The Tennessee Ornithological Society (TOS) is an independent non-profit educational, scientific, and conservation organization in Tennessee, United States, dedicated to the study and conservation of birds. It was formed in 1915 and has published a quarterly journal, The Migrant, since 1930. [1] The organization conducts statewide meetings and its local chapters have regular meetings and field trips.
The TOS was started by a group of six amateur ornithologists who met at Faucon's French Restaurant in Nashville on October 7, 1915. A historical marker at the site commemorates the organization's founding. [2]
Annual activities of the organization include annual autumn hawk counts, spring and fall bird counts, winter raptor surveys, and annual Christmas bird counts.
The quarterly journal of the Tennessee Ornithological Society, The Migrant, is a repository for sighting reports and articles related to monitoring the status of Tennessee's bird populations. [1] The organization also published the Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Tennessee by Charles P. Nicholson ( ISBN 0870499874), a compendium on the birds of the state, based on research conducted by TOS members from 1986 through 1991. The atlas includes the first fully documented account of distribution patterns for 170 bird species confirmed as breeding in Tennessee, as well as for several unconfirmed or extirpated bird species. [3]
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds. It has also been an area with a large contribution made by amateurs in terms of time, resources, and financial support. Studies on birds have helped develop key concepts in biology including evolution, behaviour and ecology such as the definition of species, the process of speciation, instinct, learning, ecological niches, guilds, island biogeography, phylogeography, and conservation.
Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by humans, and is driven primarily by availability of food. It occurs mainly in the northern hemisphere, where birds are funneled on to specific routes by natural barriers such as the Mediterranean Sea or the Caribbean Sea.
The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is an organisation founded in 1932 for the study of birds in the British Isles. The Duke of Cambridge has been patron since October 2020.
The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its members are primarily professional ornithologists, although membership is open to anyone with an interest in birds. The society publishes the two scholarly journals, The Auk and The Condor as well as the AOS Checklist of North American Birds.
The American Birding Association (ABA) is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1969, dedicated to recreational birding in Canada and the United States. It has been called "the standard-bearer for serious birding in North America." Originally concentrated on finding, listing, and identifying rare birds, the ABA now seeks to serve all birders with a wide range of services and publications.
Henslow's sparrow is a passerine bird in the family Passerellidae. It was named by John James Audubon in honor of John Stevens Henslow. It was originally classified in the genus Emberiza and called Henslow's bunting.
A breeding bird survey monitors the status and trends of bird populations. Data from the survey are an important source for the range maps found in field guides. The North American Breeding Bird Survey is a joint project of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the Canadian Wildlife Service. The UK Breeding Bird Survey is administered by the British Trust for Ornithology, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
The Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU), now part of BirdLife Australia, was Australia's largest non-government, non-profit, bird conservation organisation. It was founded in 1901 to promote the study and conservation of the native bird species of Australia and adjacent regions, making it Australia's oldest national birding association. In 1996, the organisation adopted the trading name of Birds Australia for most public purposes, while retaining its original name for legal purposes and as the publisher of its journal, the Emu. In 2012, the RAOU merged with Bird Observation & Conservation Australia to form BirdLife Australia.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a member-supported unit of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, which studies birds and other wildlife. It is housed in the Imogene Powers Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity in Sapsucker Woods Sanctuary. Approximately 250 scientists, professors, staff, and students work in a variety of programs devoted to the Lab's mission: interpreting and conserving the Earth's biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds. Work at the Lab is supported primarily by its 75,000 members. The Cornell Lab publishes books under the Cornell Lab Publishing Group, a quarterly publication, Living Bird magazine, and a monthly electronic newsletter. It manages numerous citizen science projects and websites, including the Webby Award-winning All About Birds.
Ornithological Applications, formerly The Condor and The Condor: Ornithological Applications, is a peer-reviewed quarterly scientific journal covering ornithology. It is an official journal of the American Ornithological Society.
The EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds - their distribution and abundance (ISBN 0-85661-091-7) is an ornithological atlas published for the European Bird Census Council by T & A D Poyser in 1997. Its editors were Ward J. M. Hagemeijer and Michael J. Blair. The atlas was the first to present grid-square distribution maps for all breeding birds at a Europe-wide level. The bulk of the book is in English, although it also contains introductions in thirteen other European languages. The atlas presents the results of the European Bird Census Council's European Ornithological Atlas project, the fieldwork for which was carried out between 1985 and 1988.
The PeregrineFund is a non-profit organization founded in 1970 that conserves threatened and endangered birds of prey worldwide. The successful recovery in the United States of the peregrine falcon, which was removed from the U.S. Endangered Species List in 1999, enabled the organization to expand its mission to include other endangered raptors around the world. The Peregrine Fund is headquartered at its World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho, on a 580-acre (2.3 km2) campus with breeding and research facilities, an administrative office, interpretive center, research library, and archives.
The Ornithological Society of New Zealand (OSNZ), also known as Birds New Zealand, is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the study of birds and their habitats in the New Zealand region. Founded in 1940, it caters to a wide variety of people interested in the birds of the region, from professional ornithologists to casual birdwatchers.
The Florida Ornithological Society (FOS) is a Florida organization formed to promote field ornithology and facilitate contact between persons interested in birds.
The Pacific Seabird Group (PSG) is an international professional ornithological society based in the US, dedicated to the study and conservation of Pacific seabirds and their environment. The objectives of the Pacific Seabird Group are exclusively scientific, educational, conservational, and nonprofit. In furtherance of these objectives, PSG's principal activities are (1) to increase the amount and quality of scientific research on Pacific seabirds, (2) to educate PSG's members and the general public of the ecology and importance of Pacific seabirds and their environment, (3) to disseminate publications and other information to accomplish this end, and (4) to advocate for the conservation of Pacific seabirds wherever they occur.focusing on the behavior, ecology, and conservation of seabirds.
The Gower Ornithological Society is a society for professional and amateur birdwatchers covering the geographical areas of south Wales comprising Gower, Swansea, Neath and Port Talbot.
The Great Basin Bird Observatory is an ornithological nonprofit organization based in Reno, Nevada. Founded in 1997, its mission is to conserve birds and their habitats in Nevada and adjoining regions through partnerships, applied research, and education.
The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society (HKBWS) is an environmental non-governmental organization dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats in Hong Kong, a territory on the southern coast of China. It is a BirdLife International affiliated organization. The emblem of the HKBWS is the Chinese egret which visits Hong Kong on migration and used to breed in the territory.
The Sussex Ornithological Society (SOS) is a British registered charity dedicated to the study, recording, and conservation of wild birds and their habitats in the English historic county of Sussex. It was founded in 1962 and is one of the largest county bird clubs in Great Britain with a membership of 1988 as at the end of financial year in December 2014.
Amelia Rudolph Laskey was an American amateur naturalist and ornithologist noted for her contributions to the understanding of bird behavior. Though an autodidact without formal scientific training, Laskey made many original contributions to the field of ornithology and published in reputable scientific journals. Many publications refer to her as Mrs F.C. Laskey.