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Bird Biology an interactive field course

Fourteen modules from evolution and feathers to migration, research methods and conservation. Short lessons, a quiz in every lesson, and your progress saved as you go.

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  • EnthusiastModules 1–8 and 11. The foundations of how birds live.
  • Field GuideModules 1–12 and 14. Everything a professional bird guide should know.
  • ResearcherAll 14 modules, including survey design and research methods.
  1. 01

    Evolution and classification

    Where birds came from and how the 11,000+ species are organised into orders and families.

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    Lessons coming soon

  2. 02

    Anatomy and physiology

    Skeleton, air sacs, digestion and senses: the body plan that makes flight possible.

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    Lessons coming soon

  3. 03

    Feathers, plumage and moult

    Feather types, pigment versus structural colour, and how birds replace their feathers.

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  4. 04

    Flight

    Wing shapes, soaring versus flapping, and what a silhouette tells you about a bird's life.

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  5. 05

    Feeding ecology

    Bill shapes, foraging methods and diets across the bird families.

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    Lessons coming soon

  6. 06

    Voice

    The syrinx, songs versus calls, song learning and regional dialects.

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  7. 07

    Breeding biology

    Mating systems, nests, eggs and parental care.

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    Lessons coming soon

  8. 08

    Migration and navigation

    Why and how birds migrate, the cues they use, and how scientists track them.

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    Lessons coming soon

  9. 09

    Behaviour and cognition

    Tool use, social learning, play and problem-solving.

    Field Guide, Researcher

    Lessons coming soon

  10. 10

    Biogeography and endemism

    Zoogeographic realms, island birds and endemic hotspots.

    Field Guide, Researcher

    Lessons coming soon

  11. 11

    Birds and people

    Culture, threats, collisions, climate change and what helps.

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    Lessons coming soon

  12. 12

    Field identification skills

    Shape and behaviour, ageing and sexing, field notes and ethics.

    Field Guide, Researcher

    Lessons coming soon

  13. 13

    Research methods

    Point counts, transects, distance sampling, ringing and citizen-science data.

    Researcher

    Lessons coming soon

  14. 14

    Conservation science

    IUCN criteria, Important Bird Areas and population monitoring.

    Field Guide, Researcher

    Lessons coming soon