Vorlesung: Ornithology / Ornithologie

Dear students,

Welcome to Ornithology SS 2026!! ;-)

Ornithology comprises to associated but separate modules: “Orni 1” (E15 for MSc BEE and E14 for LandEcol) and “Orni 2 (E16 for MSc BEE and E15 for LandEcol).

Orni 1 consists of lecture and seminar, and Orni 2 of practical exercises. While lecture and seminar are offered during the regular semester time, the exercises will be done in August (24th to 28th). You can find more information about Orni 1 in Moodle (https://moodle.uni-greifswald.de/course/view.php?id=2963). The exercises will have their own Moodle module (https://moodle.uni-greifswald.de/course/view.php?id=11399).

•  Morrison, M. L. et al (eds). 2018. Ornithology: Foundation, Analysis, and Application. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD. •ISBN 9781421424712.

•  Lovette, I.J. & Fitzpatrick, J.W. 2016. Handbook of Bird Biology. 3. Ed. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 

•  Podulka, S., R. W. Rohrbaugh, Jr., & R. Bonney (Edit.). 2004. Handbook of Bird Biology. 2nd Ed. Cornell Lab of Ornithology & Princeton University Press. 

•  Dyke, G. and Kaiser, G. 2011. Living dinosaurs. The evolutionary history of modern birds. Wiley-Blackwell.

•  Newton, I. 2023. The migration ecology of birds, 2nd edition. Academic Press, Cambridge/Massachusetts

See "Seminar references" for specific and recent papers about each subject.

Examen (60 min)

Subjects included in the lecture (Vorlesungsinhalte):

· Introduction to ornithology. History of ornithology. Definitions. Basic concepts.

· Origin and evolution of birds. Evolution of flight.

· Special anatomical and physiological adaptations in birds.

· Reproduction, growth and development.

· Breeding behavior. Mating systems.

· Social systems, territoriality.

· Foraging behavior. Adaptations to different types of habitats.

· Sexual selection. Feathers and colours.

· Other ways for perception and communication. For ex. Vocalizations.

· Daily and annual cycles of birds

· Migration and navigation.

· Systematics and phylogeny. Current hypotheses and methods.

· Avian diversity and biogeography.

M.Sc. Biodiversität & Ökologie

M.Sc. Landscape Ecology and Nature Conservation