The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center is a research program dedicated to fostering greater understanding, appreciation, and protection of

bird migration Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting b ...

. It is located at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

History

This

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Found ...

research program was founded with Congressional support in 1991, and was incorporated in 1997 as part of the National Zoological Park. It came under the

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) is a unit of the Smithsonian Institution located on a campus located just outside the town of Front Royal, Virginia. An extension of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the SCBI has played ...

, established in 2010. From an initial focus on the

conservation biology Conservation biology is the study of the conservation of nature and of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction and the erosion of biotic interactions. It is an in ...

of Neotropical songbirds, it now researches the role of disease in population declines in migratory birds, environmental challenges facing urban and suburban birds and their adaptation to changes in natural and

anthropogenic Anthropogenic ("human" + "generating") is an adjective that may refer to: * Anthropogeny, the study of the origins of humanity Counterintuitively, anthropogenic may also refer to things that have been generated by humans, as follows: * Human i ...

habitats and climate, and the conservation biology of wetland birds. Their research group has long-term research programs dealing with migratory birds in both their breeding and non-breeding areas, with studies of how specific breeding and non-breeding populations are connected by migration. The center is led by wildlife biologist Scott Sillett.

Programs

In 1998, it developed the Bird Friendly coffee program that fosters management practices at coffee farms that are good for birds while remaining marketable. Coffee grown under the program is certified as shade grown and

organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...

, with purchases supporting the conservation of migratory birds. The criteria for Bird Friendly certification was developed from basic research on migratory bird-habitat relationships by Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center scientists. The center sponsors advanced undergraduate and graduate students at collaborating institutions, as well as in-house post-doctoral fellowships. The center's education efforts include the creation of

International Migratory Bird Day Bird Day is the name of several holidays celebrating birds. Various countries observe such a holiday on various dates. International Migratory Bird Day International Migratory Bird Day is a conservation initiative that brings awareness on conserv ...

, a holiday which is celebrated on the second Saturday of May in the United States and Canada, and on the second Saturday of October in most of Latin America. Neighborhood Nestwatch is the center's community-based science and educational outreach program where volunteers monitor the reproductive success and survival of birds in their communities. Its Bridging the Americas/Unidos por las Aves program is an education program that partners elementary school classes in the Washington, D.C. area with classes in Latin America and the Caribbean. The goals of the program are: # To teach students about the migratory birds that connect these two regions of the hemisphere and the need to protect their habitats # To stimulate an interest in learning about other countries and their cultures Since 1993, over 17,000 students in grades third through eighth from 11 countries of the Americas have participated.

References

External links

Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center
Ornithological organizations in the United States Smithsonian Institution research programs National Zoological Park (United States) Bird migration Biological research institutes in the United States Zoological research institutes Research institutes in Washington, D.C. {{Smithsonian-stub