oBird 3D bird models (Partner to oVert) Project ID: 000546562 Public

651 Media · 215 Specimens · Creator: John McCormack · Managed by: Russell Campbell, John McCormack

The oBird (="outside of the bird") project creates 3D digital models for nearly all living bird genera for research and education. oBird will create 3D digital models using a process called photogrammetry. Photogrammetry uses hundreds of photographs from all angles of a specimen to create realistic, interactive 3D virtual models in full, natural color. The 3D models from oBird will be free to access on the internet, facilitating research on the origins of bird diversity, including novel colors and pigments. As a partner project to the Open Vertebrate Thematic Collections Network (oVert TCN), oBird will extend oVert into the world of 3D photogrammetry. New questions that will be enabled include research into the origins and evolution of bird plumage color and morphological novelty in beak dimensions and wing shape, enabling comparative evolutionary study of these important ecomorphological traits. oBird will integrate with a strong undergraduate research program in a large bird natural history collection at a small liberal arts college, providing training in digital technology and effects, biodiversity informatics, and museum collections.