Nikolaas "Niko" Tinbergen was a Dutch biologist and ornithologist who shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Karl von Frisch and Konrad Lorenz for their discoveries concerning the organization and elicitation of individual and social behavior patterns in animals. He is regarded as one of the founders of modern ethology, the study of animal behavior.
Tinbergen in 1978
Figure 1. Tinbergen's hierarchical model. Modified from The Study of Instinct (1951).
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds. It has also been an area with a large contribution made by amateurs in terms of time, resources, and financial support. Studies on birds have helped develop key concepts in biology including evolution, behaviour and ecology such as the definition of species, the process of speciation, instinct, learning, ecological niches, guilds, island biogeography, phylogeography, and conservation.
A marbled godwit being ringed for studies on bird migration
A collection of bird skins, belonging to the family Cotingidae
Geese from a wall panel from the tomb of Nefermaat, Egypt c. 2575–2551 B.C.
Belon's comparison of birds and humans in his Book of Birds, 1555
