Who is an ornithologist? What is its scope? What does ornithology do?

Ornithology is one of the sections of general zoology. He is dedicated to the study of birds, their taxonomy, physiology, reproduction. The geographical distribution and morphology of these animals is also studied.

General information

The term was introduced in the late 16th century by the Italian naturalist W. Aldrovani. Literally "ornithology" from Greek is translated as the doctrine of birds (λόγος - word, doctrine and ὄρνιθος - bird). Thus, it becomes clear what "profession ornithologist" is. One of the main tasks of the researcher is the systematization of species, the number of animals in the habitat, and their classification. Of particular importance are also the protection of rare species. There is also a separate specialization - an ornithologist. This activity involves the treatment of feathered individuals, including those who are at home.

Objects of research

Birds belong to the class of vertebrates oviparous, feathered, warm-blooded animals. Their forelimbs are represented in the form of wings. The special structure of the body allows animals to fly. However, today there are quite a few species of non-flying individuals. A distinctive feature of birds is the presence of the beak. By estimates of ornithologists today there are more than 9800 feathered individuals. About 600 species are distributed throughout Russia. Because of this number of birds are considered the most common group of the superclass of the quadrupeds. Animals inhabit all continents of the Earth, including Antarctica. The smallest bird is a hummingbird (its size is about 5.7 cm). The largest representative of the class is the African ostrich (grows to 270 cm). Ancestor of modern birds is archeopteryx (lived about 150 million years ago) and mannarctic dinosaurs (about 80 million years ago). The groups of birds existing today belong to the infra-class of the fan-tailed. It, in turn, is divided into 2 categories: flightless birds (ratites) and other species (neobneznye).

A Brief Historical Reference

Who is an ornithologist? When was the first time a man began to explore birds? Aristotle laid the foundation for the development of science. It was he who first began to systematize species of animals known at the time. Aristotle lived in the IV. BC. E. He created the works On Parts of Animals and On the Origin of Animals. Working on them, the ancient Greek scientist singled out a separate genus of birds, describing the anatomy and life of their 160 species. This classification of Aristotle was far from perfect, but it did not change until the 17th century. Only in 1676 Francis Villouby (English biologist) created the manuscript "Ornithologiae libri tres", which was published after his death by the scientist John Ray. After almost a century, in 1758, the work of Willoughby found its continuation in the well-known treatise "Systems of Nature" by Karl Linnaeus. The Swedish naturalist distributed the animals according to hierarchical categories and formed a binominal nomenclature with the designation of species. According to its classification, all birds were divided into six orders, including 554 species from the existing 78 genera. This systematization (almost unchanged) is still used today. Linneem also developed the technique of ornithophenology, which was used in the study of migratory birds. All the ground-breaking information about the birds of that time was summarized by the scientist and writer J. Buffon. He published the work in ten volumes "The History of Birds". Since that time, everything related to these birds is being investigated by the ornithologist. What does a scientist do to gather the necessary information? About this - further.

Research Methods

Who is an ornithologist today? First of all, it is an observer. One of the most accessible ways of studying feathered individuals, their habits and life as a whole is observation. It can be done with the naked eye. But, as a rule, special equipment is used. After all, who is an ornithologist? This is a scientific figure, mainly. Researchers use video cameras, cameras, binoculars and so on. It should be noted that observation is not only the prerogative of specialists. Today this is a fairly common hobby. Observation makes it possible to take measures to ensure the protection of rare species. In addition to visual research, birds are also listened to. In many cases, this can give more information than observation.

Ringing

What does an ornithologist do to track the migration of birds? Ringing - the method of ornithological research - is used for more than a hundred years. Caught in the network birds are wearing a special aluminum or plastic (bright color) ring on the foot. Sometimes on the device is a serial number. The ringing method allows you to accurately track the routes of seasonal migration of birds, make up the habitat for each specific locality. In addition, birds can be carriers of various diseases. In this regard, tracking routes using the method of ringing is of particular importance. Using this method, among other things, an approximate number of individuals is counted. Work at the world level is coordinated by the International Ring Committee and its European section (Euring), formed in 1962 by the ornithologist Echecopard in Paris. Essential in the work of Euring is the study of questions on the unification of ways of collecting, processing and storing information.

The practical importance of science

Vital activity of birds, classification, migration, distribution, morphology - in general, everything that the ornithologist studies, has a special economic significance today. Due to increased speeds and increased volume of transport, passenger transportation, the number of aircraft and bird collisions has sharply increased. In the process of developing uninhabited territories, a person became more likely to contact feathered individuals, many of which are carriers of pathogens of dangerous diseases of both farm animals and humans. In addition, hunting grounds began to require regular prediction and control of migration and numbers of birds.

Development of science

Returning to the question of who an ornithologist is, one can say that today it is primarily a specialist whose activity presupposes knowledge not only in the field of biology. At the present stage, the protection and ecology of birds inevitably provides for international cooperation and the unification of researchers from different countries. So, for example, since 1963 meetings are regularly held at which representatives of aviation departments and ornithologists meet. In the development of science both earlier and now international cooperation is of great importance.

Ornithology today

Currently, specialized centers and training institutes are working all over the world. In addition, there are about two hundred journals devoted to the latest advances in ornithology. It should be said at the same time that some of the publications are purely scientific, and some are environmental and popular. By tradition, publications produced in a particular country are called the most popular feathered specimen. So, for example, in England since 1852 "Ibis" is published, in the Federal Republic of Germany since 1857, "Journal fur Ornithologie" is published. In the coordination of the work of scientific figures of great importance are ornithological communities, many of which have been working since the middle of the last century.