In the last decade, drones have become an affordable technology offering highly mobile aerial platforms that can carry a range of sensory equipment into hitherto uncharted areas. Drones have thus become a widely applicable tool for surveying animal populations and habitats to assist conservation efforts or to study the behavioural ecology of species by monitoring individual and group behaviour. Here, we review current applications for drone surveys and the potential of recently developed computer algorithms for automatic species detection and individual tracking in drone footage. We further review which factors are reportedly associated with animal disturbance during drone presentations and how drones may be used to study anti‐predator behaviour. Drone surveys of species and their environments allow scientists to create digital terrain models of habitats, estimate species abundance, monitor individual behaviour and study the composition, spatial organization and movement of groups. As drones can influence the behaviour of many bird and mammal species directly, they also provide an experimental tool to study animal responses to novel situations, including the drone itself. We conclude that the combined use of drones and automated detection software can assist population estimates and opens new possibilities to study individual and collective behaviour. With regard to drone‐related disturbance and their potential use as predator models, we recommend to interpret results against the background of population‐specific predation pressure and sources of anthropogenic disturbance.