Birds of the World Terms of Use

By accessing and using Birds of the World (“BOW”), you (“you” or “User”) agree to be bound by the Birds of the World Terms of Use and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Terms of Use.

Only registered users may use the password-protected content within BOW. Users may not share their login and password information with others to the extent that allows unregistered access to BOW. For questions regarding registration, contact us.

  1. Users may not sublicense or otherwise transfer their rights to use BOW.
  2. Users may not share BOW content via Interlibrary Loan.
  3. Users may use BOW solely for research and educational purposes, as described below:
    1. Users may make a single printed copy of individual species accounts for individual use or private research. In each case, users must include the appropriate citation, found at the footer of each account.
    2. Multiple copies of BOW content may be made for individual classroom use, provided that: no charge is made for such copies, other than a nominal charge to cover the cost of copying; such copies are not made or distributed for commercial purposes; and all copies bear the following notice: “This classroom use of Birds of the World is by permission of Cornell University – Not for Distribution. All Rights Reserved.
  4. Any other use of BOW content requires permission, and the type and content being used may be subject to various copyright and permissions restrictions. See Requesting Maps and Media for instructions on how to seek such permissions.
  5. Users may not systematically download, distribute, or retain substantial portions of information. For questions regarding allowable uses for research, contact us. Examples of “excessive” or “systematic” downloading include:
      1. Rapidly downloading one article after another
      2. Continuously downloading tables of contents, search results, citations, or output
      3. Downloading entire datasets, species accounts, or blocks of media or illustrations.
      4. Downloading the entire content of an e-book or multimedia resource
      5. Using robots, spiders, or other automated programs to download material from BOW (i.e., “scraping”).
  6. Users may link to individual units of content within BOW without prior written approval.
  7. Content and media from BOW may not be used for commercial purposes and may not be recompiled, manipulated, modified, translated, used to prepare derivative works, distributed, or republished in another format (including but not limited to social media sites).
  8. Nothing in these Terms of Use will be construed as granting you any right or license to use any trademarks, service marks or logos displayed on BOW. You agree not to use or register any name, logo or insignia of Birds of the World, Cornell University, or any of its schools or subdivisions for any purpose except with prior written approval from and in accordance with any restrictions required by Cornell University.

Consequences of Misuse of BOW

We reserve the right to immediately suspend access to BOW in the event a User violates these Terms of Use. Users will be notified of the suspension of service and may be required to investigate the situation and cease the violating activity. Once the situation is resolved, service is generally restored.

Please contact BOW Support Desk with any questions regarding appropriate use of BOW.