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Welcome! I am an avian evolutionary ecologist. Currently, I am a Post-doctoral Associate in Eric Walters Lab at Old Dominion University.
In the Walters Lab, I study the cooperative breeding behavior of Acorn Woodpeckers at the Hastings Natural History Reservation.
For my PhD, I investigated the ecological and environmental factors that determine the elevational distribution of a bird species. I did field research in the Kedarnath region of the Indian Himalayas. Here, I studied the bird community along a large elevational gradient to try and answer how physiology, interspecific competition and habitats limit species distribution.
I am also broadly interested in natural history, life history evolution and biogeography of birds. I use comparative methods to understand how the complex interactions between species, their habits and their habitats affects life-history evolution at a macro-eco-evolutionary scale.
In the Walters Lab, I study the cooperative breeding behavior of Acorn Woodpeckers at the Hastings Natural History Reservation.
For my PhD, I investigated the ecological and environmental factors that determine the elevational distribution of a bird species. I did field research in the Kedarnath region of the Indian Himalayas. Here, I studied the bird community along a large elevational gradient to try and answer how physiology, interspecific competition and habitats limit species distribution.
I am also broadly interested in natural history, life history evolution and biogeography of birds. I use comparative methods to understand how the complex interactions between species, their habits and their habitats affects life-history evolution at a macro-eco-evolutionary scale.
Recent News!
April 2017
A chapter from my dissertation that describes the interspecific competition between cinereous and green-backed tits and its influence on their elevational distribution was just accepted in the Journal of Avian Biology.
March 2017
Two papers were accepted this month! One on avian vocal mimicry in Tawny Larks and another on Species Distribution Modeling of Western Ghats birds! Both these papers are with undergrad and Master's mentees who worked for me at Cornell.
I started work as a post-doc with Eric Walters at the Hastings Natural History Reservation.
Feb 2017
Our research on Himalayan bird hemoglobin concentration was featured on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds website. Check it out here
Just got back from an amazing trip to Panama where I visited Jay Falk. Saw the 6 new families of birds and a 170 lifers! Also first sloths, capuchins, howler monkeys and wooly possums!
January 2017
I had the great privilege of traveling across India with Dr. John Fitzpatrick, the director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. We travelled through 6 states and saw 404 species of birds in 15 days. Great way to start 2017!
December 2016
I successfully defended my PhD at Cornell University. Now off to India to bring in the new year!
November 2016
Our paper on hemoglobin concentration in Himalayan birds is published online check it out here!
Excited to announce that I will be starting a post-doc in Dr. Eric Walters Lab in March 2016! I will be studying acorn woodpeckers at the Hastings Nature Preserve in Carmel Valley California!
October 2016
Our paper on variation in hemoglobin concentration in Himalayan birds has been accepted in Proceedings B! First PhD chapter published!!
August 2016
I won the Alexander Wilson Prize for best paper at the North American Ornithological Conference in Washington DC! The prize was given by the Wilson Ornithological Society.
I won the Ecological Society of America (ESA) Natural History Section Student Award at the ESA conference earlier this month!
Excited to attend the Ecological Society of America's annual conference (ESA 2016) and the North American Ornithological Conference (NAOC 2016). I will be giving talks on Himalayan bird physiology at both conferences.
May 2016
Frank La Sorte and I wrote a paper on how female only care in passerines might be globally restricted by fruiting season length. Read it here!!
April 2016
Our team won Overall First Prize at the Harry W Greene Grilled Cheese contest for our sandwich The Mowgli Melt!
Soham Dixit, Viral Joshi and I just published a comprehensive bird checklist from my field-site in Kedarnath. Check it out here!
March 2016
I have been awarded the James F. Slevin Assignment Sequence Prize for designing a unique and constructive sequence of writing assignments in the Freshman Writing Seminar I taught in Fall 2015.
Our paper on the elevational distribution of birds in Kedarnath (my field-site) just got accepted in the journal Checklist. Shout out to Soham Dixit who took the lead on this one!
February 2016
I just gave the Darwin's Weekly Natural History Seminar at the University of Chicago where Dr. Trevor Price hosted me. It was great to meet him, other faculty and graduate students. Some really engaging conversations.
April 2017
A chapter from my dissertation that describes the interspecific competition between cinereous and green-backed tits and its influence on their elevational distribution was just accepted in the Journal of Avian Biology.
March 2017
Two papers were accepted this month! One on avian vocal mimicry in Tawny Larks and another on Species Distribution Modeling of Western Ghats birds! Both these papers are with undergrad and Master's mentees who worked for me at Cornell.
I started work as a post-doc with Eric Walters at the Hastings Natural History Reservation.
Feb 2017
Our research on Himalayan bird hemoglobin concentration was featured on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds website. Check it out here
Just got back from an amazing trip to Panama where I visited Jay Falk. Saw the 6 new families of birds and a 170 lifers! Also first sloths, capuchins, howler monkeys and wooly possums!
January 2017
I had the great privilege of traveling across India with Dr. John Fitzpatrick, the director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. We travelled through 6 states and saw 404 species of birds in 15 days. Great way to start 2017!
December 2016
I successfully defended my PhD at Cornell University. Now off to India to bring in the new year!
November 2016
Our paper on hemoglobin concentration in Himalayan birds is published online check it out here!
Excited to announce that I will be starting a post-doc in Dr. Eric Walters Lab in March 2016! I will be studying acorn woodpeckers at the Hastings Nature Preserve in Carmel Valley California!
October 2016
Our paper on variation in hemoglobin concentration in Himalayan birds has been accepted in Proceedings B! First PhD chapter published!!
August 2016
I won the Alexander Wilson Prize for best paper at the North American Ornithological Conference in Washington DC! The prize was given by the Wilson Ornithological Society.
I won the Ecological Society of America (ESA) Natural History Section Student Award at the ESA conference earlier this month!
Excited to attend the Ecological Society of America's annual conference (ESA 2016) and the North American Ornithological Conference (NAOC 2016). I will be giving talks on Himalayan bird physiology at both conferences.
May 2016
Frank La Sorte and I wrote a paper on how female only care in passerines might be globally restricted by fruiting season length. Read it here!!
April 2016
Our team won Overall First Prize at the Harry W Greene Grilled Cheese contest for our sandwich The Mowgli Melt!
Soham Dixit, Viral Joshi and I just published a comprehensive bird checklist from my field-site in Kedarnath. Check it out here!
March 2016
I have been awarded the James F. Slevin Assignment Sequence Prize for designing a unique and constructive sequence of writing assignments in the Freshman Writing Seminar I taught in Fall 2015.
Our paper on the elevational distribution of birds in Kedarnath (my field-site) just got accepted in the journal Checklist. Shout out to Soham Dixit who took the lead on this one!
February 2016
I just gave the Darwin's Weekly Natural History Seminar at the University of Chicago where Dr. Trevor Price hosted me. It was great to meet him, other faculty and graduate students. Some really engaging conversations.
