Sunda – Land of Birds, Beasts and Dragons

Twenty thousand years ago, the lands that make up Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore were interconnected in an area geologists call Sunda.  As glaciers melted and the sea level rose, islands like Borneo, Bali, and Komodo were separated from the Asian mainland.  Alfred Russel Wallace explored this area in the 19th century when he independently developed the concept of evolution by natural selection made famous by Darwin.  Learn about the avian families of the area, along with some of the other forest creatures living there, the importance of islands to evolution, and the impact of the palm oil industry on tropical forests.

Bob Lewis, chair of GGAS's Adult Education Committee, has taught birding classes for over 20 years. An award-winning bird photographer with a life list of over 4,500 species, he is the recipient of the 2016 Chandler Robbins Education/Conservation Award from the American Birding Association. The ABA will present Bob with the award at his talk, which immediately follows our Annual Meeting. Come for the Annual Meeting, stay for Bob's Sunda presentation!