The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) provides free & open access to 63+ million pages of biodiversity literature online.
everywhere, all the time
Joined February 2009
- Tweets36.7K
- Following1.2K
- Followers25.9K
- Likes34.6K
BHL needs ongoing support to grow, improve, and remain open to everyone. 📚️ 🧪
Like the eggs in these historic plates, recurring gifts can be Swallow-sized, Puffin-sized, Falcon-sized, or anything in between. 🐣
What size BHL Sustainer will you be? ancrywkv.donorsupport.co/pag…
ALT An historic illustration of different sized eggs
Last year, the BHL community helped us take flight into a new independent future. Now we need reliable monthly support to sustain the people, systems & infrastructure that keep BHL’s 64 million pages freely available to everyone. 🧪
Become a #BHLSustainer
ancrywkv.donorsupport.co/pag…
It's #OwlAwarenessDay! These #owls are from Atlante Ornitologico (1902). Contributed to BHL by the Research Library of @AMNH : biodiversitylibrary.org/page… 🧪🦉
ALT An historic illustration of 9 species of owls perches on tree branches and rocks.
What would make BHL better for you?
As work begins to modernize the BHL platform, we’re inviting users to take a 3–5-minute survey. Your feedback will directly inform our priorities and shape a better BHL experience. 🧪 🌱
Take the survey: bit.ly/4fpc75D
BHL’s latest newsletter is out!
Catch up on BHL in @guardian, our server move to the @FieldMuseum, the new BHL Community Forum, Annual Meeting highlights, new member news, and more from our 20th anniversary year.
Read it here: conta.cc/4ffdROv 🧪
🚚 The BHL server move has reached its biggest milestone! From 25–30 June, BHL’s web traffic will switch from the Smithsonian to the Field Museum. BHL will remain online, but full-text search, filters & on-demand PDFs will be unavailable. Learn more: about.biodiversitylibrary.or… 🧪
ALT An historic map of north eastern USA, with a red arrow between Washington DC and Chicago
🚚 BHL’s servers are on the move! Over the next 3 weeks, BHL’s technical infrastructure will journey from the Smithsonian in Washington DC to the Field Museum in Chicago. BHL will remain online, with only #FullTextSearch affected while in transit. More: blog.biodiversitylibrary.org…🧪
ALT An historic map of north east United States
BHL celebrated 20 years at our 2026 Annual Meeting in London, hosted by @NHM_London and #KewGardens. Partners gathered to reflect on two decades of collaboration and plan the next chapter for open biodiversity knowledge.
Read more: blog.biodiversitylibrary.org… #BHLat20
📢 If you haven’t discovered it already, check out the BHL Community Forum on Discourse 🌿 📚
Connect with the global BHL community to ask/answer questions, share projects and ideas, discuss tools and data, and explore biodiversity literature. 🧪 🌏
➡️ forum.biodiversitylibrary.or…
ALT A screenshot of a post on an online community forum
ALT A screenshot of a post on an online community forum
ALT A screenshot of a post on an online community forum
ALT A screenshot of a post on an online community forum
This #BiodiversityDay, BHL needs your help.
Since transitioning from the Smithsonian, we are reliant on public donations to keep BHL's 64 million pages freely accessible and discoverable online. 🧪🌱 🌏
Please consider a one-time or recurring donation: ancrywkv.donorsupport.co/pag…
ALT An historic illustration of yellow and blue striped fish.
Missed #BHLDay2026? Or want to relive it? The recordings and slides are now available!
Thank you @NHM_London for hosting this fabulous event, and to all the wonderful speakers for sharing their work, stories, and ideas for BHL's future: about.biodiversitylibrary.or… 🧪
🌏 We think every day is #EarthDay. To take a deep dive into the incredible biodiversity of our precious planet, peruse the 63+ million pages (800+ years) of biodiversity knowledge on BHL. biodiversitylibrary.org #EarthDay2026 #ILoveBHL 🧪 📖 🌱
🦇 Happy #BatAppreciationDay! The ghost bat (Macroderma gigas), native to Australia, gets its name from its extremely thin wing membrane, which gives it a ghostly appearance at night. #SciArt: Proc Zool Soc London (1880) on BHL via
@NHM_London @NHM_Library biodiversitylibrary.org/page…
🌻 Spring has sprung in the northern hemisphere!
To celebrate, we present this spectacular collection of watercolour & pencil illustrations of "British Flowers" by Elizabeth Wharton and Margaret Wharton [1793-1811] on BHL via @oak_spring: biodiversitylibrary.org/bibl… 🧪
At #BHLDay2026, Qiangian Hiris Gu, Ben Hartley & Vincent Smith @NHM_London will share their work transforming the biodiversity literature on BHL into structured, machine-actionable data at a planetary scale. 🧪
📅 29 April | London + online
🎟️ Register: bit.ly/bhlday2026
🤖 Made with AI
ALT A page of beetle specimens with the details of BHL Day 2026 overlaid
Join us at #BHLDay2026: “Towards a Biodiversity Data Ecosystem Built on BHL Data”
🌱 AI + structured biodiversity literature
🌱 OCR + multilingual data challenges
🌱 Real-world systems like @WRMarineSpecies
📅 29 April | London + online
🎟️ Register: bit.ly/bhlday2026
ALT A page filled with beetle specimens.
Handwritten notes. Hand-painted birds. A 19th-century field diary that shaped one of the most ambitious natural history works ever published.
Explore Osbert Salvin’s Central American field diary in our #BHLat20 series via @museumsvictoria's Library: blog.biodiversitylibrary.org… 🧪
🤖 Made with AI
ALT Promotional graphic for the BHL at 20 Anniversary Series featuring the title “Osbert Salvin’s Central American Field Diary” over a background of a handwritten page with a painted illustration of a bird’s head and leg, alongside a “BHL 20” anniversary logo.
