One of the defining features of Terborgh's research is field work in relatively difficult to access tropical regions.[2] Terborgh studied the elevational distributions of tropical birds in New Guinea with college classmate and friend[4]Jared Diamond,[5][6] and in Peru.[7] Terborgh's study of how competition limits bird ranges involved surveying the Cerros del Sira, "a corner of the world so remote that one must travel a full week to obtain even the most trivial supplies".[8] The Acknowledgements of this paper state "[Terborgh]'s life was saved in a grueling ordeal of emergency by the extraordinary exertions of several unnamed Campa Indians and four Peruvian assistants...".
Terborgh and his work were among several featured in the documentary film, The Serengeti Rules, which was released in 2018.[10]
Major scientific contributions
Terborgh's biography for the MacArthur award states
"Terborgh pioneered the field use of experimental analysis techniques in his early work on the altitudinal distribution of neotropical birds and on the role of competition in bird community structure."[11]
This work, along with that of Jared Diamond, highlighted the importance of competition in governing the elevational distributions of tropical birds, in contrast to competing ideas at the time that these distributions were largely governed by bird's climate tolerance.[12][13]
Terborgh's work has also highlighted the importance of predators in keepign herbivores in check, thus allowing plants to thrive (known as the 'Green Earth' hypothesis).[14][15]