Ornithology is the branch of biological sciences devoted to the systematic study of birds, encompassing their taxonomy, morphology, physiology, behavior, ecology, and evolution. It integrates field-based observational methods (e.g., banding, telemetry, acoustic monitoring) with laboratory approaches such as molecular genetics, stable isotope analysis, and comparative physiology to investigate avian systematics, migration, life histories, and population dynamics. Ornithological research contributes to broader disciplines including evolutionary biology, biogeography, neuroethology, and conservation biology, where birds serve as model organisms for testing ecological and evolutionary theory, assessing environmental change, and informing evidence-based management of species and habitats.
Despite burning hundreds of miles away, Canadian wildfires have become a familiar source of disruption in New York state.
Plants & Animals
Jul 17, 2026
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A sweeping new Cal Poly study of North American birds reveals that environmental change does not affect all species equally and that a bird's traits can explain whether populations rise or fall as local conditions change.
Plants & Animals
Jul 15, 2026
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Who hasn't dreamed of flying like a bird? But do birds actually enjoy flying as much as we imagine? A new study by researchers at Utrecht University shows that galahs, Australian cockatoos, almost always choose to fly when ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 14, 2026
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At Archbold Biological Station, decades of field observations are helping scientists better understand one of nature's oldest relationship strategies: long-term monogamy.
Ecology
Jul 14, 2026
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Tree swallows in the northern U.S. and Canada face the greatest risk from climate change despite responding to temperature the same way as tree swallows in the southern U.S., according to a new study led by Cornell researchers ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 12, 2026
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Birds are known for their distinctive plumage that helps them attract mates during the breeding season. For some birds, the path to adulthood is quite linear. One day they are chicks, and a few months later they are fully ...
American woodcock, short, plump shorebirds with long, thin beaks, are widely known for their bobbing stride and nasally "peent" calls, but not for being aggressive. Yet one April afternoon, when a deer sniffed around a woodcock ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 1, 2026
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81
Natural historians have many observational techniques in their toolkit for learning about the natural world: tagging animals with tracking devices, recording sounds, analyzing droppings or simply watching and counting. As ...
Trauma from vehicle collisions caused the majority of documented deaths for the Pueo (Hawaiian short-eared owl), according to a statewide study led by researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. The findings represent ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 29, 2026
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5
Red-tailed hawks can compensate for feather loss during molt by subtly changing their wing and tail movements, according to a new study by University of California, Davis, researchers in the College of Engineering and the ...
Ecology
Jun 29, 2026
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