Ornithology (from Greek ὄρνις ornithos “bird” and λόγος logos “knowledge”) is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of bird life are studied within ornithology, including their anatomy, physiology, ecology, behavior, and distribution. The word “ornithology” derives from the ancient Greek word ornitheion meaning “of or pertaining to birds”.
Early history
The early history of ornithology largely reflects the interests of wealthy European and American amateur collectors in the 19th century. In 1859 French naturalist Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species which proposed that all species descended from a common ancestor through a process of natural selection. This work provided considerable support for Alfred Russel Wallace’s theory of evolution by natural selection which he had developed independently. These two theories together changed scientific perceptions about the place of humans in nature and started a new era in biology which continues today.
As Darwin’s ideas became more widely accepted, interest in birds as objects worthy of serious scientific study increased. One important early figure was German doctor Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller who described over 140 new bird species from South America between 1776 and 1786. His work was continued by others such as Johann Georg Wagler who described many new species from Germany, Italy, and Brazil; André Marie Constant Duméril who did likewise for France; Johann Baptist von Spix whose work on Brazilian birds was particularly important; Marcgrave’s Natural History of Brazil contained many descriptions of Brazilian birds; John Gould who worked extensively on Australian birds; and Temminck who completed Müller’s Neotropical Bird Catalogue with his Manuel d’ornithologie published between 1820–1839.
During this period there were several important expeditions undertaken with the goal of adding to collections held in European museums – these included Alexander von Humboldt & Aimé Bonpland’s expedition to Colombia & Ecuador (1799-1800), William Macleay’s expedition to Patagonia (1826), Dmitry Miliutin’s expedition to Kamchatka (1837-38) led by Captain Vasily Golovnin, James Clark Ross’ Antarctic expedition (1839-43), Paul du Chaillu’s gorilla Expedition to Gabon (1856-58), Narcisse Thienon & Jean Dressen’s expedition to Senegal (1862-63), François de Lattre de Tassigny & Hippolyte Gautier Hennetexpeditionto New Caledonia( 1863). However it must be noted that during this time most professional scientists still regarded interest in animals as incompatible with serious intellectual pursuits – something only appropriate for amateurs or children. This began to change towards the end of the 19th century as research into animal behavior increasingly showed that even apparently simple creatures like insects could exhibit complex behaviors worthy or detailed scientific study using rigorous methods