Putting Neotropical Ornithology on the Map

In 2023, over 120 contributors published a study in the scientific journal,  Ornithological Applications, about a long history of exclusion Latin American and Caribbean scientists have faced. In the world of ornithology, the Global North is king – but only because they’ve made it that way. Host, Purbita Saha, speaks with two of the study’s leading researchers, Dr. Ernesto Ruelas Inzunza and Dr. Kristina Cockle, about the ways research from the Global South has been undermined, and how regional bias, racial discrimination, and socioeconomic differences have played a role. They discuss how this lack of acknowledgment is harming conservation efforts for birds and – teach us a thing or two about our feathered friends over in the Tropics! 

To learn more about our guests and their work or to view this episode’s transcript and other resources, visit BirdNote.org.

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Bring Birds Back Season 6 is sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the American Bird Conservancy.

*A previous version of this episode included closing commentary from a Neotropical scientist who was not a contributor to the highlighted scientific journal paper. Their comments have been removed from the episode.