Why I love birds    
– They are gorgeous.
– They make me happy.
– They sing and/or make other interesting sounds.
– They don’t recognize international borders.
– We can see most of them during the day.
– They get me outside.
– They attract me to interesting places.
Xento-canto, the best in bird vocalizations.

My two favorite places to watch birds
Coastal California because I can see marine mammals too.
Ecuador because…
– they have the greatest bird diversity per surface area in the world.
– Ecuador is one of the most comfortable, safest countries for foreign bird watchers.
– the people of Ecuador are lovely people.

My favorite birds
People often ask me to tell them my favorite bird. I usually say a Chestnut-mandibled Toucan just to provide an answer, but I love them all
…from the common Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay in my backyard to the rare California Condor…
…from the colorful Paradise Tanager to drab-colored Wrentits…
…from the teeny Bee Hummingbird to the humongous Andean Condor…
…from the delicate Purple-crowned Fairy to the beefy Peruvian Pelican. They are all magnificent.

Research projects
My research interests focus on the effects of disturbance and landscape changes (grazing, wildfire, noise pollution) on breeding birds. Earlier, my primary interests focused on cowbirds and blackbirds.

Catherine P. Ortega on ResearchGate

Publications
See partial list.