Ornithology is a 1946 jazz standard co-written by Charlie Parker and Benny Harris and performed by the Charlie Parker Septet. It was released in 1946 as a single on the Dial label, with A Night in Tunisia as the B-side, after a March 28, 1946 recording at Radio Recorders Studios in Hollywood. There was no original album release; the piece circulated as a single and later appeared on bebop compilations. The tune is a bebop contrafact - a new melody fitted to the chord changes of How High the Moon - a nod to Parker's nickname Bird (ornithology is the study of birds). It remains one of the most popular bebop tunes and is frequently performed; vocalists scatting on How High the Moon often quote Ornithology, and vice versa. Notable later recordings include Bud Powell's version and the Gerry Mulligan - Chet Baker 1957 version. Babs Gonzales wrote vocalese lyrics for the tune. Ornithology was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1989 and has inspired jazz venues and literature, including the Ornithology Jazz Club in Brooklyn and Percival Everett's novel Suder.
