1865 in birding and ornithology


 * Birds described in 1865 include volcano hummingbird, white-fronted tit, Monteiro's hornbill, biscutate swift, bare-cheeked babbler, rufous-throated flycatcher, chestnut-rumped thornbill
 * Osbert Salvin Descriptions of Seventeen New Species of Birds from Costa Rica.Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1864
 * Death of German explorer Karl Klaus von der Decken.
 * Death of Thomas Bellerby Wilson
 * Death of Alfred Malherbe
 * 1865 heralds rapid expansion of the collections of Cambridge University Museum of Zoology.
 * Description of the fossil swan Cygnus falconeri.

Expeditions
 * 1865–1868 Magenta circumnavigation of the globe Italian expedition that made important scientific observations in South America.
 * 1865– HMS Curacoa
 * Alfred Grandidier makes his first visit to Madagascar.

Ongoing events
 * John Gould The birds of Australia Supplement 1851–69. 1 vol. 81 plates; Artists: J. Gould and H. C. Richter; Lithographer: H. C. Richter
 * John Gould The birds of Asia 1850-83 7 vols. 530 plates, Artists: J. Gould, H. C. Richter, W. Hart and J. Wolf; Lithographers:H. C. Richter and W. Hart
 * The Ibis