10,000 Birds

JUNE 15, 2016

It’s a bang-up breeding year for super-endangered birds! The species, which migrates from the Russian Arctic to Southeast Asia, is down to about 200 breeding pairs in the wild, due to habitat loss and poaching. For the past several years, getting the birds to breed has been an exercise in futility.

Eggs 190

Eggs Louisiana Breeding Asia 190

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

Ackerman’s new book is about owls and owl research–the knowledge recently and currently being discovered through DNA analysis, new-tech tracking and monitoring, and old-fashioned fieldwork under the auspices of organizations like the Global Owl Project and the Owl Research Institute.

Owls 224

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 224

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2022

Of course, it is hard to resist looking at a paper titled “Host personality predicts cuckoo egg rejection in Daurian redstarts” Basically, the personality of a female redstart (bold or shy) predicts the responses to parasitic eggs – bold hosts are more likely to reject parasitic eggs.

Birds 208

Birds China Eggs Owls 208

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2023

Indeed, most cuckoo eggs are accepted by the babax ( source ), although a small proportion of hosts reject cuckoo eggs and often boast about this capability when having a few too many drinks. He spent the years from 1836 to 1858 in Asia, first in Indonesia, then in China, partly as the consul of the city of Hamburg in China.

Hamburgers 222

Hamburgers Birds Science China 222

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2022

Around this time of the year, the first few waders are back in Shanghai from their breeding grounds far further up north. Generally, being back here early is not a very good sign – it may indicate a failed breeding attempt, as suggested for Asian Dowitchers in a paper on their presence in Lianyungang somewhat further north of Shanghai.

Cattle 147

Cattle Portugal Buffalo Breeding 147

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

Most readers here will be familiar with the plight of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper , a critically endangered wader that nests on the Russian tundra and winters in Southeast Asia. One of the great difficulties with a captive breeding program is how to avoid making things worse. Also, there’s a bear!)

Eggs 163

Eggs Russia Research Breeding 163

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2022

A paper titled “Crested Goshawk Accipiter trivirgatus may adapt well to life in urban areas across its range in Asia” already made the same observation in 2018. Apparently, after a male first mates with a female, he throws out the first one or two eggs she lays in their nest. Black-naped Orioles are breeding in Fengxian.

Birds 147

Birds China Eggs Breeding 147