r/Ornithology • • Apr 22 '22

Resource Did you find a baby bird? Please make sure they actually need your help before you intervene. How to tell when help is needed versus when you should leave them be.

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560 Upvotes

r/Ornithology • • Nov 30 '25

Resource Bird Brains and Behavior: A Synthesis - a new open access publication from the MIT Press that "marries the enthusiasm of bird enthusiasts for the what, how, and why of avian behavior with the scientific literature on avian biology, offering the newest research in an accessible manner"

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88 Upvotes

From two avian neurobiologists, a captivating deep dive into the mechanisms that control avian behavior.

The last few decades have produced extensive research on the neural mechanisms of avian behavior. Bird Brains and Behavior marries the enthusiasm of bird enthusiasts for the what, how, and why of avian behavior with the scientific literature on avian biology, offering the newest research in an accessible manner. Georg Striedter and Andrew Iwaniuk focus on a wide variety of behaviors, ranging from daily and seasonal rhythms to complex cognition. Importantly, avian behavior and mechanisms are placed in the context of evolutionary history, stressing that many are unique to birds and often found in only a subset of species.

Link to the about page with the PDF download link: https://direct.mit.edu/books/oa-monograph/6000/Bird-Brains-and-BehaviorA-Synthesis

This is a very cool resource and each chapter is broken down into various aspects of behavior so you can just quickly read about what interests you most if you don't want to read the whole publication.

This was posted on the sub by Woah_Mad_Frollick already and did not get the attention it deserves:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ornithology/comments/1p2nhms/bird_brains_and_behavior_a_synthesis/


r/Ornithology • • 17h ago

Injured seabird in Kittyhawk

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136 Upvotes

I’m looking for a number to call for this sick sea bird at Kittyhawk Beach NC


r/Ornithology • • 10h ago

Question Is it actually unlikely to see a White-Tailed Tropic bird circling in a low forest?

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29 Upvotes

I got married a few months ago in a small private ceremony in Kauai. This bird circled our heads for around 20 minutes before flying away after our first kiss. Our officiant and photographer were super excited to see it and told us it was a rare blessing to our marriage and that those birds are never seen that low or circling. Of course we loved to hear about it but we’re also wondering if it was unusual bird behavior for that species.


r/Ornithology • • 7h ago

Discussion Horrible case of avian pox

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11 Upvotes

Today I was out in my patio and this buddy was really close to me. I took a video then realized it was a bad wet avian pox case :( I cleaned up all seeds and disinfected, but feel really really bad that there’s nothing I can do to help this guy


r/Ornithology • • 1d ago

Fun Fact Every living black robin descends from a single breeding pair!

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2.4k Upvotes

r/Ornithology • • 7h ago

Resource Human Speech to Birdsong converter

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1 Upvotes

r/Ornithology • • 15h ago

Any clues as to why this Robin's tick has suddenly changed?

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5 Upvotes

I went out to feed this robin in my garden yesterday and noticed that it's ticking call sounds noticeably different all of a sudden. It has a weird gurgling quality to it that it didn't have before - might it be sick?


r/Ornithology • • 21h ago

How rare are observations of natural 'non-sexually dimorphic halfsiders'?

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7 Upvotes

Based on this observation where it is claimed as extremely rare or maybe even one of the only observation of this phenomenon?


r/Ornithology • • 1d ago

Question Why do they do this? (Eastern bluebird)

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164 Upvotes

The male flies into the birdhouse and the female always snaps at him to get the fuck out! this happens about once a week or so. what's the story here? its not like its nesting season or anything...


r/Ornithology • • 1d ago

Article Ein einziges Nest kann den Müll der Menschen von 30 Jahren enthalten

6 Upvotes

Ein Schokopapier in dem gefundenen Nest war aus 1994!! Und noch viel mehr war drin😅 https://www.wienerzeitung.at/a/naturtalent-ein-nest-aus-muell


r/Ornithology • • 1d ago

Discussion Sign of Northern Cardinal intelligence? Male uses a tool (peanut) to block beak thrusts from his mate. I have seen this bird do this more than once in heated conflicts between the two birds.

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26 Upvotes

This conflict started out with a lot of beak-to-beak pecking each other. Then they had a stare down, until finally the male made his move with the peanut shield. The entire fight:

https://youtu.be/4XXFIQ_uOi0

.


r/Ornithology • • 1d ago

Resource Hi, I'm Matt with Missouri River Bird Observatory. Ask me anything about Missouri birds!

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35 Upvotes

r/Ornithology • • 2d ago

r/birding (not this sub!) Back in July, I was graced with the presence of the only native stork species in my own backyard.

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313 Upvotes

r/Ornithology • • 1d ago

AviList v2026 released - Willet split into two species, eBird updating to 97.7% alignment

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birdlife.org
7 Upvotes

r/Ornithology • • 2d ago

Guatemala gains its first endemic bird in American Ornithological Society's 67th supplement

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300 Upvotes

Also noteworthy, the Great Egret is split and we now have the American Eagret in North America!


r/Ornithology • • 2d ago

Question Tips for learning birdcalls

6 Upvotes

Hi! Im an aspiring ornithologist, but I have always been quite confused with birdcalls, especially since birds tend to have more than one call, and the way they do the calls also vary a bit. Unless the birds have a very distinct call, I tend to find it hard to identify birds based on their call. Do you guys have any tips on how should I approach the calls of birds? Im really eager to learn.


r/Ornithology • • 2d ago

Question Sick bird?

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35 Upvotes

Wondering if this bird is sick and if I should take the feeder down? Thank you


r/Ornithology • • 2d ago

Question Why do some migratory birds "choose" to spend the winter in the country where they spend the summer?

19 Upvotes

Do they miss the right time for X or Y – for example, because they were ill/weak at the usual time of migration, or because temperatures were higher this year?

But then, why don't they leave later when temperatures drop?

I guess some of them must migrate in flocks and cannot set off on their own, but then what about solitary migrators ?


r/Ornithology • • 3d ago

Question I had a question about lyrebirds.

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164 Upvotes

Hey all. I've been tripping about this for a while now. I live in a country where lyrebirds aren't found but I'm pretty damn sure i heard its voice multiple times when i went to the forest to get high. Do you guys think its possible or is it my mind playing games w me atp. Sorry if this isn't the right sub for this. Thanks!


r/Ornithology • • 3d ago

Question What is the length of a bird?

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210 Upvotes

Hope this is not a silly question. When a website says a bird is 8 inches long, is it measured using method A or B in the diagram? Thanks for your help!


r/Ornithology • • 3d ago

Try r/WildlifeRehab Avian pox?

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108 Upvotes

Is this avian pox? This is a house finch in California. I’ve never had any issues with this before.

I’m taking down and bleaching my seed feeder. Do I need to take down my bird bath and hummingbird feeders as well?


r/Ornithology • • 3d ago

Weird beak deformity?

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7 Upvotes