Bird Term: Oology

May 24th, 2019 in Bird Terms – 1 comment

Oology is the study of bird eggs. It also refers to the study of bird nests and breeding behavior. Oology can also refer to the hobby of egg collecting, which is illegal in many locations.

Early scientific ornithological study often involved collecting birds by shooting them to study their anatomy and plumage up close. It also involved the collection and study of their eggs. Scientists studying the difference between samples of Pergrine Falcon eggs over time were able to identify DDT usage as the cause of a decline in raptor populations in the 1960s and 1970s.

Egg collecting as a hobby remained popular as the scientific value of this type of study declined. This was extremely popular especially in the United Kingdom, though the hobby was denounced by the British Ornithologists' Union as early as 1922. Although UK laws have made the amateur hobby collection of eggs illegal since 1954, oologists continue to pursue the hobby by collecting eggs. Egg collecting is illegal in many other jurisdictions as well, including the United States.

Bird egg illustrations by Biodiversity Heritage Library (CC BY 2.0)

Blue eggs in robin next — Robin nest with eggs by gardener41 (CC BY-SA 2.0)

House Finch eggs — House Finch nest with eggs by John Flannery (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Mallard nest with eggs by Jeremy Halls (CC BY-SA 2.0)

1 comment on "Bird Term: Oology"

30 May 2019
at 2:02pm

Vibrators wrote:

The Eurasian tree sparrow's untidy nest is built in a natural cavity, a hole in a building or the large nest of a European magpie or white stork. The typical clutch is five or six eggs which hatch in under two weeks. This sparrow feeds mainly on seeds, but invertebrates are also consumed, particularly during the breeding season. As with other small birds, infection by parasites and diseases, and predation by birds of prey take their toll, and the typical life span is about two years.