1. What do you study related to biodiversity (what are your research questions, what organisms do you work on)?
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 I study a wide range of issues related to the ecology and conservation of birds. Major areas of focus are foraging behavior, flocking behavior, habitat use by migrant birds, elevational distributions, and mortality in migrant birds due to window strikes.
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2. How do you study biodiversity (for example, what technological tools and methodologies do you use in your research)?
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For the most part, my studies involve observational studies using binoculars. I also use tape recordings and CDs of the bird songs to assist in surveying birds. In bird surveys I use quantitative observational techniques by conducting point counts.
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3. Where do you study biodiversity?
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I do my work in the Chicago area, specifically the Calumet area, Palos and the Chicago lakefront, and in South America especially in Peru, Bolivia and Brazil.
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4. How might your research have implications for biological conservation?
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My research (with Dave Willard) on the effects of lights on the number birds dying at large buildings has contributed to the city setting up a program to reduce lighting at skyscrapers in Chicago during migration. Inventory and monitoring work in the Calumet area and in the Palos area have played a role in and helped to define management options, and in the Calumet area contributed to decisions regarding land acquisition for conservation.
A book that I wrote, Neotropical Birds: Ecology and Conservation, analyzes distributional and ecological data of birds to consider the areas of the Neotropics that are most important from a conservation perspective.
In addition, I have participated in the Rapid Biological Inventories that ECP runs mainly in tropical America. These multi-taxa inventories are directly tied to conservation efforts in the areas where we do them.
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5. How did you become interested in science? What made you want to be a scientist, and how did you get to The Field Museum?
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 I was interested in birds as a kid and started birdwatching before the age of ten. When I went to college, because of that interest in birds, I studied biology, so that I could learn more about why birds were the way they were. Because of my knowledge of birds, I got temporary jobs assisting in the field on research projects of professors while I was an undergraduate. This got me tied into the scientific study of birds.
I came to the Field Museum in two stages. I met a former curator of birds, John Fitzpatrick, in South America, while I was considering graduate schools so I came to Chicago to get a Ph.D. under him. While I was a student at the University of Chicago, I spent much of my time as a student in the museum. After graduating, I worked in a museum in Brazil and in Florida with Florida Scrub-Jays, before returning to the Field Museum when Debby Moskovits set up the Environmental and Conservation Programs.
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6. Describe important collaborations for your scientific endeavors (describe your work with other researchers, organizations, or scientific groups, local or indigenous peoples, etc.)
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In Latin America, in general, I have worked closely with local scientists, especially those associated with museums. In particular, we have worked with museums in Peru, Bolivia and Brazil.
In the Chicago area my research ties in with the efforts of Chicago Wilderness, a large consortium of organizations, to make conservation activities in the Chicago area scientifically-based and based on regional criteria. Besides working with Chicago Wilderness, I have worked on conservation projects with the Bird Conservation Network, and the Wetlands Initiative.
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