A life-long naturalist, Chris has worked on the conservation of Neotropical birds for over 35 years, living in Peru, Nicaragua and Venezuela, where he is a Research Associate at thePhelps Ornithological Collectionand the NGOProvita, a Founder Member of theVenezuelan Ornithologists’ Union, and Birds Editor for theIUCN Red Data Book of Venezuelan Fauna. Currently Associate Editor of theBulletin of the British Ornithologists’ ClubandBirds of the Worldat theCornell Lab of Ornithology, he is former editor ofHandbook of the Birds of the World (HBWAlive), theLynx and BirdLife International Field Guides series andNeotropical Birdingmagazine.
As an ornithologist he carries out threatened species assessments, bird surveys and rapid biodiversity inventories in Latin America and Europe, and he has formally advised governments on the implementation of theUN Convention of Biological Diversity. Expeditions with Venezuelan colleagues have refound Recurve-billed Bushbird in the Perijá mountains and Guaiquinima Whitestart on the remotetepuitable mountain of that name. Over recent years he has worked increasingly on hummingbirds and, especially, waders for the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. Training workshops for decision-makers, park guards, local communities and amateur ornithologists are an important component of this programme and one of its achievements was the designation of Venezuela’s first WHSRN reserve in 2018.
Chris has led over a hundred bird tours throughout the Americas, from Alaska south, as well as Europe and Antarctica. He has co-authored five field guides, includingBirds of the West Indies, for Lynx Edicions; his most recent work is published as part of a monograph onHummingbirdsfor Princeton University Press.
Chris is always happiest in the field, sharing the joys of nature with like-minded individuals—as a tour leader mentor confided in the 1990s, “Bird tours are really people tours”.
