Data Usage Policy

Terms of Use for Birds of the World Content and Data Licensing

Thank you for your interest in Birds of the World (BOW) media and data products. This policy refers to data and textual content only.

BOW and its predecessor publications have established themselves as fundamental resources supporting ornithology and biodiversity research across many disciplines. As modern research methods evolve, BOW’s comprehensive life history data continues to serve emerging analytical approaches.

The BOW platform represents a collaborative achievement, synthesizing contributions from thousands of worldwide experts. Proper citation of this work is essential not only to acknowledge these contributors but also to demonstrate the resource’s scientific impact to potential funders.

Additionally, the BOW enterprise requires significant investment in platform development and maintenance; editorial workflow management; quality control processes; content curation and updates; worldwide customer and research support.

To ensure BOW’s sustainability and continued improvement, we aim to:

Understand how our data products are being used
Receive appropriate acknowledgment for our and our contributors’ efforts
Track the scientific impact of the platform
Manage the intellectual property rights of co-owned assets used in BOW

Please review the following Terms of Use carefully. Submit your data request on the Lab’s licensing form. For research projects substantially leveraging BOW data, we welcome collaboration opportunities – please contact us at birdsoftheworld@cornell.edu to discuss potential partnerships.

OVERVIEW

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology (“Cornell Lab”) manages electronic copyright for all “CONTENT” found within Birds of the World (birdsoftheworld.org). This policy governs the use of “TEXT and DATA CONTENT” as defined below. All data requests require advance permission with processing times of several weeks.

Species accounts published through BOW are citable electronic data publications and, as such, should be treated as professional research outputs with appropriate citation.
The DOI of the individual species accounts must be retained with every data record shared onward for reuse.
It is sometimes possible to source larger datasets from BOW, with advance permission, under terms and conditions defined below.
Data sourced from BOW should cite the publishing platform as defined below, unless otherwise determined by BOW research support team.
Human-powered data mining from BOW species accounts is allowed without permission, but systematic downloading or data scraping is not.
Understanding how BOW data are shaping and advancing ornithological studies is paramount to long-term support of this project. As such, the Cornell Lab would appreciate the opportunity to learn about your research and may wish to discuss the inclusion of derivative datasets or data products into the platform. Please contact the BOW research support team.

DEFINITIONS

2.1 CONTENT

“CONTENT” refers to all textual content, media, and maps found within Birds of the World.

2.2. ” TEXT and DATA CONTENT”

” TEXT and DATA CONTENT” includes major sections or snippets of data or textual ecology content within species accounts (https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/). Textual content excludes:

Maps, images, scientific illustrations, eBird data
Key to Scientific Terms
Underlying taxonomies
Website front matter, blogs/news/webinars
Figures, figure legends, media captions
References, historical revisions
” TEXT and DATA CONTENT” is frequently updated; any extraction represents a static version relative to a specific date. Reference the Month and Year of the data in all future citations.

2.3 “Commercial Use”

“COMMERCIAL USE” is defined as any use intended for or directed towards commercial advantage or monetary compensation, including but not limited to:

Sale, lease, or license of data products
Integration into revenue-generating products or services
Use by commercial entities for business purposes
Creation of products that compete with Birds of the World
Monetization through advertising or subscriptions

2.4 DERIVATIVE WORKS

“DERIVATIVE WORKS” are new datasets, products, or materials that incorporate, transform, or are based on Birds of the World TEXTUAL CONTENT, including:

Extracted or reformatted data collections
Analyses based on the TEXTUAL CONTENT
New databases incorporating TEXTUAL CONTENT
Products that synthesize or repackage TEXTUAL CONTENT
Translations or adaptations of TEXTUAL CONTENT

2.5 RESEARCH USE

“RESEARCH USE” refers to non-commercial scientific investigation that:

Advances scientific knowledge or understanding
Is conducted by qualified researchers or institutions
Results in peer-reviewed publications or academic outputs
Has clearly defined research objectives
Does not result in commercial products or services

LICENSE TERMS

3.1 Basic Terms

One-time use authorization
Rights are non-transferrable
Use limited to non-commercial research and education
Time-limited exclusive use periods

