An outline of the history of Afrotropical ornithology is presented. Emphasis is placed on cultural and economic developments in Europe which led to Europeans taking a methodical interest in Afrotropical birds. Historical developmets are usually signalized by mention of first manifestations in Afrotropical ornithology. Prior to 1780 was the period of accumulating curiosities. 1780-1899 was the period of taxonomic and basic distributional studies. 1900 to the present has been dominated by biological studies. This is also the period of long term or life time residence in Africa by ornithologists to which is linked the development of African based journals. Keywords: Afrotropics, history, ornithology.