Team

Birds of the World is a collaborative science platform developed and maintained by over 2,000 contributors—professional ornithologists, conservation partners, and media contributors worldwide. Dedicated individuals continuously update comprehensive species profiles for every bird on Earth, united by the belief that shared knowledge is essential for bird conservation. Interested in contributing your data, media, or expertise?  Contact us.

Science Editors

• Shawn Billerman, Ph.D. – science editor
• Natalia Garcia, Ph.D. – research associate, life history data engine lead
• Brooke Keeney, Ph.D. – senior managing editor
• Guy Kirwan –  science editor, former HBW Alive editor
• Fernando Medrano, Ph.D. – global partner lead
• Yoav Perlman, Ph.D. – Europe lead
• Neil Paprocki, Ph.D. – research associate
• Pamela Rasmussen, Ph.D.– senior research associate – avian systematist
• Nicole Richardson –  high resolution ornithology lead
• Bryce Robinson, Ph.D. – research associate
• Nicholas Sly, Ph.D. – science editor
• Maria Smith, Ph.D. – managing editor
• Andrew Spencer – lead avian media specialist
• Terry Townshend – East Asia lead

Associate Editors

• Per Alström – associate editor
• Steven Mlodinow – associate editor

Regional Science Editors

– Africa and the Middle East

• • • Derek Engelbrecht – Editor-in-Chief, Birds of Southern Africa (8th ed.), JVBBF
    • Tomas Haraldsson – partner lead, OSME
    • Panshak Solomon – partner lead, APLORI

– Asia

• • • Miguel David De Leon – consulting associate editor, Philippines
    • Praveen J – partner lead, Bird Count India
    • Ramesh Kumar – partner lead, Central Asia Conservation Network
    • Scott Lin – partner lead, Taiwan Biodiversity Research Group
    • Asman Purwanto – partner lead, BISA Indonesia
    • Suhel Quader – partner lead, Bird Count India
    • Puja Sharma – consulting associate editor, India
    • Amar-Singh HSS – partner lead, Malaysian Bird Report
    • Yat-tung Yu – partner lead, Hong Kong Bird Watching Society
    • Wenyi Zhou – China lead

– Europe

• • • Ross Ahmed – consulting associate editor
    • Marc Illa – partner lead, Institut Català d’Ornitologia
    • Bart Kempenaers – partner lead, Max Planck Institute
    • Blas Molina – partner lead, Sociedad Española de Ornitología
    • Gilberto Pasinelli – partner lead, Swiss Ornithological Institute
    • Yoav Perlman – Europe partner lead
    • Stoycho Stoychev – partner lead, Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds

– North & Central America/Caribbean

• • • Susana Aguilar – partner lead, BirdsCaribbean
    • Zoya Buckmire – partner lead, BirdsCaribbean
    • Pak Tsun Chan – partner lead, UNAM
    • Roselvy Juárez – consulting associate editor
    • Federico Alfonso Méndez Sánchez – partner lead, GECI
    • Caroline Pott – partner lead, BirdsCaribbean
    • Luis Sánchez – partner lead, UNAM
    • Luis Sandoval – partner lead, Universidad de Costa Rica
    • John van Dort – consulting associate editor

– Oceania

• • • open!

– South America

• • • Fernando Angulo Pratolongo – partner lead, CORBIDI
    • Nicole Avalos – partner lead, Anthus Bolivia
    • Alfredo Begazo – partner lead, Aves de Perú
    • Mariana Villegas – partner lead, Asociación Armonía
    • Gustavo Adolfo Bravo Mora – partner lead, Instituto Humboldt
    • Diego Cisneros-Heredia – partner lead, USFQ
    • Pablo G. Fernández – partner lead, Aves Uruguay
    • Dan Lebbin – conservation contributor, American Bird Conservancy
    • Fernando Medrano Martinez – global partner lead, Birds of the World
    • Vicente Pantoja – partner lead, ROC
    • Ben Phalan – partner lead, SAVE Brasil
    • Tomás Rivas Fuenzalida – partner lead, Fundación Nankulafkén
    • Adriana Rodríguez-Ferraro – partner lead, UVO
    • Kini Roesler – partner lead, Fundación Macá Tobiano
    • Cynthia Ursino – partner lead, Aves Argentinas
    • Cristina Sainz Borgo – partner lead, UVO
    • Luis Sánchez – partner lead, UNAM

Subject Matter Experts

• • • Appearance/Molt – Peter Pyle
    • Ardeidae: Egrets, Herons, and Bitterns – Clay Green
    • Bird Families – Shawn Billerman
    • Distribution Statements – Pam Rasmussen, Juan Freile Ortiz, Don Roberson
    • Conservation – Kelley Boland, Dan Lebbin, Ph.D., Jordan Rutter, Molly Toth
    • Key to Scientific Names – James Jobling
    • Life History and Traits Data – Nati Garcia, Nicole Richardson.
    • Maps – Simón Valdez-Juárez, Andre Golumbeski, Kurt Radamaker
    • Multimedia – Arnau Bonan Barfull, Paul Fenwick, Andrew Spencer.
    • Raptors – Tomás Rivas Fuenzalida
    • Science Illustrations – Marky Mutchler
    • Sounds and Vocal Behavior – Peter Boesman, Andrew Spencer, Puja Sharma
    • Taxonomy and Phylogeny – Shawn Billerman, Marshall Iliff, Eliot Miller, Pam Rasmussen, Emily Jane McTavish, James Van Remsen

Birds of the World is seeking additional species and subject matter experts in a number of areas. Please contact us.

Business and Software Team

• • • Mike Charnoky – software engineering team lead
    • Jeff Gerbracht – software architect
    • Laura Kammermeier – business and communications manager
    • Jessica Kane –  accounts and customer service specialist
    • Will Morris – grid and applications programmer
    • Vanessa Powell – administrative support specialist
    • Matt Schloss – web designer and software engineer
    • Brian Sullivan – project lead–digital publications
    • Heather Wolf – web developer

Copyeditors

• • • JoAnn Hackos – volunteer team lead
    • Linda Hensley – volunteer copyeditor
    • Tony Leukering – copyeditor
    • Koren Mitchell – copyeditor
    • Robin Murie – volunteer copyeditor
    • Daphne Walmer – volunteer copyeditor
    • Aubrey Zalewski – copyeditor

If you have copyediting skills and time to volunteer, we’d appreciate your help!

Undergraduate Assistants

• • • Maliha Aamir – marketing assistant
    • Abigail Archey – maps assistant
    • Ian Bell – maps assistant
    • Emma Bromley – media assistant
    • Carver Hauptman – editorial assistant
    • Olivia Haven – media assistant
    • Hugo Keil – editorial assistant
    • Eva Ledvina – editorial assistant
    • Lorraine Yang – maps assistant

Distinguished Alumni

• • Frank B. Gill – editor, Birds of North America published by the Cornell Lab, American Ornithological Society and National Academy of Sciences
  • Josep del Hoyo – founder/editor, Handbook of Birds of the World, published by Lynx Edicions
  • Alan Poole – editor, Birds of North America published by the Cornell Lab and American Ornithological Society
  • Paul Rodewald – editor, Birds of North America; Birds of the World
  • Tom Schulenberg – editor, Neotropical Birds; Birds of the World