Editing Ornithology (section)

==Applications==
{{main|Bird strike|Bird conservation}}
Wild birds impact many human activities, while domesticated birds are important sources of eggs, meat, feathers, and other products. Applied and economic ornithology aim to reduce the ill effects of problem birds and enhance gains from beneficial species.
[[File:Red-billed quelea flocking at waterhole.jpg|thumb|[[Red-billed quelea]]s are a major agricultural pest in parts of Africa.]]
The role of some species of birds as [[Pest (organism)|pest]]s has been well known, particularly in agriculture. [[Seed predation|Granivorous]] birds such as the [[quelea]]s in Africa are among the most numerous birds in the world, and foraging flocks can cause devastation.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Elliott, Clive C.H. |year=2006|title=Bird population explosions in agroecosystems — the quelea, ''Quelea quelea'', case history|journal=Acta Zoologica Sinica|volume=52|pages=554–560|url=http://www.actazool.org/temp/%7B14724209-A6A1-4075-9861-ED5203430D9F%7D.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.actazool.org/temp/%7B14724209-A6A1-4075-9861-ED5203430D9F%7D.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author1=Jaegar, Michael  |author2=William A. Erickson |name-list-style=amp |year=1980|title=Levels of bird damage to Sorghum in the Awash basin of Ethiopia and the effects of the control of Quelea nesting colonies|journal=Proceedings of the 9th Vertebrate Pest Conference|url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1017&context=vpc9 }}</ref> Many insectivorous birds are also noted as beneficial in agriculture. Many early studies on the benefits or damages caused by birds in fields were made by analysis of stomach contents and observation of feeding behaviour.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Kalmbach, E. R.|author-link=Edwin Richard Kalmbach|year=1934|title=Field observation in economic ornithology|journal=The Wilson Bulletin|volume=46|issue=2|pages=73–90|url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/wilson/v046n02/p0073-p0090.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/wilson/v046n02/p0073-p0090.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live }}</ref> Modern studies aimed at managing birds in agriculture make use of a wide range of principles from ecology.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Ormerod, S. J.  |author2=A. R. Watkinson |name-list-style=amp |year=2000|title=Editors' Introduction: Birds and Agriculture|journal=The Journal of Applied Ecology|volume=37|issue=5|pages=699–705|doi=10.1046/j.1365-2664.2000.00576.x|bibcode=2000JApEc..37..699O |doi-access=free}}</ref> Intensive [[aquaculture]] has brought humans into conflict with fish-eating birds such as [[cormorant]]s.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Glahn, James F. |author2=Kristin E. Brugger |year=1995|title=The Impact of Double-Crested Cormorants on the Mississippi Delta Catfish Industry: A Bioenergetics Model|journal=Colonial Waterbirds|volume=18|issue=1|pages=168–175|doi=10.2307/1521537|jstor=1521537}}</ref>

Large flocks of pigeons and starlings in cities are often considered as a nuisance, and techniques to reduce their populations or their impacts are constantly innovated.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Geis, Aelred D.|year=1976|title=Effect of building design and quality on nuisance bird problems|journal = Proceedings of the 7th Vertebrate Pest Conference |url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1020&context=vpc7 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Belant, Jerrold L., Paul P. Woronecki, [[Richard Dolbeer]] & Thomas W. Seamans|year=1998|jstor=3784047|title=Ineffectiveness of Five Commercial Deterrents for Nesting Starlings|journal=Wildlife Society Bulletin|volume=26|issue=2|pages=264–268}}</ref> Birds are also of medical importance, and their role as carriers of human diseases such as [[Japanese encephalitis]], [[West Nile virus]], and influenza [[H5N1]] have been widely recognized.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/gen-info/facts.htm|publisher=CDC|title=Factsheet on Avian Influenza|date=2017-04-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Reed, K. D., Jennifer K. Meece, James S. Henkel & Sanjay K. Shukla|year=2003|title=Birds, Migration and Emerging Zoonoses: West Nile Virus, Lyme Disease, Influenza A and Enteropathogens|journal=Clin. Med. Res.|volume=1|issue=1|pages=5–12 |pmid=15931279|doi=10.3121/cmr.1.1.5 |pmc= 1069015}}</ref> [[Bird strike]]s and the damage they cause in [[aviation]] are of particularly great importance, due to the fatal consequences and the level of economic losses caused. The airline industry incurs worldwide damages of an estimated US$1.2&nbsp;billion each year.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Allan, J., Orosz, A.|year=2001 |title=The Costs of Birdstrikes to Commercial Aviation|journal=Proceedings of Birdstrike 2001, Joint Meeting of Birdstrike Committee USA/Canada. Calgary, Alberta}}</ref>

Many species of birds have been driven to [[List of extinct birds|extinction]] by human activities. Being conspicuous elements of the ecosystem, they have been considered as indicators of ecological health.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gregory|first=R. D.|author2=Noble, D.|author3=Field, R.|author4=Marchant, J.|author5=Raven, M.|author6=Gibbons, D. W.|year=2003|title=Using birds as indicators of biodiversity|journal=Ornis Hung.|volume=12–13|pages=11–24|url=http://www.ebcc.info/wpimages/other/bio-iindicators.pdf|access-date=2009-05-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081227061919/http://www.ebcc.info/wpimages/other/bio-iindicators.pdf|archive-date=2008-12-27|url-status=dead}}</ref> They have also helped in gathering support for [[habitat conservation]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Role of Ornithology in Conservation of the American West|first=Carl E.|last=Bock|journal=The Condor|volume=99|issue=1|year=1997|pages=1–6|doi=10.2307/1370218|jstor=1370218|doi-access=free}}</ref> Bird conservation requires specialized knowledge in aspects of biology and ecology, and may require the use of very location-specific approaches. Ornithologists contribute to [[conservation biology]] by studying the ecology of birds in the wild and identifying the key threats and ways of enhancing the survival of species.<ref>{{Cite book|author=BirdLife International|year=2000|title=Threatened Birds of the World: The official source for birds on the IUCN Red List|publisher=Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, and BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK|isbn=978-0946888399}}</ref> Critically endangered species such as the California condor have had to be captured and bred in captivity. Such [[ex-situ conservation|''ex situ'' conservation]] measures may be followed by reintroduction of the species into the wild.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Whitfort, Harriet L.  |author2=Robert J. Young |name-list-style=amp |year=2004|title=Trends in the captive breeding of threatened and endangered birds in British zoos, 1988–1997|journal=Zoo Biology|volume=23|issue=1|pages=85–89|doi=10.1002/zoo.10122}}</ref>