Ornithological Monographs: Ornithology of Sabah: History, Gazetteer, Annotated Checklist and Bibliography.2001, Ornithology ornithology Branch of zoology dealing with the study of birds. Early writings on birds were largely anecdotal (including folklore) or practical (e.g., treatises on falconry and game-bird management). of Sabah: History, Gazetteer gazetteer (găz'ĭtēr`), dictionary or encyclopedia listing alphabetically the names of places, political divisions, and physical features of the earth and giving some information about each. , Annotated Checklist and Bibliography. Ornithological Monographs No. 52, pp. 1-285. The American Ornithologists' Union The American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) an ornithological organization in the USA. Unlike the National Audubon Society, its members are primarily professional ornithologists rather than amateur birders. . Sabah is the Malaysian state representing former British North Borneo British North Borneo: see Sabah, Malaysia. . It is well known for its rich forests, impressive mountains (including Mt. Kinabalu), and diverse avifauna a·vi·fau·na n. The birds of a specific region or period. [Latin avis, bird; see awi- in Indo-European roots + fauna. . Ornithologists have explored and published on the birds of Sabah since the 1850s. This monograph reviews the work of these ornithologists by providing an historical overview of their explorations and studies; a gazetteer describing the sites at which they worked; an annotated checklist summarizing what they learned about birds, particularly in regard to distribution, habitat preferences, and breeding; and a bibliography of ornithological and related publications. The purpose of this report is to set the stage for future research on the birds of Sabah. This goal is accomplished in two ways. First, by reviewing what has been done, the history and gazetteer serve as a guide for expedition planners, wildlife managers, conservationists, and other scientists as they seek information on study sites. Certain parts of Sabah have been well studied (e.g., the east and west coasts), but other areas are poorly explored (e.g., the north-central mountains and the south-central uplands). Second, by summarizing what is known about the birds in Sabah, the annotated checklist and bibliography provide a guide to research needs. Although a great deal is known about the distribution of birds in Sabah, remarkably little work has been done on bird ecology and evolution. Only a handful of modern, quantitative studies have been conducted on the population genetics, phylogeny, biogeography Biogeography A synthetic discipline that describes the distributions of living and fossil species of plants and animals across the Earth's surface as consequences of ecological and evolutionary processes. , migration, community ecology, or autecology au·te·col·o·gy n. The branch of ecology that deals with the biological relationship between an individual organism or an individual species and its environment. au of Sabah's birds. This dearth of ornithological information is a burden for conservationists, as they struggle to preserve the last bits of forest in Sabah, but it presents a great opportunity for bird researchers. |
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