ornithology

Table of Contents

Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

Hear how scientists are studying the sleep-related brain activity of animals and migratory birds

Study the effect of climate change on the breeding behavior of Eurasian dipper through a banding technique used by an ornithologist in Ireland

How climate change affects bird migration patterns

Read Next

Flamingos on Lake Nakuru, Kenya, Africa. (flamingo, flock, bird, birds, African birds)

Why Do Flamingos Stand on One Leg?

Black-headed gulls perching on a roof with bird droppings, often seen in flocks around London, England, in winter time. The "black head" develops during the breeding season. (black headed, birds, guano, bird poop)

Hungry Pelican waiting to be fed, beak open, Australia

Why Don’t Birds Have Teeth?

Prairie falcon (Falco mexicanus) in mid-flight.

11 Questions About Birds Answered

Common, or southern, cassowary (Casuarius casuarius).

8 Birds That Can’t Fly

Discover

Young man skeet shooting with airborne shell

6 Unusual Olympic Sports

The Colosseum, Rome, Italy. Giant amphitheatre built in Rome under the Flavian emperors. (ancient architecture; architectural ruins)

New Seven Wonders of the World

Orange basketball on black background and with low key lighting. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

The 10 Greatest Basketball Players of All Time

Shah Jahan. Taj Mahal. Mughal architecture. Emperor Shah Jahan fifth Mughal Emperor (reigned 1628-1658) India, Himachal Pradesh, Basohli or Jammu and Kashmir, Mankot, circa 1690 Drawings; Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on paper (see notes)

6 Important Mughal Emperors

In this aerial photo, structures are damaged and destroyed October 15, 2005 in Balakot, Pakistan. It is estimated that 90% of the city of Balakot was leveled by the earthquake. The death toll in the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck northern Pakistan on October 8, 2005 is believed to be 38,000 with at least 1,300 more dead in Indian Kashmir. SEE CONTENT NOTES.

6 of the World’s Deadliest Natural Disasters

earthquake. Heavily damaged school in the town of Yingxiu after a major earthquake struck China's Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008.

The 6 Deadliest Earthquakes Since 1950

Binary Computer Code, Binary Code, Internet, Technology, Password, Data

How Does Wi-Fi Work?

ornithology: Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Photos and Videos

Hear how scientists are studying the sleep-related brain activity of animals and migratory birds

Study the effect of climate change on the breeding behavior of Eurasian dipper through a banding technique used by an ornithologist in Ireland

How climate change affects bird migration patterns

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

bird bird-watching zoology entomology mammalogy ichthyology herpetology ethology pigeon songbird flightless bird anthrozoology Origins of Birds

Key People

Margaret Morse Nice

American ethologist and ornithologist

Hudson, W.H.

W.H. Hudson

British author, naturalist, and ornithologist

Florence Augusta Merriam Bailey

American ornithologist

Fannie Pearson Hardy Eckstorm

American author

Robert Stroud

Robert Stroud

American criminal and ornithologist

Magellanic penguin, left (Spheniscus magellanicus), and king shag (Phalacrocorax albiventer), watercolour and pencil by Roger Tory Peterson, from his book Penguins (1979); Houghton Mifflin

Roger Tory Peterson

American ornithologist

Baird, Spencer Fullerton

Spencer Fullerton Baird

American naturalist

Alexander Wilson, detail of an engraving by W.H. Lizars

Alexander Wilson

Scottish ornithologist

John Gould

British ornithologist

Newton, Alfred

Alfred Newton

British zoologist

Frank M. Chapman

Frank M. Chapman

American ornithologist

David Lambert Lack

British author and ornithologist

Alexander Wetmore

American ornithologist

Quiz

Horologist Roman Piekarski starts the time consuming task of adjusting the 600 antique clocks at Cuckooland Museum in readiness for this weekends change to British summer time on March 23, 2009 in Knutsford, England.

Ologies Quiz

Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters

Animal Group Names

greylag. Flock of Greylag geese during their winter migration at Bosque del Apache National Refugee, New Mexico. greylag goose (Anser anser)

Biology Bonanza

Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)

Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz

vulture. An adult bearded vulture at a raptor recovery center. The Gypaetus barbatus also known as the Lammergeier or Lammergeyer, is a bird of prey and considered an Old World vulture.

Animal Factoids

turkey vulture. vulture. Close-up of a head and beak of a Turkey vulture (Cathartes aura).

A Little Bird Told Me

pigeon. pigeon and dove. member of the order Columbiformes, family Columbidae

Ultimate Bird Trivia Quiz

Dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius). Animals, mammals.

Ultimate Animals Quiz

Lion (panthera leo)

Deadliest Animals Quiz

List

Prairie falcon (Falco mexicanus) in mid-flight.

11 Questions About Birds Answered

White-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) at Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. (birds)

15 of the Best Birdsongs (According to Britannica)

Common, or southern, cassowary (Casuarius casuarius).

8 Birds That Can’t Fly

Demystified

Flamingos on Lake Nakuru, Kenya, Africa. (flamingo, flock, bird, birds, African birds)

Why Do Flamingos Stand on One Leg?

Black-headed gulls perching on a roof with bird droppings, often seen in flocks around London, England, in winter time. The "black head" develops during the breeding season. (black headed, birds, guano, bird poop)

Do Birds Pee?