ornithology

American  

[awr-nuh-thol-uh-jee] / ˌɔr nəˈθɒl ə dʒi /

noun

1. the branch of zoology that deals with birds.

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ornithology British  

/ ˌɔːnɪθəˈlɒdʒɪkəl, ˌɔːnɪˈθɒlədʒɪ /

noun

1. the study of birds, including their physiology, classification, ecology, and behaviour

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ornithology Scientific  

/ ôr′nə-thŏl′ə-jē /

1. The scientific study of birds.

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Other Word Forms

• ornithologic adjective
• ornithological adjective
• ornithologically adverb
• ornithologist noun
• unornithological adjective

Etymology

Origin of ornithology

From the New Latin word ornithologia, dating back to 1645–55. See ornitho-, -logy

Example Sentences

The ornithology curator at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County placed handfuls of feathers between two small screens and clipped them together with zip ties.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 7, 2025

"Most hummingbirds drink while they're hovering mid-flight," said Rico-Guevara, who is also curator of ornithology at the UW's Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.

From Science Daily • Dec. 5, 2024

Found materials, including street signage rulers, ornithology illustrations and children’s drawings, festoon the canvas, mingling with hurried chalk annotations and prays of gestural brushwork resembling graffiti.

From New York Times • Mar. 28, 2024

That’s because the company’s giant color compendiums originate at least in part from ornithology and natural history.

From National Geographic • Dec. 7, 2023

I imagine it’s someone I haven’t met yet, someone I somehow missed while I was hiding out in the ornithology stacks and they were tearing through poetry and memorizing lines.

From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon