Welcome
In two centuries of American ornithology, The Birds of North America
(BNA) is only the fourth comprehensive reference covering the life
histories of North America’s breeding birds. Following in the footsteps
of Wilson, Audubon, and Bent, BNA provides a quantum leap in
information beyond what those historic figures were able to assemble.
The print version of BNA was completed in 2002 – 18 volumes, 18,000
pages -- a joint 10 year project of the American Ornithologists' Union, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology,
and the Academy of Natural Sciences.
Now as an online project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, BNA is
becoming a living resource. Account contents are updated frequently,
with contributions from researchers, citizen scientists, and designated
reviewers and editors. In addition, BNA Online contains image and video
galleries showing plumages, behaviors, habitat, nests and eggs, and
more. And most online BNA accounts now feature recordings of the songs
and calls of their species, recordings selected from the extensive
collection of Cornell's Macaulay Library
of Natural Sounds. Future work will enhance BNA’s audio and video
contributions, speed revisions via efforts coordinated online, and
provide a significant boost to the number of photos available to
subscribers. Stay tuned!
What's New in BNA
Update (January) New Fully Revised Species Accounts--Yellow-throated Warbler, revised by Bailey McKay. This account has newly updated photo, audio and video galleries. Also revised this month is Botteri's Sparrow, revised by BNA staff. This account has newly updated photo and audio galleries. Tropical Parula has been revised by BNA staff as well, with a newly updated photo gallery.Are you an AOU member trying to login to BNA? Please read this first.
Update (December) New Fully Revised Species Accounts--Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, revised by BNA staff. This account has newly updated photo and video galleries. Also revised this month is Cactus Wren, revised by Robert A. Hamilton. This species' photo, and video galleries have been updated as well.
Update (November) New Fully Revised Species Accounts--Northern Mockingbird, revised by George Farnsworth, Gustavo Aldolfo Londono and Judit Ungvari Martin. This account has substantially updated photo, audio and video galleries. Also revised this month is Yellow-throated Vireo, revised by BNA Staff and BNA contributor Peter Lowther. This species' photo, audio and video galleries have been updated as well. Lastly, the Violet-green Swallow account has been updated by BNA staff. Its photo, audio and video galleries have been updated.
