Open Directory - Science: Biology: Zoology: Chordates: Ornithology
See also: This category in other languages: - The colossal body size, the relinquishment of flight and the extreme thermal stresses on the ground make the examination of an ostrich’s lungs rewarding. - Searchable database of the regions of a bird’s brain. - Notes on the bird reproductive system and the development of the embryo, with explanatory drawings and photographs. - Notes on clutch size optimization in birds, reproductive success, embryo development, incubation and the hatching process, with links to other similar articles. - Based at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, issues permits to researchers in the United States who place uniquely numbered bands (rings) on birds' legs. Site features the history of banding and reporting of bird band observations. - Article describing how the young of some birds are fed on special secretions from their parents. - Article explaining how air sacs play an important part in the gaseous exchange in birds, with many diagrams. - Images and data about skulls of western Palearctic and Tropical species, with complete skeletons of some species. - Examples of avian intelligence are reviewed for many different bird species, based upon scientific and anecdotal evidence. - Article describing how birds use their syrinx, throat and beak to make a wide range of tones without the sophisticated muscle structure possessed by humans. - Ornithological Council's website with comprehensive data about North American ornithological resources. - A number of fine photographs of the development of a chick inside the egg. - Article describing how some birds adopt the strategy of grouping their young, leaving them with a guardian while both parents go off to forage. - Skeletons are essential for the identification of fossils, bones from archaeological sites and food items taken by predators as well as histological and physiological studies. [PDF] - Provides a series of bird articles covering nesting, song, migration and the curious habit of anting. - Annotated links and ornithological articles by Christopher Majka. - Technical article by researchers at Bristol University who measured the wings of bats and birds and calculated their efficiency in flight. - How do birds fly? An introduction to flight in birds examining wing shape, airflows, flapping flight and gliding. - Most birds create the required temperature by sitting on their eggs but some transfer heat through their webbed feet, and the megapodes of Australia bury them in a mound of decaying vegetation. - Many articles on every aspect of bird life. A comprehensive and useful resource. - Notes and diagrams explaining how birds ventilate their lungs. - OWL is a compilation of citations and abstracts from worldwide publications concerning the science of ornithology. - Includes data on the science of wild birds, with an emphasis on conservation and education. - The young of passerines when first hatched are naked, blind, and helpless and require much care which involves feeding, training and protection from predators. - Most birds are monogamous, but in some species the occurrence of polygyny, where one male mates with more than one female, is related to high-quality territories with an abundance of resources. - Essay discussing the factors behind the variation in the number of individuals in a bird population over time. - The RIS is a free searchable catalog of over 38,000 references about the biology and management of birds of prey. - Article from the Princeton Weekly Bulletin outlining how Biologist Martin Wikelski is helping to settle the long-standing debate over how migratory birds manage to navigate in darkness and bad weather. - Female birds of some species tend to choose as mates those males holding the most desirable territories, but there is little evidence that females preferentially select males with different degrees of ornamentation. - Many birds return to the same nesting site each season. This essay discusses why this should be so. - Provides an essay on beaks, and photographs of birds heads and beaks. - Article describing how birds try to exclude others of the same species from their home range. - Article describing the development of the embryo and how to observe and exhibit it while it is alive and functioning or as a preserved specimen. - Describes the development of the egg of a bird from the release of a mature ovum to the completed egg with shell being laid. - Article that tries to answer the question of how and why birds migrate. - Article discussing how birds have adapted to urban foraging amid the artificial concrete and steel ecosystems of cities. - Article describing how birds learn their songs from adult tutors and may incorporate sounds from other species into their repertoire. - Article describing how the songs of many avian species show geographic variation. - Songs identify the species of the singing bird. The territorial song of males serves the dual purpose of territorial proclamation directed at other males and of mate attraction directed toward females. - Article discussing the varying strategies adopted by birds in finding their way when taking part in their long distance journeys.
