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.
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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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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When we hear certain sounds, our brains often pair them with specific shapes. For example, most people will associate a sharp-sounding word with a jagged, pointed shape, while a soft, rolling word is linked to something smooth ...
Every year, billions of birds undertake extraordinary migrations, crossing vast deserts and open seas with no place to stop, feed, or rest. A new international study published in iScience by a consortium of researchers from ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 20, 2026
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Up to 30% of bird diversity hotspots, places where large numbers of different bird species occur, in the western United States face threats from high-severity wildfires in the future that could eliminate critical forest habitats, ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 18, 2026
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Birds currently inhabiting many territories across Africa, Latin America and Asia are, on average, considerably smaller than those that predominated in 1940. This is the conclusion of an international study led by the Institute ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 18, 2026
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Fairy wrens are everywhere. Go anywhere in Australia and there will be at least one local fairy wren. They're not endangered. In fact, it would be hard to imagine an animal less endangered than fairy wrens. So what do we ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 17, 2026
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Look at the armpits—or, technically, the "wingpits. That's what Scott Mehus, education director at the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, Minn., told a group of bird watchers recently as they prepared to scan the winter skies ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 17, 2026
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An injured seabird sought help by pecking at the door of an emergency room at a hospital in Germany until medical staff noticed it and called firefighters to help with its rescue.
Ecology
Feb 16, 2026
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Minutes after getting to a park in the middle of Phoenix, you can see flashes of green in the sky and hear chatter because love is in the air—or at least, the lovebirds are.
Plants & Animals
Feb 14, 2026
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