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.
Scientists have discovered that a widely recognized Amazonian antbird is not one, but five distinct species—including two completely new to science. This revelation of hidden biodiversity was achieved by integrating artificial ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 4, 2026
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Jackdaw chicks learn about predators by listening to adults, new research shows. Scientists played recordings of predator calls to chicks in their nests—and paired the sounds with either adult jackdaw "alarm" calls or "contact" ...
Evolution
Mar 3, 2026
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30
February 2026 has seen thousands of dead seabirds washing up along the coastlines of the UK, France, Spain and Portugal. There's evidence that these "wrecks" (where large numbers of seabirds are found along beaches) are becoming ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 2, 2026
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Scientists from The Australian National University (ANU) and the Taronga Conservation Society Australia have successfully restored the lost traditional song of one of Australia's most endangered birds, offering new hope for ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 2, 2026
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58
On a hazy day in June 2023, doctoral students Trifosa Simamora and Timothy Boycott noticed that the birds at their field site had gone quiet. Now in a study published in Biological Conservation, they show that the culprit ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 2, 2026
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The discovery of a rare fossil goose in an ancient Central Otago lake shows the evolutionary history of Aotearoa New Zealand birds is much more dynamic than once thought, a University of Otago–Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka researcher ...
Evolution
Mar 2, 2026
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314
Noise pollution is affecting bird behavior across the globe, disrupting everything from courtship songs to the ability to find food and avoid predators, a large-scale new analysis showed on Wednesday.
Plants & Animals
Feb 28, 2026
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Anyone who has seen a hummingbird poking her beak deep into a trumpet creeper blossom, or a honeyeater using its brush-tipped tongue to extract nectar from eucalyptus flowers, has witnessed something that, from a human perspective, ...
Evolution
Feb 26, 2026
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48
Though previous research has shown that bird populations are declining across North America, a new study is the first to show that the pace of loss has picked up speed since the mid-1980s in three regions: the Midwest, California ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 26, 2026
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49
A study published in Ecological and Evolutionary Physiology reveals a surprising link between cellular aging markers and survival in black-legged kittiwakes (members of the gull family). In the work titled "Who's coming home? ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 24, 2026
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