Birds

Research Activities

Patuxent Wildlife Research Center scientists are currently conducting research on a wide variety of scientific topics. To view and search Patuxent's projects and other work by USGS staff, click on the following link: Research Topics.

Long-Term Programs

Bird Banding Laboratory – Providing numbered leg bands to bird banders and managing huge databases of bandings and recoveries essential for many migratory bird management and research applications (in partnership with the Canadian Wildlife Service).

Breeding Bird Survey – Monitoring the status of breeding bird populations in the United States and Canada (in partnership with the Canadian Wildlife Service): data, analyses, analytical software, information for participants.

The North American Bird Phenology Program - houses a unique and largely forgotten collection of six million Migration Observer Cards that illuminate migration patterns and population status of birds in North America.

Museum Collections – Acquisition and curation of scientific reference specimens (in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution).

Whooping Crane Restoration – Captive propagation and release of whooping cranes to the wild.

Resources and References

Bird Identification: The Patuxent Wildlife Research Center provides some learning tools for bird identification. These tools include: Patuxent's Bird ID InfoCenter, Patuxent Bird Quiz, Bird Identification Tips, and Seasonal Bird Checklists.

Bird Population Studies – a variety of useful resources derived from Patuxent migratory bird projects.

“Birds of North America” Usage Tool – reference tool for this indispensable series of bird “biographies” published by The Birds of North America.

Bird without an equal: Georgia's Painted Buntings – Website presenting the story of Georgia's Painted Buntings.

Duckdata – A bibliographic database of North American waterfowl (Anatidae) and their wetland habitats.

Historical Bird Data from the Bureau of Biological Survey

National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) Bird Conservation Node Mapping Application

Population Analysis Software – a variety of downloadable, statistical tools for analyzing bird or other population data

Population Databases – Breeding Bird Survey, Breeding Bird Census, Avian Point Counts, Breeding Bird Atlas Explorer, Colonial Waterbirds

Special Interest

Atlantic Seaduck Project: Movements, Habitat Use, and Feeding Ecology of Seaducks

Biological and Ecotoxicological Characteristics of Terrestrial Vertebrates Residing in Estuaries - summary of useful information in selecting sentinels for contaminant monitoring projects.

Contaminant Exposure and Effects-Terrestrial Vertebrates database - searchable database containing over 17,000 geo-referenced data records describing contaminant exposure and effects in free-ranging terrestrial vertebrates in coastal and estuarine habitat in the United States.

Patuxent's Black Duck Joint Venture Projects

Waterfowl Science Projects

Wild Bird Avian Influenza Program

Wind Power-Related Research Projects at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Related Links

• BirdNet, the Ornithological Information Source (Ornithological Council)
• BirdSource (a partnership of Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and Audubon)
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)
• NBII Bird Conservation Node
• North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI)
• North American Waterbird Conservation Plan
• North American Waterfowl Management Plan
• Partners in Flight
• United States Shorebird Conservation Plan