I educate people about birds. I write online courses about birds, including bird identification, behavior, and biology. I am the instructor for our university-level course, “Ornithology: Comprehensive Bird Biology,” and answer student questions about birds. I enjoy all aspects of birds (especially crows), from behavior to functional anatomy, and from ecology to evolution. I am interested in spreading the appreciation of birds to all possible audiences, through all possible avenues.

I have always loved birds, and worked hard to be able to make a living studying and teaching about birds. I got a Ph.D. studying the social development of Florida Scrub-Jays. I came to Cornell in 1988 to be the curator of the bird and mammal collections in the Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates, and started a research project on the biology of the American Crow that continues to this day. I created a series of educational web pages about birds that used specimen examples from the collection.

I continued working with online bird education when I left the museum and joined the Cornell Lab’s Education team to create the All About Birds website. I became the editor and principal author of the Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State, but was still based at the Lab.

After that project ended I came back to Education at the Lab, and took over as the instructor for the long-running Home Study Course in Bird Biology. We started experimenting with translating some of that course to the Internet, creating the online course Investigating Behavior: Courtship and Rivalry in Birds. I was the instructor for that course, and started developing new courses in bird identification.

Having been a lifelong birder as well as professional ornithologist, I was happy to work that side of birds, too. I created introductory birding courses and several series of more advanced identification webinars that we have turned into self-paced courses.

I continue to learn new things about birds every day, which is amazing. I enjoy sharing my excitement with other people and helping stoke their enthusiasm about birds. The Lab is a great place to do that.

Kevin McGowan, Ph.D.'s Courses:

• Be a Better Birder: Gull Identification
• The Wonderful World of Woodpeckers
• The Wonderful World of Hummingbirds
• Be a Better Birder: Shorebird Identification
• Be a Better Birder: Hawk and Raptor Identification
• The Wonderful World of Owls
• Joy of Birdwatching
• Anything but Common: The Hidden Life of the American Crow
• Be a Better Birder: Sparrow Identification
• Understanding Bird Behavior
• Be a Better Birder: Warbler Identification
• Be a Better Birder: Duck and Waterfowl Identification
• Ornithology: Comprehensive Bird Biology
• Be a Better Birder 2: Color and Pattern
• Be a Better Birder 1: Size and Shape