Skutch Research Grants

The Skutch Research Grants is a grant from the Association of Field Ornithologists that funds question-driven ornithological research in Latin America and the Caribbean. Established through a bequest from Dr. Alexander Skutch, the program typically awards five grants of up to ,500 USD each annually.

Eligible projects advance knowledge of natural history, ecology, or conservation of wild birds in Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Applicants must be based in one of these regions — undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and non-academic researchers qualify. AFO membership is required.

The deadline for the current cycle is June 15, 2026, and applications may be submitted in English, Spanish, or Portuguese.

Skutch Research Grants – Association of Field Ornithologists The Skutch Research Grant is a new opportunity for researchers based in Latin America that replaces the Bergstrom Grant for Latin American researchers. This grant is supported by a bequest from Dr. Alexander Skutch, who over a period of more than six decades, made extensive contributions to our knowledge of Neotropical ornithology.

Typically five grants of up to $1500 USD each are awarded annually Skutch Research Grants are intended to promote question-driven research and other projects that add to our knowledge of the natural history, ecology, and/or conservation of birds that are living under natural conditions in Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.

For detailed information on the types of research that the Skutch Research Grants fund, including allowable methodology, individuals should review the AFO Research Guidelines before considering an application. Only individuals based in one of the four geographic areas indicated above are eligible for grants (individuals based in the U.S. and Canada should consider applying for a Bergstrom Grant ).

Undergraduate and graduate students (including both M. S. and Ph.

D. candidates) are eligible for funding, as are post-doctoral fellows and individuals working outside of academia. The applicant and/or their research supervisor (in the case of students and post-doctoral fellows) must be a member of the Association of Field Ornithologists (AFO) at the time of application.

To become a member, please visit https://www. zeffy. com/en-US/ticketing/association-of-field-ornithologists-memberships–2025 .

For information on what types of research that Skutch Research Grants can fund, including allowable methodology, please see the AFO Research Guidelines before considering an application. Reporting and Dissemination of Results Awardees are encouraged to present the results of their work at an annual conference of the AFO or a joint meeting in which the AFO is participating (e.g., the Ornithological Congress of the Americas ).

Some additional funding may be available to support grantee travel to the conference. Awardees are also strongly encouraged to consider publishing at least some of their findings in AFO’s Journal of Field Ornithology . Supplemental funding likely will be available to cover some or all publishing costs.

Awardees may wish to consider using some of their funding to purchase mist nets and other supplies used in ornithological research from the AFO. A list of supplies available can be found at Avinet Research Supplies . The call for applications is OPEN.

Deadline is June 15, 2026 . Applications may be submitted in English, Spanish, or Portuguese . Please direct all questions to Cecilia Kopuchian ( ckopuchian@gmail.

com ). Please note , the AFO Grants Programs were restructured in 2024. The mid-year round of the Bergstrom Grants was previously available to researchers based in Latin America.

That funding opportunity has been moved to a this new program, the Skutch Research Grants, which offer the same level of funding.

Maia Daniela Lores , Universidad de Buenos Aires – Vulnerabilidad e impacto en la salud de los flamencos sudamericanos frente a la contaminación por microplásticos en humedales Mariana Lopes Gonçalves , Federal University of Rio Grande – Nesting under threat: pesticide impacts on the breeding success of the globally endangered Marsh Seedeater (Sporophila palustris) Fernando Novoa , Cape Horn International Center for Global Change Studies and Biocultural Conservation (CHIC) and University of Magallanes – Interaction between the wood-decomposing fungal community and an endemic cavity-excavating bird of the temperate forests of South America Elisa de Castro Wille Nonino , Federal University of Paraná (UFPR) , INVISIBLE NETWORKS: Microbiome, sociality, and coloration in Chiroxiphia caudata Luciano Andrés Haro , Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos CESIMAR- CONICET , Foraging strategies through the breeding season in two species of seabirds in Patagonia, Argentina: a study contributing to their conservation Facundo Niklison , Universidad de Buenos Aires , Conservation value of grassland remnants for birds in agricultural landscapes of the Argentinean Pampas Paula Doll , Universidad Nacional del Comahue – INIBIOMA-CONICET , Behavioral and physiological responses of Austral blackbird (Curaeus curaeus) flocks to urbanization Abril Marcolongo , Universidad de Buenos Aires – Conservation biology of South American flamingos Pamela Malmoria , Universidad de Buenos Aires – Drivers of immune function and infection in a Neotropical austral migrant flycatcher: A full annual perspective Tamiris Pereira Lima , Aquasis NGO / Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte – Resource Partitioning and Trophic Niche Differentiation of Migratory Shorebirds in the Semi-Arid Equatorial Coastal Region of South America Angie Pamela Lopez Arce , Universidad ICESI , Nesting strategies in tropical dry forest birds: a natural experiment to forecast the effects of climate change on lowland bird communities Charo López Lorences , Universidad de Buenos Aires , Why does Molothrus rufoaxillaris, a specialist brood parasite, present social monogamy?

Cecilia Cuatianquiz Lima , Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , The use of anthropogenic materials influences on abundance of arthropods and the reproductive success of secondary cavity-nesting birds in a temperate forest in central Mexico