection, speciation, especially New World Orioles.

Rappole, John

Conservation & Research Center
Position: Research Scientist
Email: jrappole@si.edu

Research Interests: understanding the ecology and evolution of avian population movements, and their importance and relevance to species’ conservation.

Rasmussen, Pamela C

Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History
Position: Research Associate
Email: rasmus39@pilot.msu.edu

Research Interests: systematics and conservation of the birds of tropical Asia.

Reitsma, Bob

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Position: Research Technician
Email: reitsmar@si.edu

Research Interests: habitat selection of wintering neotropical migratory birds, bird diversity of Costa Rican cocoa plantations, impact of urbanization on mid-Atlantic bird communities and birds as dispersing agents for West Nile virus.

Renner, Swen

Conservation & Research Center
Position: Research Associate
Email: renners@si.edu

Research Interests: effects of land use change on habitat selection and dispersal of birds in the Eastern USA. Biogeography, phylgenetics, and diversity patterns of birds in SE Asia, especially in Burma.

Rice, Robert

Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center
Position: Research Scientist
Email: ricer@si.edu

Research Interests: Bob's interests center around agroecology and land use policy issues in Central America and Mexico, areas in which he has lived and worked periodically in various capacities since the mid_1970s. His research focuses on agricultural modernization and the interplay between agriculture and the environment.

Schmidt, Brian K

Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History
Position: Research Scientist
Email: schmidtb@si.edu

Research Interests: field work, specimen preparation, collection databases, and computer graphics.

Schreiber, Betty Anne

Bird Department of the National Museum of Natural History
Position: Research Associate
Email: schreiberb@si.edu

Research Interests: tropical seabirds in many areas of the world, specializing in studies of their breeding biology, ecology, and energetics.

Sillett, T. Scott

Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center
Position: Research Wildlife Biologist
Email: silletts@si.edu

Research Interests: my ongoing research continues to examine how events throughout the annual cycle of migratory birds are interconnected and how multiple mechanisms, both natural and human-related, operate to limit and regulate songbird populations.

Zusi, Richard

Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History
Position: Research Scientist
Email: zusir@si.edu

Research Interests: amassing data on comparative myology of the avian hind limb and jaws, from dissections of exemplars of families not covered by the anatomical literature.