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

Common, or southern, cassowary (Casuarius casuarius).

8 Birds That Can’t Fly

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

15 of the Best Birdsongs (According to Britannica)

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)

Prairie falcon (Falco mexicanus) in mid-flight.

11 Questions About Birds Answered

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

Why Do Flamingos Stand on One Leg?

Discover

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

New Seven Wonders of the World

Statue of Nostradamus

Nostradamus and His Prophecies

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart rehearsing his 12th Mass with singer and musician. (Austrian composer. (Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)

7 Famous Child Prodigies

United States electoral college map showing number of electoral votes by state.

How Does the Electoral College Work?

Lusitania sinking, illustration from The War of the Nations (New York), December 31, 1919. World War I, WWI. This image is one of three on the page. (See source file for the other two.)

7 of the World’s Deadliest Shipwrecks

Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”

Aphrodite. Greek mythology. Sculpture. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty.

12 Greek Gods and Goddesses

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 list of U.S. state 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

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

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

Ultimate Bird Trivia Quiz

Lion (panthera leo)

Deadliest Animals Quiz

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

Dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius). Animals, mammals.

Ultimate Animals 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

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

Biology Bonanza

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

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?

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

Why Do Flamingos Stand on One Leg?