[2] The database is published and maintained by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and collects data on bird observations through integration with eBird.
[3] The database requires a subscription to access the majority of its entries, but offers institutional access to many libraries and birding-related organizations, participating in the National Information Standards Organization's Shared E-Resource Understanding practice as a publisher.
[4] The database is frequently cited in regional checklists and distribution map studies, either as a point of comparison[5] or a source of data.
[6][7][8] Birds of the World was originally developed in the early 1990s through collaboration between the American Ornithologists' Union, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University.
After the Cornell Lab of Ornithology acquired the rights to the contents of the Handbook of the Birds of the World,[10] the online database was launched in March of 2020.