Among all vertebrates, birds are rather conspicuous and easily seen by the general public. Particularly, many birds are not shy under the ongoing trend of urban sprawl and some even have developed phenotypic adaptations or shifts to the urban environment. This makes birds a relatively intimate wildlife partners with human beings, effectively attracting people to know more about birds and support the conservation of birds. However, because of the overlap with human activities, conflicts inevitably arise. This Ornithology course aims to cover all basic fields in avian biology, introducing avian systematics and morphological diversity, life histories, physiological adaptations, and their diverse behaviors, in the hope that students who completed the course will become ambassadors to further disseminate the knowledge about birds to more people. Moreover, this course will also include practices on literature synthesis, introductions and practices on the commonly adopted methods on the front of current ornithological research, in an attempt to provide basic training to graduate students who are interested in ornithology for their further academic endeavors.

在目前全球高度都市化的狀態下，鳥類可說是最容易目擊的野生脊椎動物，不像其他野生脊椎動物類群，在都會區中較為隱蔽且習於避開人類活動。鳥類因此與人類關係十分密切，且易於引起大眾的好奇心。正面來說人們較願意親近鳥類且支持鳥類的保育活動，但同時許多衝突也因一般人對於鳥類的生物習性不十分了解而產生。本課程擬涵蓋鳥類生物學的基本範疇，從鳥類的系統分類及型態多樣性、生活史、生理適應，乃至諸般之行為，介紹背後之生物學原理，以期同學們能將對鳥類的基本認識傳播至親友之間，逐步擴及大眾。同時，作為一進階課程，也將透過文獻之閱讀與整合，及小規模研究之實作練習，使有興趣投入鳥類學研究的同學，對於鳥類學領域常用之研究方法與目前前沿之研究問題，建立基礎訓練。

Among all vertebrates, birds are rather conspicuous and easily seen by the general public. Particularly, many birds are not shy under the ongoing trend of urban sprawl and some even have developed phenotypic adaptations or shifts to the urban environment. This makes birds a relatively intimate wildlife partners with human beings, effectively attracting people to know more about birds and support the conservation of birds. However, because of the overlap with human activities, conflicts inevitably arise. This Ornithology course aims to cover all basic fields in avian biology, introducing avian systematics and morphological diversity, life histories, physiological adaptations, and their diverse behaviors, in the hope that students who completed the course will become ambassadors to further disseminate the knowledge about birds to more people. Moreover, this course will also include practices on literature synthesis, introductions and practices on the commonly adopted methods on the front of current ornithological research, in an attempt to provide basic training to graduate students who are interested in ornithology for their further academic endeavors.

In the current highly urbanized world, birds can be said to be the easiest wild vertebrates to witness. Unlike other wild vertebrate groups, they are relatively hidden in urban areas and are accustomed to avoiding human activities. Birds are therefore very closely related to humans and tend to arouse public curiosity. On the positive side, people are more willing to get close to birds and support bird conservation activities, but at the same time, many conflicts arise because ordinary people do not fully understand the biological habits of birds. This course is intended to cover the basic areas of bird biology, from the systematic classification and morphological diversity of birds, life history, physiological adaptations, and even various behaviors, and introduce the biological principles behind it, with the hope that students can spread the basic understanding of birds to their relatives and friends, and gradually expand it to the public. At the same time, as an advanced course, students who are interested in engaging in ornithological research will also be able to establish basic training in commonly used research methods and current cutting-edge research issues in the field of ornithology through the reading and integration of literature and practical exercises in small-scale research.

1. Handbook of Bird Biology 3rd ed., Lovette, I.J. and Fitzpatrick, J.W. (eds) 2016
2. Ornithology, 4th ed., Gill, F.B. and Prum, R.O., 2019
3. 噢！原來如此！有趣的鳥類學, 陳湘靜, 林大利

1. Handbook of Bird Biology 3rd ed., Lovette, I.J. and Fitzpatrick, J.W. (eds) 2016
2. Ornithology, 4th ed., Gill, F.B. and Prum, R.O., 2019
3. Oh! so it is! Interesting Ornithology, Chen Xiangjing, Lin Dali