Mark Robbins KOS Avian Conservationist of the Year

Mark’s contributions to bird conservation are numerous, and range in scope from global and international to local and regional, covering a lifetime of curiosity, discovery, and detailed study. Mark is a native of northwestern Missouri, where he grew up an avid birder. He did his undergraduate studies at the University of Arizona, and a masters at Louisiana State University (LSU), in each case with a significant focus on birds. His master’s thesis focused on behavior of male mannikins competing for access to females on leks in southeastern Peru. After completing his studies at LSU, he found his first major employment at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia (ANSP), where he worked as Collections Manager for 12 years. In 1993, he moved to the University of Kansas, where he worked as Collections Manager until his retirement in December 2023.

Mark’s work in bird conservation can be broken down into two major categories: (1) documentation and discovery of world bird diversity, and (2) detailed study of North American birds. In all cases, Mark’s work is developed with an eye to bird conservation, as he is an avid bird-lover, in addition to being a scientist. In the paragraphs that follow, I will describe Mark’s contributions to bird conservation.

On global scales, Mark is internationally recognized as an authority on bird diversity, being one of very few individuals who has worked in-depth with birds on essentially all continents. Just since 1993, when he moved to the University of Kansas, Mark has developed detailed ornithological studies in Canada, USA, Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Panama, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Paraguay, Ghana, Cameroon, China, Vietnam, Australia, and the Solomon Islands. In each case, his work has resulted in detailed, published, summaries of local bird communities, eBird lists so that the data are openly available, series of invaluable bird specimens that permit more in-depth study, and audio recordings that add valuable vocal information to the record. This wealth of data that has, from each of more than 60 expeditions since 1993, enriched global knowledge of bird diversity greatly.

One concrete dimension in which Mark’s work has promoted bird conservation is in basic discovery and description of bird species. Mark has discovered and described at least 10 species previously unknown to science. In each case, the new species was undescribed because it was restricted to a small distributional area in a remote region. Conservation is— obviously—not possible when the species is not known to science. In several cases, Mark and his colleagues worked with national governments to assure protection of the new species, such that it was (in scientific terms at least) “born protected.”

Perhaps the most concrete example of Mark’s impacts on global bird conservation is as regards the Red Siskin. This species has been considered Endangered since the middle twentieth century, and is considered to be in critical danger because of heavy trapping pressure from the pet trade. Mark was working in southern Guyana, more than 1000 km south of any known distributional area for Red Siskins, but discovered a population of the species in a savannah area within a region of rainforest. He immediately understood the importance of his discovery, and documented breeding status and population levels. In effect, not only did Mark’s discovery more than double the known existing population size of this species on the brink of extinction, but his follow-up work with the Guyanese government and the Smithsonian Institution led to the decree of a new conservation area, such that this newly discovered population of Red Siskins is already effectively protected, well in advance of any pet trade trapping pressure.

Mark has also maintained intense interests in Great Plains birds, ever since his childhood. He is the author of the first edition of Birds of Missouri, as well as of an updated edition that is open-access so that all are able to consult it. Mark’s work over the years has taken on numerous important aspects of Great Plains bird biology and conservation, including (these are just a few examples): migratory double-breeding in Sedge Wrens, species status of prairie populations of Common Nighthawk, hybrid zones and distributional dynamics in Baltimore-Bullock’s orioles, Eastern and Western Wood-pewees, Eastern and Spotted Towhees, and population declines in Greater Prairie-Chickens. In each case, Mark’s attention to the finest details and willingness to be out in the field under the most difficult of conditions has meant that he has brought important new insights into the biology of the species in question.

In summary, Mark Robbins has dedicated a lifetime to understanding bird diversity and natural history, always with an eye to conservation. Insight after insight, discovery after discovery, Mark approaches a study carefully and rigorously, and works tirelessly to assemble the necessary data and knowledge. Once the new understanding is in hand, Mark then works to “hand it off” to the institution, organization, or individual best suited to making the conservation steps a reality. With this rich legacy of advancing bird conservation, I am more than happy to nominate mark for the KOS Avian Conservationist of the Year Award.

Nominated by Town Peterson, University of Kansas