Birding at the Museum: New Video Series

Did you know that you can come inside the Museum to bird-"watch"? Four new videos on amnh.tv introduce viewers to the diversity of bird habitat groups (dioramas) and the history of ornithology at the Museum.

A cloth book cover reads: "What bird is that?"

The cover of a book by Frank Chapman, who introduced many Americans to the practice of birdwatching and identification.
© AMNH

Ornithologist Frank M. Chapman, who worked at the Museum for more than 50 years—from 1888 to 1942—is the subject of the first video.

A bust shot of a man wearing eyeglasses, Frank Chapman, seated outdoors in a field chair, with a telescope on a tripod behind him.

Frank M. Chapman

Exhibition Associate and artist-naturalist Stephen C. Quinn introduces viewers to Chapman's lasting legacy.

Among Chapman's achievements was popularizing birdwatching and bird identification among the general public.

Birdwatchers in Central Park

One holiday tidbit: if you're participating in a Christmas Bird Count this year, thank Frank Chapman. In the year 1900, Chapman established the tradition in hopes it would counteract the then-common practice of trying to hunt as many birds as possible on Christmas Day.