Robert S. Ridgely

Robert S. Ridgely "is a founder of the Ecuador-based bird-conservation organization, Fundacion Jocotoco, and presently serves as the Chairman of the Board. He is a leading expert on the birds of South America and a proponent of private reserve systems as a conservation strategy for endangered tropical bird species. Previously, he was Director of International Conservation at National Audubon Society and the Director of the Center for Neotropical Ornithology at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia (ANSP). He is an ornithologist and the author of many important books on Neotropical birds, including the acclaimed Birds of Panama (1976 and 1989), Birds of South America (vols. 1 and 2, 1989 and 1994), and Birds of Ecuador (2001). Robert received a B.A. in History from Princeton University (1971); an M.Sc. in Zoology, Duke University (1975); and a Ph.D. in Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University (1981). In 2001 he received the Eisenmann Medal from the Linnaean Society."


 * Deputy Director, World Land Trust-US
 * Honorary Trustee, RARE Conservation