A Brief History of Ornithology

One of my earliest memories of working at the Hudson River Museum was coming eye to eye with a taxidermy peacock in the Parlor of Glenview, the Museum’s historic home (fig. 1). Then, I noticed a flock of songbirds in the Sitting Room and a honeycreeper in the Ebony Library (figs. 2–4). They followed me into our collection storage in the form of feathered fans, trading cards, and even a sculpture made out of bullet shells (figs. 5–10). I am always pleasantly surprised to find birds in the collection, and my enthusiasm for these feathered creatures has both earned me a birdy reputation and sparked a lot of curatorial research.

Birds have long captured the public imagination. Before they caught the attention of scientists in the late 1600s, birds were already deeply embedded in art, fashion, and folklore. They fluttered through paintings and adorned the fine details of wallpapers, while real birds were being hunted and preserved for luxury fashion.

Across cultures, birds frequently appeared in folktales and myths. Many of the ancient Greek Aesop’s Fables feature bird characters, such as the stork in “The Fox and the Stork” (fig. 11–13) and the peacock and jackdaw in “The Vain Jackdaw & His Borrowed Feathers.” In 1634, Italian poet Giambattista Basile included a talking dove in his version of “Cinderella,” and in 1812, the Brothers Grimm published stories such as “The Six Swans,” in which brothers were turned into swans before regaining their human form. Birds continue to enjoy the limelight in fashion and symbolism, but until the Renaissance, artistic and cultural representations were the primary ways they were studied and appreciated.

The Scientific Revolution of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries coincided with an increase in European exploration and conquest, leading to encounters with species previously unknown to European naturalists. As scholars sought to better understand the natural world, they began observing, classifying, and publishing encyclopedias.

Ornithology, the scientific study of birds, sprouted from this growing curiosity. Two dominant approaches emerged: one focused on naming, classification, and geographic distribution, while the other focused on behaviors and ecology. There was little overlap between these two areas of study until the 1920s, when the practice of fieldwork—observing birds in their natural habitats—became a standard of scientific study.

Before the introduction of field observations, ornithologists primarily studied preserved bird specimens, called study skins, to better understand their anatomy and traits. Though a lot can be learned about birds’ adaptations and behaviors from observing their bodies and comparing them to other species, a fuller (and less cruel) understanding can be found when the living animals are studied in their habitats.

Becca Muffler
Collection Assistant

If you’re interested in learning more about womens’ role in the popularization of birdwatching as a hobby, as well as anti-feather trade activism, stay tuned for parts 2 and 3!