Oology

Oology (/oʊˈɒlədʒi/;[1] also oölogy) is a branch of ornithology studying bird eggs, nests and breeding behaviour.

In the 1960s, the naturalist Derek Ratcliffe compared peregrine falcon eggs from historical collections with more recent egg-shell samples, and was able to demonstrate a decline in shell thickness.

[4] This was found to cause the link between the use by farmers of pesticides such as DDT and dieldrin, and the decline of British populations of birds of prey.

Rothschild and Jourdain founded it as a breakaway group after egg collecting by members of the British Ornithologists' Union was denounced by Earl Buxton at a meeting of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

One, Colin Watson, was convicted six times before he fell to his death in 2006, while attempting to climb to a nest high up in a tree.

[13] The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has been particularly active in fighting illegal egg collection and maintains an investigative unit that collects intelligence on egg collectors and assists police in mounting prosecutions on them, in addition to investigating other wildlife crimes.

[5] At one point, RSPB staff were being trained by soldiers from the Brigade of Gurkhas in camouflage skills and in surveillance, map and radio techniques, to better enable them to guard nests of rare birds.

[16] In the United States, the collection and possession of wild bird eggs is also restricted, and in some cases is a criminal act.