A Royal Tern perched on a dock post.

Chris Parish

Ambitious New Dataset Collects Trait Information For Every Bird Species on Earth

Global

Datasets. That one word is enough for many folks’ eyes to gloss over, but they serve a vital purpose for scientists. By gathering a wide variety of data points in one place, scientists can not only more easily access data from a single species, but also compare and contrast different species, facilitating analysis that would otherwise be much more difficult or even impossible.

A team of researchers, including our Vice President of International Conservation Programs Dr. Evan Buechley, has recently released the most comprehensive avian trait dataset ever: BIRDBASE. Published in the journal Scientific Data, it is the first of its kind to contain data on every bird species on earth, a significant increase over all previous datasets.

Three photos. Top left is a Tennessee Warbler perched on a reddish twig. Top right is a Madagascar Heron standing in water. Bottom is a Sparkling Violetear hovering next to a bright pink and purple flower.
Matthew Danihel (top left) | Russell Thorstrom (top right) | Julio Gallardo (bottom)


BIRDBASE compiles data on 78 different traits for all 11,589 bird species recognized by the four major avian taxonomies. These traits range widely, including morphometrics such as average body mass, breeding data such as nest type and clutch size, location data such as primary habitat and elevational range, conservation status, ecological specialization, and much more. While not all 78 traits are known for every species, as some are still unknown to science, the authors have attempted to capture all known information as of the most recent taxonomic update (AviList in June 2025).

Three photos. Top is three Black-bellied Whistling Ducks perched on a log. Bottom left is a Small Ground-finch perched on rock. Right is a Broad-billed Tody perched on a twig.
John Sherman (top) | Julio Gallardo (bottom left) | Chris Parish (bottom right)


The BIRDBASE dataset is available now as an Excel file for free on Figshare. As the most comprehensive database of its kind to date, BIRDBASE will enable new scientific analyses, help us understand the origins of biodiversity and how to maintain it, document avian responses to global change, and direct future conservation efforts.

Read the full paper here.


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Top banner photo: Royal Tern
First body photo, clockwise from top left: Tennessee Warbler, Madagascar Heron, Sparkling Violetear
Second body photo, clockwise from top: Black-bellied Whistling-duck, Broad-billed Tody, Small Ground-finch