AOU and COS merge to form the American Ornithological Society

The American Ornithologists’ Union and the Cooper Ornithological Society, which comprise nearly 3,000 members collectively, recently merged to create the American Ornithological Society. The organization plans to advance research on birds in the Western Hemisphere, promote their conservation and help train the next generation of scientists.

“Over the past six years we have actively collaborated as separate organizations: meeting together, publishing our journals jointly and working together to benefit the conservation of birds. After fact-finding and due diligence, and in response to the tremendous positive feedback from our membership, I am proud to announce a single merged society that will advance ornithology by combining our assets – human, financial and intellectual,” said AOS president Steven Beissinger in a statement.

The merger was approved earlier this year at the North American Ornithological Conference held in Washington, D.C. Read more about the merger in a news release.