Beyond North and South: Vertical Migration in the White-chested Alethe
A forest bird whose most important journeys are measured not in kilometres, but in metres of elevation. © Flemming Pagh Jensen

Beyond North and South: Vertical Migration in the White-chested Alethe

Using a barometric pressure logger, researchers documented seasonal vertical migration in a White-chested Alethe, revealing how African forest birds track rainfall, food availability, and elevation rather than latitude.


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Fabricated Birds: AI and the Future of Ornithology
AI-generated image. A Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex) in papyrus habitat. The bird depicted here does not exist – a reminder that in the age of generative imagery, realism is no longer proof of presence. Image created by Daniel Szimuly/The Ornithologist. All rights reserved.

Fabricated Birds: AI and the Future of Ornithology

When we generated a Shoebill that never existed, the realism was flawless – and unsettling. In an age where synthetic plausibility becomes effortless, ornithology must reconsider what authenticity means and how it is protected.


Gyorgy Szimuly

Gyorgy Szimuly

Upstream of Science: The Role of Bird Art in Understanding — An Interview with Szabolcs Kókay
A reconstruction of a species now considered extinct, placed carefully within the landscape that once held it. Slender-billed Curlew with Eurasian Curlews on oil (2010). All Rights Reserved by Szabolcs Kókay

Upstream of Science: The Role of Bird Art in Understanding — An Interview with Szabolcs Kókay

Ornithology begins not with numbers, but with looking. This conversation with Szabolcs Kókay examines how bird art operates upstream from science – shaping what we notice, understand, and value.


Gyorgy Szimuly

Gyorgy Szimuly