WHAT DOES ORNITHOLOGY STUDY? - BIOLOGY - 2025

The ornithology is the science practiced by those lovers and fond birds. It is encompassed in a larger science, zoology.

Ornithologists study birds in any form and in any habitat, this includes both zoos and natural environments.

Its main classification methods are guided depending on the kinship found in the same birds and the evolution of that bird over the years, internally and externally (body, bones…).

Like all science, ornithology is a series of large and complex studies. Also, study what are the functions within the body of each bird. Also, it seeks to understand all its anatomy and morphology.

Ornithologists are also in charge of understanding and looking for what are those problems that may affect the ecosystem of a certain species of animals and try to solve the problem, avoiding extinctions of more species, in this case of birds.

Likewise, ornithology also needs to understand the habits of different birds, in addition to their song, their instincts and their most common practices, among other things related to the customs of these animals and the differences between each species.

Mainly, in order to carry out studies on birds, their practical characteristics, anatomy, habitats and classify them in general, the ornithologist must take into account that they will do it more easily and quickly if they have binoculars, know the place of study, or in an extreme case, if you have a guide or map.

How did ornithology emerge?

Its birth comes from the most remote years, as it is considered that among human beings of all ages there has been a special interest in knowing birds.

Although perhaps this interest was not formally considered as a science, they always tried to know the behavior of birds, classify them according to sounds and even verify daily uses, both in medicine and in gastronomy.

In fact, the names of the birds used today are due to ways of calling them since ancient times, almost always based on the sounds emitted by which the animal was identified.

There are several books of different famous people of antiquity, such as Aristotle, where the presence of ornithological studies present in Greek society is already recognized.

Poultry farming is considered to be practiced in western regions even before Christ, and that is also part of ornithology.

Main studies and discoveries made by ornithology

Pierre Belon

In 1555 Pierre Belon carried out one of the most important works that still has repercussions today. He was in charge of studying and talking about the characteristics of the most popular fish and birds in France.

He wrote a book called L'Histoire de la nature des oyseaux, which contains every detail of about 200 kinds of animals. In addition, he made a comparison between the human skeleton and that of aerial animals.

William Turner

For its part, the first work on birds carried out in the British community was written by William Turner, who talked about the history of these animals and what are the main birds frequently found in the cities of this country.

He mentions the red kites and gives everyday examples, such as that they always roamed the street and were dedicated to stealing food from children.

On the other hand, he spoke about certain myths existing in that society, such as that fishermen always had the desire to kill eagles because they thought they had killed what they had previously caught.

Francis Willugbhby and John Ray

In the last decades of the 16th century, knowledge about ornithology began to take hold even more and although these studies were carried out by "amateurs", many of these books contributed in a special way to the scientific ornithological knowledge of today.

In this group enter Francis Willugbhby and John Ray, who began to order and classify each aerial animal depending exclusively on the habits and anatomy of each species, creating a break and difference between the way of previous classification.

His books were called Ornithologiae libri tres (written by Willughby) and Synopsis methodica, but it was originally titled Ornithologia (published by Ray)

Mathurin Jacques Brisson and Georges Louis Leclerc

Two other important figures in ornithology studies in the past and who have left great teachings for this branch of zoology have been Mathurin Jacques Brisson and Georges Louis Leclerc.

This was commissioned to write a book entitled Ornithologie in which he dedicated six volumes to specifically talk about different characteristics of the birds best known and observed by him.

He wrote a book called Histoire naturelle générale et particulière and there he included nine exclusive copies for birds.

François Le Vaillant

In the 19th century, the Frenchman François Le Vaillant was sponsored by Coenraad Jacob Temminck to dedicate himself to the collection, study and subsequent publication of all the characteristics of African birds. The result was a six-volume book entitled Histoire naturelle des oiseaux d'Afrique.

Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot

Finally, Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot reserved and spent ten years of his life observing and trying to understand the different North American birds, until he was able to write a book with all their practices and habitats, among other aspects. The work was titled and called Histoire naturelle des oiseaux de l'Amerique septentrionale.

References

1. Block, WM, and Brennan, LA (1993). The habitat concept in ornithology. In Current ornithology (pp. 35-91). Springer US. Recovered from: link.springer.com.
2. Van Tyne, J., and Berger, AJ (1971). Fundamentals of ornithology. Recovered from: agris.fao.org.
3. McKitrick, MC, and Zink, RM (1988). Species concepts in ornithology. Condor, 1-14. Recovered from: jstor.org.
4. Streseman, E., and Stresemann, E. (1975). Ornithology from Aristotle to the Present. Harvard University Press. Recovered from: agris.fao.org.
5. Pettingill, OS (2013). Ornithology in laboratory and field. Recovered from: books.google.es.
6. Wallace, GJ, & Mahan, HD (1975). Introduction to ornithology. Macmillan. Recovered from: agris.fao.org.
7. Walters, M. (2006). A concise history of ornithology. Recovered from: philpapers.org.