The year 2025 was the Fitz’s 65th anniversary. The Institute was established in 1960, by Dr Cecily Niven, then president of the South African Ornithological Society (SAOS – later to become BirdLife South Africa). The original establishment documents state the Institute was to ‘house in perpetuity records of field ornithology in southern Africa and conduct field research on living African birds’.
Sixty-five years later, the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology is thriving. We are one of UCT’s oldest accredited research institutes, having been incorporated into the university as part of the Department of Biological Sciences (then Zoology) in 1973.
Our success in fulfilling our field ornithology research mandate was underlined in 2017, when Centre for World University Rankings placed UCT among the top three universities for ornithology globally.
In 2025, we are home to scientists who are global leaders in their research fields. The academic team currently includes two NRF A-rated and three NRF B-rated scientists, attesting to the world-leading nature and considerable international recognition of the work the Fitz is producing.
Text from "Director's Report" in 65th Anniversary Annual Report, 2025