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The Greek root ornith- means "bird", so ornithology is the study of birds. Amateur ornithology, usually called birding or birdwatching, is an extraordinarily popular pastime in America, where over 40 million people pursue it. Roger Tory Peterson's many field guides have long been some of the amateur ornithologist's most useful tools. Amateurs often make essential contributions to serious ornithology, as in the annual Christmas Bird Count, when tens of thousands of birders fan out across North and South America to produce a kind of census of all the species in the New World.
Examples of ornithology in a Sentence
Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Jan. 2026
Gillet belongs to the Bird Technical Advisory Committee, which is working with ornithology experts to establish goals for the recovery of the species.
—Karl Schneider, IndyStar, 17 Dec. 2025
Rollins talks about how her poems engage in call and response with other texts, including the music of Sun Ra and Stevie Wonder and images connected to ornithology, anatomy, Afrofuturism, and the history of slavery.
—Fiction Non Fiction, Literary Hub, 11 Dec. 2025
Known for his love of ornithology, Reeves has created entire series devoted to birds, even spawning a TV show and book of bird illustrations.
—Lee Sharrock, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Ornithology.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ornithology. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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ornithology
noun
