Living among Birds. The Heinroths, their 1000 Birds and the Beginning of Ethology

The exhibition tells the incredible story of Oskar, Magdalena and Katharina Heinroth, who raised and studied the chicks of 250 different bird species in their flat in Berlin at the beginning of the 20th century – from tiny wrens to giant white-tailed eagles. Oskar Heinroth was the director of the world’s largest aquarium at the time and Katharina Heinroth was the first female director of Berlin’s Zoological Garden.

Their «bird flat» was a meeting place for scientists from all over the world. With their research on around 1,000 bird individuals, they set the foundation for modern ethology. Nobel Prize winner Konrad Lorenz was their most famous student. The exhibition gives an insight into the Heinroths’ coexistence with a wide variety of birds and documents their scientific work featuring diaries, drawings and photo series.