10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2021

The fields near the Tiaozini mudflats look very much like a lunar landscape, but this does not seem to keep a number of species from breeding there, sometimes directly on dirt roads. But now back to birds … Little Ringed Plovers also seem to like to breed directly on the road. Blandness sells.

Birds 230

Birds Uganda Breeding Rats 230

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2022

But at times, in the breeding season especially, the same birds would belt some of the most complex and absolutely juicy notes that made me reconsider my feelings toward them. This gave us several chances to experience them at various stages of growth. They seem to be a bit angry for the most part. Wise creatures.

Trinidad 147

Trinidad Emotional Breeding Cats 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2023

On a positive note, in one study , when small swaths of dense bamboo were cut and cleared for an unrelated study, these were utilized by small insectivorous species including the Golden Bush Robin for foraging. Humans are not always bad for birds, only about 95% of the time. One is the White-throated Redstart.

Birds 179

Birds Science Humane Species 179

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2024

Kooyman (co-author with Jim Mastro) spent decades studying Emperor Penguins and can be considered the world’s foremost expert on the species. Empire Penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) are the largest living penguin species, almost four feet tall (taller when they stretch), and the least likely to be seen on birding or nature trips.

Penguins 165

Penguins Seals Leopards Research 165

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

It feels good to start a post with some truly attractive birds – such as two species of broadbills. Strangely, there do not seem to be many papers on this species. In one paper , you can find fascinating sentences such as “The new species is most similar to D. You can see why here.

Birds 226

Birds Sri Lanka Taiwan Cats 226

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2023

I visited Tengchong in late 2020 and wrote about it – but I also went there earlier, in 2017, and this post shows some photos I took during that trip, along with the usual comments that seem to be much more about ridiculing my fellow humans (especially ornithologists and the like) than providing useful information on birds.

China 193

China 2017 Birds Indonesia 193

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2022

Bird names say much about human perception, they can also give us insight into the people who invented names for official bird descriptions. In Costa Rica, we have our pewees, 6 species of them. A common bird of hot, tropical habitats, it is very much an edge species. This appropriately named bird is just what its name says.

Costa Rica 272

Costa Rica Pennsylvania South America Panama 272

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2023

For birders, the Wolongshan area is like a poorer cousin of Balangshan – due to the lower elevation, the bird species here are more common and thus less interesting. Some Chinese Babax waste part of their lives feeding chicks of Large Hawk Cuckoos, which parasitize the babax species.

Hamburgers 222

Hamburgers Birds Science China 222

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2011

It worked, and the translocated birds were soon breeding. Today the species is secure on a large number of islands and reserves. The experience was to prove critical the following year when introduced rats reached crisis levels on the remaining island of the South Island Saddleback. But he did a great deal more in his life.

Species 236

Species New Zealand Rats Endangered Species 236

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2023

So, all this makes birding this place an occasionally less than pleasant experience. The family has about 37 species, but that includes several fulvettas – only 21 of the species have “parrotbill” in their names (and frankly, the bills of fulvettas do not look like those of parrots at all).

Pandas 218

Pandas Birds Eggs China 218

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

The adults presumably have already learned that humans are not usually good news even if not named Donald Trump. The White-shouldered Starling is not very common in Shanghai or even in China in general, despite its species name sinensis. Soldiers could probably learn a lot about camouflage from this species.

Birds 130

Birds Tigers Humane Ecuador 130

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2024

Osborn, a passionate field biologist who participates to the core of her being three re-introduction projects aimed at saving three very different, endangered species: Peregrine Falcon, Hawaiian Crow (‘Alala)*, and California Condor. She crafts her prose with a visual immediacy that bring you directly into her experience.

California Condor 190

California Condor Falcons California Birds 190

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2023

Such programs are somewhat inefficient anyway – in one study , the breeding success of wild male pheasants was 2-5 times higher than for hand-reared and released ones while for females, hand-reared birds were 3 times as vulnerable to predation as the wild ones. Apparently, there is a website just showing stamps depicting bird species.

Birds 211

Birds Blackbirds Indonesia Bhutan 211

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

An associated issue is that the Belize and Costa Rica guides share many of the same descriptions of species, written by Howell. Similarly, descriptions of species repeated across volumes do not lose their accuracy with each publication. Other species are splits and lumped and have had their names changed. Why are these issues?

Costa Rica 227

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 227

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2020

Starlings, they’ll dutifully explain, are ruthless invasives that have been responsible for the serious declines of several beloved native species, like the Red-headed Woodpecker ( Melanerpes erythrocephalus ) and the Eastern Bluebird ( Sialia sialis ). Good birding and happy drinking! Arrowood Farm Brewery: Starling Brett Farmhouse Ale.

Farming 197

Farming New York Breeding Unwanted 197

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2023

Nestled between the Huangpu River and the East China Sea, Shanghai offers a captivating blend of urban charm and natural wonders, making it a must-visit destination for birders seeking a unique and diverse avian experience. Among the most notable is Chongming Dongtan, a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance.

China 176

China Endangered Species Sanctuary Protection 176

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2022

After securing our passage, I patiently waited for this once-in-a-lifetime experience to a place we have never been and lacked any knowledge of, we were in for a complete surprise. It has had very few humans walk its soil and who have had little impact to this otherwise pristine nature. Salvin’s Prion. and seabirders.

South Africa 264

South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 264

Animal Person

MARCH 18, 2009

The New York Times presents us, this morning, with "Equine Alternative" regarding the recent discovery that horses decided to allow themselves be domesticated by humans for our mutual benefit, earlier than we had thought (3500 BC, and we preciously thought it was more like 2500 BC). And that fact gives rise to a thought-experiment.

Experience 100

Experience Experiments Horses Transported 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2022

For this reason, the species is evaluated as Vulnerable.” The Rufous-tailed Robin used to be called Swinhoe’s Robin but apparently, somebody decided that there were already too many bird species (6, according to the HBW) named after him. The Eurasian Hobby was another notable raptor of the month.

Birds 208

Birds China Eggs Owls 208

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2022

Do you really need to have Kai’s birding experience further detailed not just by month but a level below? As with Chinese male humans, having your own building is still vital to raising young. Chestnut-winged Cuckoo: This could be your host species! There was a breeding pair at Binjiang Forest Park this June.

Birds 197

Birds Sparrows Protection Humane 197

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

Miami, Florida has a reputation among the birding community for being overrun with exotic bird species. However, the typical birding experience for someone down here also includes a large menagerie of other species such as Orange-winged Parrot , Mitred Parakeet , Egyptian Goose and Nutmeg Mannikin. It is well-deserved.

Miami 208

Miami Asia Florida Malaysia 208

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2022

After writing this last sentence, I looked up the species in the HBW and found the sentence “Song poorly documented” in the appropriate section, while with regard to calls, the description is that “call is a two-note raspy nasal ‘ryeeh-reh’”. The Hair-crested Drongo is a bit more common here.

Singapore 147

Singapore Birds Mountain Goats Giraffes 147

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2021

The book is organized into ten chapters, framed by a Prologue and Epilogue focused on Weidensaul’s banding experience in Denali National Park. His participant observations connect to his own research experiences, providing history and perspective. This is big, global-level stuff with amazing findings but worrisome data.

Cyprus 259

Cyprus Slaughter Slaughtered Research 259

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2020

This includes current research (up to about 2016, but mostly earlier) on how climate change and human change are affecting the birds’ ecology and behavior. There are too many buts, excepts, and maybe’s, a lot of research on some species and very little on others.

Research 176

Research Birds Hoarding Sweden 176

10,000 Birds

APRIL 23, 2013

Its amazing to me that there are still places on earth where wildlife is blissfully unafraid of humans. It was made a National Park in the 1980s and is a major breeding and nesting area for over 30,000 seabirds. The frigates are by far the most numerous and evident of the island’s nesting species.

