Do birds sleep during flight? How do bats locate their prey at night? What are the criteria that determine the choice of a partner? How does birdsong develop? Birds are all around us, they are close and familiar to us: research enables us to discover new things about them. For example, did you know that birds use their right nostril to navigate?
The research of the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology is supported by public funds (federal and regional), thus we feel responsible to keep the public informed about recent research.
We offer tours upon prior reservation, talks and events to people interested in birds - for example teachers. Our visitors may watch birds fly in the wind tunnel and learn about ongoing projects of the researchers of the institute. On the ground of this traditional institute you can follow the footsteps of Konrad Lorenz. It was here that the behavioural scientist and winner of the Nobel Prize performed his world-renowned experiments with greylag geese and ducks.