10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2012

Durban museum based ornithologist Philip Clancey took numerous expeditions into Zululand and Mozambique, discovering several new subspecies as well as a new species to science, Lemon-breasted Canary in 1961. James Wakelin is prime example of modern ornithologist and conservator. Image by Hugh Chittenden.

Mozambique 200

Mozambique South Africa Africa Collecting 200

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2020

This is a delightful book, large (8-1/2 by 11 inches), filled with Sibley’s distinctive artwork and an organized potpourri of research-based stories about the science behind bird’s lives. A good example is the function of beauty in male birds. copyright @2020 by David A llen Sibley. copyright @2020 by David A llen Sibley.

2020 264

2020 Birds Groups North America 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

Others, like the petrels and some of the auks, will lay a single egg per breeding attempt. The investment placed in each clutch bur seabirds is so great that only one breeding attempt can be seen to completion each year. They are cavity nesters, breeding in natural cavities or holes dug into the soil. So why do it?

Eggs 167

Eggs Puffins Breeding Raised 167

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

The chapter on Martha, for example, just shows a close-up of her stuff body–not the whole body, the torso and tail–against an almost-black background. This bit of science is a nice final counterpoint to an account that has emphasized art, history, and literature. Can I say that this is a beautiful book?

2014 162

2014 Killing Michigan Kentucky 162

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2011

Another 170 are in captivity, many of them breeding stock for reintroduction efforts. My friend Vickie Henderson , who has some serious long-range vision, looked at the science behind Tennessee’s crane hunting proposal and found it badly wanting. There are 400 whooping cranes left in the wild, 100 of them in the eastern population.

2011 244

2011 Hunting Kentucky Hunters 244

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

I would encourage the KDFW to take Tennessee’s example as an indication that offering sandhill cranes for hunting will create far more public relations trouble than it’s worth. Ohio has tracked two families of their state-endangered breeding sandhill cranes and found them to have wintered over in Tennessee in 2010.

2011 258

2011 Kentucky Tennessee Hunting 258

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2011

Another question this raises has to do with migration itself. But in the vast in between where most birds exist there are all sorts of contradictory examples. Little tiny birds with their little tiny wings and high daily energetic demands fly zillions of miles, while larger birds migrate shorter distances, for example.

Research 206

Research Humane Compassion New York 206

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2023

I am not sure about the security situation in Iraq these days but at least some people do ornithological research there – resulting in papers such as one titled “Breeding observations of the Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus (Desfontaines , 1789) in Iraq” Impressive. Fortunately, they are quite common in Shanghai.

Birds 130

Birds Iraq China Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2022

Hopefully, the winter time in Shanghai gives the Black-faced Buntings some time to relax from the challenges of the breeding season. In contrast, the females need to make sure not to get duped into raising actual cuckoos – the buntings are a targeted host species ( source ). No wonder no species are named after me.

Birds 230

Birds Eggs Bangladesh China 230

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2022

I have written about the interesting sex life of these jacanas a few times already (short version: female mates with male, lays a bunch of eggs for him to incubate and raise the chicks, leaves him, finds another male, repeat). The Little Grebe is of course a very common bird that can still surprise by its beauty in its breeding plumage.

Birds 147

Birds China Eggs Breeding 147