The island of New Guinea is home to more than 700 species of birds—that is, 700 and still counting. In the fall of 2014, Paul Sweet joined a team of vertebrate specialists from the American Museum of Natural History on an expedition to the highlands of Papua New Guinea—the nation that occupies the eastern half of the island. The highlands are one of the most remote areas in the world. The expedition was in search of new specimens and new species. Sweet will talk about the adventures of fieldwork and discuss some of the expedition’s discoveries.
Born in Bristol, England, Paul Sweet has been interested in birds for as long as he can remember. After completing a degree in zoology at the University of Liverpool, he traveled widely in Asia and the Americas before working at the Raffles Museum in Singapore. In 1991 he moved to New York City to work at the American Museum of Natural History, where he is now the collections manager in the Ornithology Department.
A recording of the full program is available below: