Smithsonian Handbooks: Birds of North America: Western Region (Smithsonian Handbooks) Flexibound - 2001

Frederick Joseph Alsop, III Ph.D. is an ornithologist and a professor of biological sciences at East Tennessee State University. He received his doctorate in zoology from the University of Tennessee, and specialized in the ecology, distribution, life history, and taxonomy of birds. In addition to studying the effects of pesticides on eggshell thickness and endangered and threatened species, Fred Alsop is an avid field biologist and birder, and photographer, and has identified more than 3,200 species worldwide. The Smithsonian Institution -- the world's largest museum complex -- includes 16 museums and galleries and the National Zoological Park. The total number of artifacts, works of art and specimens in the Smithsonian's collections is estimated at nearly 142 million. The bulk of this material -- more than 124 million specimens and artifacts -- is part of the National Museum of Natural History. Smithsonian collections serve as the intellectual base for exhibition, education, scholarship, and discovery. The National Zoo was founded in 1889 by an act of Congress for, "the advancement of science, the instruction and recreation of the people." It is a bureau of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. and conducts programs in public education, wildlife conservation and works to advance a number of fields in the biological sciences. Approximately 3,600 animals of 475 different species live at the Smithsonian's National Zoological Park. About one-quarter of the animals are endangered, and many are part of conservation efforts to preserve disappearing species.