Birds

Exhibitions

Hall of Birds

A rare opportunity to get up close with over 600 species of bird.

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Stories

Auk-Ward

One story goes that, in just half an hour, hundreds of auks were herded onto a single ship

Explore the Wild Outside

When yards and gardens become more wildlife friendly, the experience can be magical

A color wheel of bird skins from the collection.

The How and Why of Colorful Feathers

Equal parts ornithologist and evolutionary biologist, Assistant Ornithology Curator Dr. Allison Shultz has been investigating two questions throughout her research career: how are birds colorful, and why are birds colorful.

A Bird of A Feather

A special bird flies home to NHM

Be a SuperProject Hero

In Los Angeles, you can find nature in some unexpected places. NHM's SuperProject keeps track with help from the community.

Bird Crashes into Museum Building and Dies for Science

Making the scientific best of an unfortunate situation.

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Ornithology

Ornithology, the study of birds, is one of the founding disciplines of the Natural History Museum. At the core of the program is a research collection of 121,000 bird specimens, representing over 5,400 species. Our collections are particularly strong for North America, Africa, South America, and the Pacific Ocean.