10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2023

Cattle Egrets are thoroughly modern birds – they were among the first species to ditch mailed letters for faxes, then switched to email early, and now (at least in China) mostly communicate by WeChat. They are also early adopters with regard to their foraging – nowadays mostly following tractors rather than cattle.

Birds 130

Birds Eggs Breeders Breeding 130

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2023

”, which by some remarkable coincidence is also the title of a paper on “Physical-Attractiveness Evaluations and Dating Preferences as a Function of One’s Own Attractiveness” (among humans, not Grey-capped Greenfinches). In truth, it is present in many parts of China (not mentioned) but not really in Tibet.

Birds 217

Birds Blackbirds Indonesia Bhutan 217

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2022

If I was an ornithologist aiming for a grant, I would now definitely highlight the need for more research on this topic. The researchers are quite aware of the differences between humans and birds and thus have completely ignored another explanation for this behavior. The Hair-crested Drongo is a bit more common here.

Singapore 147

Singapore Birds Mountain Goats Giraffes 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2022

Maybe better not to ever meet such a “mother” (given that I have been living in China for too long to be up-to-date regarding political correctness etc., ” I can see how this line of thinking leads to all kinds of sci-fi types of thought (“would I mate with an alien if I was the last human on earth”, etc.),

Birds 162

Birds South Korea Japan Abandon 162

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2022

Oh, and maybe humans need to be a bit less destructive to your habitat, too. In Europe, most of them winter south of the Sahara but an increasing share winters north of it – which sounds like an interesting research topic for people who, ahem, find such topics interesting. Asian Dowitchers at Nanhui on July 26, 2022: all losers?

Cattle 147

Cattle Portugal Buffalo Humane 147

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 31, 2023

Their goal is simple yet lofty: “We hope these redescriptions will arouse some interest in the chewing lice of shorebirds among researchers working with lapwings” As I mentioned in one of my posts this spring, for me the personal start of the migration season is when I see my first male colorful flycatcher.

Birds 130

Birds China Taiwan Raised 130

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2023

One study in Korea found that 37% of injuries and deaths were caused by predation by natural enemies, another 37% (a worryingly high number) by window strikes, 10% by traffic accidents, 7% each by flooding and dehydration, and 3% by human disturbance. I wonder what Barn Swallows did before humans started building houses.

Birds 130

Birds China Research Tenant 130