Keith Russell is an American ornithologist, birder, science communicator, and conservationist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [1] [2] [3] He is a leading advocate of bird-safe glass and other methods for reducing mortality of migrating songbirds in urban environments. [4] [5] [6] He is currently the program manager for urban conservation for Pennsylvania Audubon. [7]
Russell grew up in Mount Airy, a neighborhood in northwest Philadelphia, and graduated from Germantown Friends School in 1973. He attended Cornell University and graduated with a B.S. in biology in 1978. He earned an M.Sc. in zoology from Clemson University in 1981. [8]
Russell worked as collections manager for the Exhibits Department at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia from 1982 to 1992. [9] He was the assistant editor for the landmark publication The Birds of North America (1992–2003), edited by Frank Gill.
Russell has coordinated the Philadelphia Mid-winter Bird Census for more than three decades, for which the American Birding Association awarded him the Ludlow Griscom Award for Outstanding Contributions to Regional Ornithology in 2016. [10]