The Adelaide Ornithologists' Club (AOC) was founded by Alan Lendon, a leading surgeon and prominent aviculturist, in 1960, as a breakaway group from the South Australian Ornithological Association, with John Neil McGilp as its first President.
The AOC was formed with the explicit aim of promoting the study of birds.
The pattern established in the early years and still maintained is that the club has an evening meeting and a Sunday outing each month except for December and January.
Sunday outings visit local bird watching spots for identification in the field.
Once a year there is a Spring Excursion for a week to an area further afield.