Whales 265

Whales Whaling Sharks Marine Life 265

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2020

For, in birder lingo, a split occurs when subspecies are determined to be, in fact, entirely separate species. If you happen to have seen both species, your life list can increase without you even leaving the house. Two former species can also be joined into one, the same way. This Bullock’s Oriole migrated from up north.

San Diego 185

San Diego San Francisco Mexico Baltimore 185

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 31, 2023

Like the Eastern Crowned Warbler (which eBird mysteriously calls a “boldly marked songbird” despite its similarity to about 50 other warbler species) … … and the Arctic Warbler (or maybe some other warbler looking very similar). Here is a mugshot of a Long-tailed Shrike. T-shirts will be available soon.

Birds 130

Birds China Taiwan Raised 130

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2013

Or else I’d be tempted to mention that the cold rainy weather has given way to a massive heat wave and drought, or that the summer doldrums this year are more boring than ever, or that it is so unfair that Corey is more than 100 species ahead of me in his year list, or that I really would enjoy some nice birds for a change!

Germany 179

Germany Russia Iceland India 179

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2022

This would have allowed you to summarize your experience in sentences such as “A total of 98 boluses regurgitated by 52 chicks aged 1 day to 11 days after hatching form the sample and are shown to contain 323 food items.” It concludes that human activity influences the breeding activity of the lapwing. How efficient.

Birds 162

Birds South Korea Japan Abandon 162

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

There is a total of 235 different bird species in Greenland, most of them are migratory birds with approximately 60 species breeding within the land. Some of the most common breeding birds are White-tailed Eagles , Northern Fulmars , Black Guillemots , Common Eiders , Rock Ptarmigans , and Arctic Terns. Greenland’s Birds.

North America 180

North America Eagles Breeding Fish 180

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2019

The Kerkini Lake National Park is my favourite birding area in the whole of the Balkans and while I’ve been here in April and again (migration), September (migration), October (coffee break), December and January (wintering), this was my first time in the breeding season, in May. Below legal size for humans is still legal for pelicans.

Greece 200

Greece Pelicans Buffalo Fish 200

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2019

So, for example, Essay #15, “Individual Variation,” uses Herring Gulls to introduce the concept that one species, even one species at a specific age, can vary widely in appearance. The Checklist is more than a taxonomic listing of species and chapter number and title; it also contains useful notes on each bird family.

Birds 115

Birds North America Breeding America 115

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2015

Many of the great debates over human behavior, those related to things such as race or gender, are muddled and messy because plasticity is ignored. Plasticity in humans is probably modulated primarily through experience and enculturation. Presumably the humans keep away the predators.

Birds 127

Birds Research Humane Pets 127

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2015

None fly, most are curious and social, which probably contributes to our cultural perception of penguins as one step away from human. Every section is excellent, Going from back to front, the Species Natural History section is where to go for answers to all your questions about penguins and then some.

Penguins 209

Penguins New Zealand South Africa Albatross 209

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2015

The vast majority of you reading this accept it is happening, and for the time being it is caused by humans. Conversely, parts of the world that have traditionally been quite dry may experience more rainfall. That said, there are many species we should be extremely concerned about. Climate Change. Whats in it for birds?

North America 226

North America Birds San Francisco Suffering 226

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

Paging through a fieldguide, it’s always with a sense of dismay and sadness that I come across reference to an extinct species. Islands, for various reasons, experience more extinctions than continents (with Africa being the only continent not suffering a bird extinction!). This bird was kept in captivity until it died a year later.

Madagascar 246

Madagascar Lemurs 2006 Owls 246

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2015

The title is a bit deceptive, for while photographs are a huge part of the book, it is grounded in the 239 species accounts written by woodpecker guru Gerard Gorman. Chapters on taxonomy, distribution, anatomy and morphology, habitat, behavior, breeding, plumage and moult, food and foraging, flight, calls, drumming, and conservation follow.

Woodpeckers 252

Woodpeckers 2002 Europe Research 252