Ithaca, N.Y.-We know birds have feathers-but what are they made of, how do they work, and how many kinds are there? Birds sing songs-but how do they produce those sounds, what do they mean, and can you learn to identify birds by sound alone? If just knowing the name of a bird isn't enough, then it's time to make new discoveries at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Bird Biology website. The new site is designed to appeal to anyone who's even a little bit curious about what makes birds tick.

"All About Bird Biology is all about inspiring people to find out what's really going on in the lives of birds," says Cornell Lab eLearning specialist Mya Thompson, who says scientists, teachers, artists, designers, and programmers all played an important role in developing the site and making it so appealing. "The site contains a video library of eye-opening bird behaviors, along with self-paced interactive lessons, articles, and animations that make learning a blast!"

Chapters currently online go in-depth on feathers and bird song. Playing the "Bird Song Hero" game allows users to keep score as they gradually learn to recognize more than 50 bird species by sound. Educators and students surveyed after the website launch found that using birds to understand biology makes the learning go down easy.

"Awesome job! Your programs make teaching children FUN!" one teacher wrote.

"I thought this was first rate! Very engaging, not at all boring plus a lot of information was imparted. Great graphics too! You hit a home run here in my opinion!" said a bird enthusiast.

"We're developing the next chapter right now," Thompson explains. "It's called 'Fancy Males' and will focus on the ways birds use bright colors, strange ornaments, and even a little song and dance to capture a female's attention!"

Visit the All About Bird Biology website: biology.allaboutbirds.org

Contact: Pat Leonard, pel27@cornell.edu, (607) 254-2137.