Pam Rasmussen
Senior Research Associate
Pam is the lead taxonomist for Birds of the World. She grew up birding in Oregon, and after receiving her PhD, worked at the Smithsonian Institution before joining Michigan State University, where she taught biology, including ornithology.
Pam’s long list of achievements include coauthoring Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide and 11 descriptions of new Asian bird species. In India, she was on the team that rediscovered the Forest Owlet.
As a teacher, she has led study abroad programs to Uganda, Borneo, Indonesia, Antarctica, and Costa Rica, among others. During her globetrotting, Pam has submitted eBird lists from more than 70 countries.
In 2008 she founded the global bird sounds site AVoCet. She is also an associate editor for ZOOTAXA, co-managing editor of the International Ornithological Congress (IOC) World Bird List, has served on the North American Classification Committee (NACC) for over 20 years, and serves on the International Ornithologists’ Union (IOU) Working Group Avian Checklist, a global bird taxonomy consolidation project.
Education
PhD, University of Kansas
