Comparative and Functional Biomechanics

All specimen photos on this site, including the Gurney's Pitta (Hydrornis gurneyi) at left (PC Avehi Singh), are from the collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. Museum collections are an extremely valuable resource to the ornithologist, as we can rapidly examine all the available variation in a group of interest. Our research on museum specimens uses morphometric analyses and computed tomography (in collaboration with Sushma Reddy at the University of Minnesota) to understand the morphological diversification and biomechanics of peripheral vocal structures. In particular, we are interested in the barbets, a lineage of frugivorous birds found in Asia, Africa and the Neotropics. This work delves across disciplines, from comparative and evolutionary biology to functional morphology and biomechanics.