Ornithology is the study of the biology of birds. Topics include how we identify birds and understand their evolutionary history, what special physical and behavioral adaptations birds have, how birds live and reproduce, and how birds respond to changes in their environment. Within these web pages, you can learn more about the Burke Ornithology Division, its bird collections, and its activities.

The ornithological collections at the Burke Museum are relatively modern, with more than 85% of the collection built in the past 20 years. We maintain a comprehensive collection of birds from the Pacific Northwest, North America, and many other parts of the world. These bird specimens are used for teaching, research, and art. We are particularly known for our special collections such as spread wings (the largest such collection in the world) and bird tissues (probably the world's second largest collection).

The Burke Museum's Ornithology Division contributes to the world's knowledge of birds by building and maintaining exceptionally well-curated collections of bird specimens for use in teaching, research, and art. We are committed to providing hands-on training for students in the natural sciences through specialized classes, collection-based research opportunities, and participation in local and international expeditions. We provide access to information from our bird collections to the wider community via on-site visits, bird specimen loans, exhibits, educational outreach, and a Web-searchable database.

Collections What do we have, how do we take care of it, and what can it teach us? People The ornithology staff, students, and volunteers. The associated academic department is UW's Biology Department.

Research Exciting discoveries based on the Burke bird collections. Programs Bird study collections for schools, and more. NEW: Washington birds breeding phenology project.

Many small passerines (perching birds) that breed in North America migrate to the Neotropics for the winter. While most eastern breeders molt (replace their worn feathers with new ones) before heading south, many western birds do not. Presumably because western habitats tend to become so hot, dry, and inhospitable during the late summer, these birds head to areas where food is more abundant before growing their metabolically expensive new feathers. Burke researchers have found that Arizona, New Mexico, and northern Mexico—areas inundated by the Mexican Monsoon in late summer—provide an important place for certain bird species to stop and molt before proceeding to their wintering areas further south. Burke Ornithology staff and students are conducting a series of late-summer expeditions to assess which bird species are taking advantage of these wetter, food-rich areas, and whether any of the habitats they use while molting are sufficiently degraded by recent human activity to raise conservation concerns. (Photo by Rob Faucett.)