3.2 Attribution Requirements

If the work refers to the whole Birds of the World site: “Data sourced from Birds of the World (2025). Edited by S. M. Billerman, B. K. Keeney, G. M. Kirwan, F. Medrano, N. D. Sly, and M. G. Smith. Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/home” unless otherwise specified by the Cornell Lab.
Specify authors and DOI numbers of individual species accounts (e.g., https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.turvul.02) where possible; instruct successive users to do the same.
Funding acknowledgments as customary and required
If data from Birds of the World (illustrations, maps, traits database) results in a derivative database, please contact birdsoftheworld.org to obtain the appropriate citation and to discuss collaboration.

3.3 Prohibited Activities

Adding any raw BOW data as a supplemental dataset during publication.
Using the data to develop any commercial products or services
Creating derivative databases or products that compete with Birds of the World
Reconstructing substantial portions of the original Birds of the World database
Aggregating this data with other sources to create competing reference works
Systematic downloading/scraping without explicit permission
Redistributing the data in its original or modified form
Public-facing databases
Comprehensive species accounts
Long-term data storage

DATA USE CATEGORIES

4.1 Research Use

Limited to biodiversity research domain
Permission Process:
Submit project proposal with:
- Research objectives
- Derivative data products
- End-user applications
Publishing and distribution expectations
Use limited to approved research and education purposes
Secondary uses require new proposal
Processing can take several weeks.

4.2 Academic Publications

Pre-publication review required
Provide copies of published works
Processing fees may apply

4.3. Educational Use

Permitted:

Temporary online content
Non-permanent displays
Online teaching materials

Prohibited:

Commercial applications or products
Permanent installations
Creating online or print publications that compete with Birds of the World
Reconstructing substantial portions for any use e.g., comprehensive species accounts
Aggregating data for competing references
Systematic downloading/scraping
Unauthorized redistribution
Public-facing databases
Long-term data storage

DATA ACCESS AND INTEGRITY

5.1 Access Control

Limited to authorized team members
Maintain approved users list
License agreements required
No sharing with unauthorized third parties

5.2 Security Requirements

Password-protected storage on private server
Encryption during storage and transmission
No modification of original dataset
Security breach reporting protocol

5.3 Project Completion

Secure deletion required
Written confirmation of deletion
Retain no copies after project completion.

5.4 Compliance

Follow relevant privacy laws
Adhere to institutional research ethics guidelines
Document compliance measures
Subject to Cornell University audit

DERIVATIVE WORKS

Cornell Lab of Ornithology reserves the right to review any derivative works prior to publication and to withdraw permission for data use if these terms are violated.

6.1 Requirements

Be substantively different in purpose and structure from Birds of the World
Must not diminish unique brand and value proposition of Birds of the World
Be used for non-commercial research purposes only
Be reviewed by BOW research support team before publication
Cornell Lab reserves right to request inclusion of mission-aligned data products in BOW platform
Meet all attribution requirements

CORNELL LAB OF ORNITHOLOGY DISCLAIMER

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology makes no warranties or representations, express or implied, with regard to the correctness, reliability, or accuracy of any BOW media or data products, or otherwise. All BOW media or data products are provided “as-is.” Neither the Cornell Lab of Ornithology nor its affiliated or related entities or its content providers shall be responsible or liable to any person, firm, or corporation for any loss, damage, injury, claim, or liability of any kind or character based on or resulting from any use of any BOW media or data product.

8 INDEMNIFICATION AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Cornell University, its trustees, officers, employees, and agents, from and against all losses, expenses, damages, and costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, resulting from your violation of these Terms. You expressly understand and agree Cornell University shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, punitive or exemplary damages, including but not limited to, damages for loss of profits, goodwill, use, data or other intangible losses (even if Cornell has been advised of the possibility of such damages), resulting from your use of any Birds of the World Data Products.

ERRORS AND OMISSIONS

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology endeavors to maintain accurate and up-to-date data at all times. However, if errors or omissions are identified, the user should notify the Cornell Lab of Ornithology so that they may be corrected in future releases of the data. Users can contact the Cornell Lab of Ornithology using the details below. Please mark all correspondence: “BOW—Data Request”.]