10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2022

The one bird I did not see here, however, was the Bateleur Eagle … One highlight in the area is the Saddle-billed Stork , likely to be the tallest species in the stork family. The African Spoonbill is one of the six global spoonbill species, and the main African one (there are also some Eurasian Spoonbills in Africa).

Ostriches 147

Ostriches Parrots Birds Eggs 147

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2023

In total, there are eight species of hornbills in Borneo – the best place to see them seems to be the Kinabatagan River area (also known as Sukau). For example , fallen figs do not seem to mind catching a ride with Oriental Pied Hornbills. Indeed, this species seems to be the equivalent of weeds among the hornbill species.

Rhinoceros 129

Rhinoceros Singapore Transported Hunting 129

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

Even the Latin species name soror (“sister”) indicates the similarity to another pitta species (blue-naped). The eBird description of the Small Niltava starts with the surprisingly dull statement that “size distinguishes this species from other niltavas” Who would have thought.

China 236

China Birds Pythons Eagles 236

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

” Writing about owls means writing about roughly 250 species (I counted 245 on the 2022 Clements spreadsheet, but I might have missed a few, and we all know that each classification system is different). These are behaviors that are most likely to vary across species and topics that make for compelling stories.

Owls 219

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 219

Animal Ethics

MARCH 8, 2009

The last example suggests the difficulty of making a clear distinction between an animal part and an animal product. If a genetically engineered animal’s legs periodically fell off, would not its legs be more like a product of an animal (analogous to eggs) than a part of the animal? Would the blood be analogous to milk or eggs?

Vegetarian 40

Vegetarian Morals Suffering Vegan 40

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2021

There is something about a mature rainforest, for example, that cannot be replicated by any human. Their name is no accident – Piratic Flycatchers closely monitor the nesting activities of pendulous-nesting species like Crested Oropendolas and Yellow-rumped Caciques. When out birding, I prefer completely wild habitat.

Trinidad 222

Trinidad Family Abandon Abandoning 222

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

A few families have a small number of eggs in the clutches, like gulls or cormorants. Others, like the petrels and some of the auks, will lay a single egg per breeding attempt. One North American species I am very familiar with is the Cassin’s Auklet , which ranges from the end of the Aleutian Islands to California.

Eggs 165

Eggs Puffins Breeding Raised 165

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 19, 2012

You’re a mammal, so you might be tempted to use yourself as an example mammal, but humans are actually kind of bad examples of mammals, so perhaps we’ll use a well studied hoofed animal instead. Think about the difference between birds and mammals. as both use internal fertilization. All the nurturing has to come from mom.

Mammals 166

Mammals Eggs Abandon Abandoning 166

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

It is the 100th Anniversary of the extinction of the species known as the Passenger Pigeon and writers are paying attention. Errol Fuller’s The Passenger Pigeon is a beautifully illustrated, elegantly written “celebration” of the passenger pigeon and the artists who illustrated and photographed the species. It is a hodgepodge.

2014 160

2014 Killing Michigan Kentucky 160

10,000 Birds

APRIL 24, 2012

This week at 10,000 Birds, it’s all about how birds get around to bumping uglies (I’m talking about cloacas here), who they do it with, and how this actually leads to raising chicks…the birds and the bees of birds, you might say. Greater White-fronted Geese are one of many species that mate for life.

Albatross 198

Albatross Birds Lifestyle Raised 198

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2012

Although designed as a field guide, it is a hefty book, 376 pages long, covering 336 species. Many species are dimorphic, with females looking different from males. Many species also differ with age. And, there are some odonate species that include andromorphs, females which look like the males. Yes, 675 photographs.

United States 238

United States Costa Rica Massachusetts North America 238

10,000 Birds

MARCH 9, 2011

How do I know of their Gothic moods when they have hidden them so well in an egg-white shell of conformity? Here are a few examples from my picture archives: Black-headed Gulls – or Black-haired Gulls? It is the claws that give them away, their black nail polish. As a matter of fact, all the gulls I checked had black nails.

2011 165

2011 Birds Deer Europe 165

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 17, 2022

A study has shown that they make false alarm calls when seeing other species such as meerkats with attractive food. Superb Starlings avoid this when using helpers, much like rich people presumably reducing the stress of raising kids by hiring a couple of nannies. She also laid eggs in Melba Finch nests.

South Africa 192

South Africa Africa Birds Cape Verde 192

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2022

Given the complexity of the research, the result feels like a bit of a letdown – “northern populations start migration earlier than southern populations, especially in autumn” The species name of the Chestnut-eared Bunting is fucata , from the Latin “fucare”, to paint red. Better safe than sorry.

Birds 215

Birds Eggs Bangladesh China 215

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). Swinhoe’s White-eye was just promoted to the rank of a full species in 2018.

Birds 147

Birds China Eggs Breeding 147