Marky Mutchler

Marky Mutchler, a 24-year-old birder, has spent the last 19 years shaping her ornithological interests into a career. Since being named Young Birder of the Year in 2015, she has spent the last decade using her interests and passions as a force to both build her career and help others discover their own paths. She recently completed her bachelor’s degree at Louisiana State University, where she worked at the LSU Museum of Natural Science. Her current research interests broadly revolve around neotropical ornithology, with a particular interest in the evolutionary relationships of Amazonian and Mexican bird systems.

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She now lives in Chicago, Illinois, where she is starting her PhD at the University of Chicago. Marky is coming to Chicago from Los Angeles, California as an NSF-funded researcher at the Moore Laboratory of Zoology, where she was able to combine her skills as an ornithologist, illustrator, and communicator into collaborative and publishable work. 

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In addition to birding and research, Marky enjoys art, cars, and photography- and regularly shares her work on Instagram (@aplomado1 & @aploart).