Web Directory

» A Qualitative and Quantitative Study of the Lung of an Ostrich
   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.
   http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/full/204/13/2313

» ABCD: Avian Brain Circuitry Database
   Searchable database of the regions of a bird’s brain.
   http://www.behav.org/abcd/abcd.php?proc=ares

» Avian Reproduction: Anatomy and the Bird Egg
   Notes on the bird reproductive system and the development of the embryo, with explanatory drawings and photographs.
   http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/avianreproduction.html

» Avian Reproduction: Clutch Size, Incubation and Hatching
   Notes on clutch size optimization in birds, reproductive success, embryo development, incubation and the hatching process, with links to other similar articles.
   http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/avianreproduction2.html

» Bird Banding Laboratory
   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.
   http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/

» Bird Milk
   Article describing how the young of some birds are fed on special secretions from their parents.
   http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Bird_Milk.html

» Bird Respiratory System
   Article explaining how air sacs play an important part in the gaseous exchange in birds, with many diagrams.
   http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/RITCHISO/birdrespiration.html

» Bird Skull Collection
   Images and data about skulls of western Palearctic and Tropical species, with complete skeletons of some species.
   http://www.skullsite.co.uk/

» BirdMinds: Exploring Bird Intelligence
   Examples of avian intelligence are reviewed for many different bird species, based upon scientific and anecdotal evidence.
   http://www.birdminds.com

» Birdcall synthesis
   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.
   http://www.obiwannabe.co.uk/tutorials/html/tutorial_birds.html

» Birdnet
   Ornithological Council's website with comprehensive data about North American ornithological resources.
   http://www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET/

» Chicken Embryo
   A number of fine photographs of the development of a chick inside the egg.
   http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artnov04macro/mlchicken.html

» Creches
   Article describing how some birds adopt the strategy of grouping their young, leaving them with a guardian while both parents go off to forage.
   http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Creches.html

» Development and Uses of Avian Skeleton Collections
   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.
   http://www.boc-online.org/PDF/vol124/Storrs%20Olson.pdf

» EcoBirds Behaviour
   Provides a series of bird articles covering nesting, song, migration and the curious habit of anting.
   http://birds.ecoport.org/Behaviour/EBbehaviour.htm

» Electronic Resources on Ornithology
   Annotated links and ornithological articles by Christopher Majka.
   http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/bird.html

» Feather Quest
   Interactive quiz. Can you identify the birds from which these feathers come?
   http://www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET/FeatherQuest/FeatherQuest.html

» Feathers
   Illustrated article describing how feathers may have evolved and how they develop from a cylindrical feather follicles.
   http://www.nurseminerva.co.uk/adapt/feathers.htm

» Flapping Flight: Inertial Studies
   Technical article by researchers at Bristol University who measured the wings of bats and birds and calculated their efficiency in flight.
   http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/reprint/198/8/1655

» Flight in Birds
   How do birds fly? An introduction to flight in birds examining wing shape, airflows, flapping flight and gliding.
   http://www.earthlife.net/birds/flight.html

» Incubation: Heating the Egg
   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.
   http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Incubation.html

» List of Essays
   Many articles on every aspect of bird life. A comprehensive and useful resource.
   http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/SUFRAME.html

» Mechanics of Respiration in Birds
   Notes and diagrams explaining how birds ventilate their lungs.
   http://education.vetmed.vt.edu/Curriculum/VM8054/Labs/Lab26/Notes/birdresp.htm

» Ornithological Worldwide Literature
   OWL is a compilation of citations and abstracts from worldwide publications concerning the science of ornithology.
   http://www.birdlit.org/OWL/

» Ornithology: Science of Birds
   Includes data on the science of wild birds, with an emphasis on conservation and education.
   http://www.ornithology.com/

» Parental Care
   The young of passerines when first hatched are naked, blind, and helpless and require much care which involves feeding, training and protection from predators.
   http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Parental_Care.html

» Polygyny
   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.
   http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Polygyny.html

» Population Dynamics
   Essay discussing the factors behind the variation in the number of individuals in a bird population over time.
   http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Population_Dynamics.html

» Power Napping in Pigeons
   Max Planck scientists find evidence that pigeons prevented from taking naps in the afternoon sleep more intensely at night.
   http://www.orn.mpg.de/aktuelles/presse/tauben_en.pdf

» Raptor Information System
   The RIS is a free searchable catalog of over 38,000 references about the biology and management of birds of prey.
   http://ris.wr.usgs.gov/

» Sense of Direction
   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.
   http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pwb/04/0503/1b.shtml

» Sexual Selection
   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.
   http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Sexual_Selection.html

» Site Tenacity
   Many birds return to the same nesting site each season. This essay discusses why this should be so.
   http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Site_Tenacity.html

» Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center
   Ecological and land-management research, education, conservation policy, data on migration and fact sheets.
   http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/MigratoryBirds/

» Teachers' Domain: Bird Beak Gallery
   Provides an essay on beaks, and photographs of birds heads and beaks.
   http://www.teachersdomain.org/resources/tdc02/sci/life/stru/beakgallery/index.html

» Territoriality
   Article describing how birds try to exclude others of the same species from their home range.
   http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Territoriality.html

» The Atlas of Bird Migration
   Comprehensive article on the great challenge faced by long distance migrants which have to find their way to winter quarters and return to their breeding grounds in the spring.
   http://www.brownreference.com/php/PDFS/AN_Title_Information/457---Sample_Spreads.pdf

» The Avian Embryo
   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.
   http://www.poultryhelp.com/avianembryo.html

» The Making of an Egg
   Describes the development of the egg of a bird from the release of a mature ovum to the completed egg with shell being laid.
   http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0021.html

» The Mystery of Migration
   Article that tries to answer the question of how and why birds migrate.
   http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/migration.htm

» The Normal Moulting Process in Birds
   Talk given by Avian Vet A. K. Jones to a conference of the Association of Avian Veterinarians in August 1998.
   http://www.parrotpassionsuk.com/Advice/Moulting.htm

» Urban Birds
   Article discussing how birds have adapted to urban foraging amid the artificial concrete and steel ecosystems of cities.
   http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Urban_Birds.html

» Vocal Copying
   Article describing how birds learn their songs from adult tutors and may incorporate sounds from other species into their repertoire.
   http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Vocal_Copying.html

» Vocal Dialects
   Article describing how the songs of many avian species show geographic variation.
   http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Vocal_Dialects.html

» Vocal Functions
   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.
   http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Vocal_Functions.html

» When and How do Birds Migrate
   Article discussing the varying strategies adopted by birds in finding their way when taking part in their long distance journeys.
   http://www.earthlife.net/birds/migration2.html