Richard Laurence Zusi (January 27, 1930 – January 15, 2024) was an American ornithologist, known as a world-class expert on hummingbird anatomy[1] and the functional anatomy of birds, in particular "avian jaw mechanics and the evolution of structural complexes.
In 1963 he was hired by Philip Strong Humphrey (1926–2009) for the Division of Birds of the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.[2] Zusi was chiefly responsible for the modernization[1] of the Smithsonian Institution's avian skeleton collection (over 30,000 specimens) and avian fluid-preserved collection (over 10,000 specimens).
[2]His research interests are the functional anatomy of birds with emphasis on feeding mechanisms, and avian systematics and evolution.
[4]Zusi collected avian specimens not only in the United States and Canada, but also in South America (Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela), the Caribbean (Dominica), and Iceland.
He was the principal curator of the Roger Tory Peterson Exhibition,[2] which was displayed from April to September in 1984.