About Birds of the World

Birds of the World is a fully collaborative ornithological 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. Now available in English and Spanish!

View nine free sample accounts that demonstrate the following features:

11,145 species accounts with details on appearance, taxonomy, habitat, diet, breeding, behavior, and more.
254 bird family accounts
Annual taxonomy updates
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
Search common bird names using your own language (more than 96 languages and regional variations available)
Body of text available in English and Spanish (other languages to come)
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 content partners.

View the links in the left sidebar for more information.