About Birds of the World

Birds of the World is a powerful ornithological research platform that brings together deep, scholarly content from several celebrated works of ornithology with millions of bird observations from eBird and multimedia from the Macaulay Library into a single platform where biologists and birders can explore comprehensive life history information on birds.

View nine free sample accounts that demonstrate the following features:

  • 11,017 species accounts with details on appearance, taxonomy, habitat, diet, breeding, behavior, and more.
  • 251 bird family accounts
  • Descriptions and photos of hybrids and subspecies
  • BirdLife Range maps, eBird Status & Trends maps, and animated migration maps
  • Scientific illustrations of every species and many subspecies
  • Expertly curated media galleries showing the bird throughout its life cycle (photos, videos, and sound recordings from the Macaulay Library)
  • IUCN Conservation Status
  • Avian taxonomy explorer with regional filters
  • Key to Scientific Names‘ by James A. Jobling, including original description, protonym, and type locality.
  • Full Species List
  • Literature cited
  • Ornithological Notes
  • Science news blog
  • Common bird names available in more than 96 languages and regional variations, including regional versions of English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. Content remains in English.
  • Ongoing updates by leading ornithologists

Birds of the World is available by subscription to anyone in the world – both personal and institutional plans are available. Free scholarships are available. Free access is also provided to many communities in the Global South through our publishing partners.

View the links in the left sidebar for more information.

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