10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

The magnificent history and diversity of birds on Earth came into sharper focus this month with the publication of 28 new scientific papers in Science and other journals. ’s bird family tree in a new tab and follow along as you read. American Flamingo photo by Dick Culbert). In 2008, Nick Sly published a review of Hackett et al.

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Family Parrots Birds 2014 279

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2020

She lives part-time in Uruguay and is co-director of the Fiction Meets Science program at the University of Bremen, Germany, which seeks to bridge the “two cultures” of science and literature. Things get complicated – and then, completely out of hand — when Gabe’s new inamorata is introduced to his family.

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Uruguay 2001 Bald Eagle Science 155

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

Lees and Gilroy delineate vagrancy status and trends for every bird family worldwide, highlighting examples, synthesizing research, and framing it all with their own thoughts and conclusions. It’s a unique title; twitchers and naturalists interested in migration will find it fascinating reading and valuable for future reference.

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Sri Lanka Malaysia Birds Suriname 238

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2024

But I can assure you that just as many men, whose profound knowledge of the natural sciences is known to the world and who are by no means enemies of sensible innovations, also consider the path I have taken to be quite expedient. – When Reed Parrotbill s go on family outings, they usually just climb up reeds.

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Birds Research Science Europe 201

Critter News

AUGUST 26, 2009

Animal rights activists from a group called The Militant Forces Against Huntingdon Life Sciences went to a cemetery and dug up an urn belonging to the family of Novartis CEO Daniel Vasella. If you wish the urn that was taken from the grave to be returned then you need to publically finish with Huntingon Life Sciences immediately.

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Family Animal Science Slaughter 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 5, 2021

Species are arranged by family and genus along taxonomic lines, but not always in accordance with the very latest molecular DNA research. Wait–that adds up to 290 species, but the book only covers 283. First page (p. 131) and last page (p. 141) of the Firetails section. © 2021 by Dennis R. .”

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Costa Rica North America Family America 263

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

For one thing, we become more aware of cultural biases in our science (new findings on warbling female birds, for example, reveal both gender and geographic biases). Many popular science books have neither. As Ackerman explains in her Introduction, studying extreme behavior brings new insight into what we think we know.

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Research Birds Science Costa Rica 235

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2021

The Trogon family (and order, since the order only includes one family) is quite widespread, being found in all the tropical (and some subtropical) regions of the world. So far, one third of my weekly outings have involved trogon sightings, with their distinctive calls being heard on a few other trips. Those are good numbers.

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Mexico Indonesia North America Arizona 192

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 12, 2024

Said Blue-throated Barbet – maybe lacking an altimeter – indeed could be seen very close to its family member at Tongbiguan. Does that mean that families in Florida should on average be larger than in Colorado? This avian marvel, belonging to the family Picidae, is a sight to behold, especially for any dedicated bird lover.

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Birds China Woodpeckers Breeding 185

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2016

Blackbirds, as a family, often have those simple descriptive names that are easy to mock ( Yellow-rumped Warbler , ugh) until a non-birder comes describing such a species to you and asking for an ID. He described the Brewer’s Blackbird for science more than a decade before Audubon.

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Blackbirds Boston Science Sparrows 190

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2013

Since this research has a strong citizen science component, we want to help Pavel spread the word: What happens with birdsong during invasion of a new territory? A similar citizen science project in the Czech Republic was a huge success. Can it work? During two years, more than 1,700 recordings were obtained.

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Czech Republic New Zealand Science Research 146

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2023

Here goes: Paradise Flycatchers are a genus in the broader (and rather large) family of Monarchidae. Fear not, science has an answer: about 1.16 Such an embarrassingly populist title of a blog post should obviously be followed by some dry facts.

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Japan China Guinea Germany 130

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2020

In the midst of a global pandemic, medical professionals have been heralded as heroes, with some even rising to the status of pop culture icons – even as some supposedly advanced nations have been plummeting into the depths of anti-science superstition lately. I can think of no higher honor.

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Jamaica Detroit Birds Medical 276

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2022

But that is science in hierarchical institutions). Confusingly, while there are more than 50 species in the fantail family, the Yellow-bellied Fantail is not one of them. Instead, it is a member of the family of fairy-flycatchers, which sounds vaguely homophobic but probably is not.

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Litter China Species Abandon 224

10,000 Birds

JUNE 13, 2022

Quite likely, these birds are also the inspiration for Australian science communicator Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki. Honeyeaters are a large bird family (190 species) with a strong presence in Australia. If I was a Rainbow Lorikeet, I would probably only go outside at night, when darkness covers my exuberant colors. ” (HBW).

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Australia Birds Feral Cats Kangaroos 206

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2014

Some jerk (I’d use a stronger word, but this is a family-friendly website) in Wisconsin is shooting raptors. (Image above by Peter Wallack/Wikimedia Commons). Magpies sometimes get a bad rap, but a new study finds that kleptomania shouldn’t be part of it. Birding in the Bronx? Yep, at the Dred Scott Bird Sanctuary.

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San Francisco Wisconsin Sanctuary Birds 183

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 8, 2020

Guiding aside, Howell is a research associate at the California Academy of Sciences and the author of many books, including Petrels, Albatrosses, and Storm-Petrels of North America (Princeton). And that is what recommends Steve N. Howell and Fabrice Schmitt: both of them are international bird tour leaders with WINGS.

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Chile Birds South America North America 210

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2023

It is also about Chris’s personal history: his boyhood in suburban Long Island, college years at Harvard and the struggle to come out, ‘nerdy’ passions beyond birding–namely science fiction books and films, career highs at Marvel Comics, travels to foreign countries, and his complicated relationships with his parents.

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Emotional Birds Minneapolis Nepal 227

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2022

And I found this one because he was singing his heart out quite persistently, which certainly suggests a bird that wants to settle down and raise a family. Here is my reasoning: One sighting could indicate a vagrant bird, which is very, very cool, but not really significant for science. But they kind of are, down here.

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Mexico 2018 Ducks Breeding 231

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2014

This research suggests that the boom isn’t due to an influx of newcomers, but rather because more local birds are flourishing and successfully rearing families. If there is one silver lining to all of this gloomy news, it’s that the efforts of birders truly make a difference in helping to advance science.

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Woodpeckers Illinois Science Chicago 273

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 18, 2014

A recent paper in Science, Brood Parasitism and the Evolution of Cooperative Breeding in Birds by Feeney, Medina, Somveille, et al, looks into this interesting possible relationship. Science (New York, N.Y.), doi:10.1126/science.1240039. Or, helping-at-the-nest might be a good strategy to avoid parasitism. Somveille, M.,

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Breeders Breeding Birds Groups 208

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 19, 2014

There is a fantastic paper just out in Science : “Sustained miniaturization and anatomoical innovation in the dinosaurian anceestors of birds” by Michael Lee, Andrea Cau, Darren Naishe and Gareth Dyke. The paper that just came out in science has the following spectacular conclusion. Science , 345 (6196 ), 562–566.

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Camels Whales Whaling Apes 202

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2019

John Porter McCown, who shot the first recorded specimen of this species known to Euro-American science, was a Confederate general, a high-ranking officer in the insurrection led by the southern plantocracy to preserve and expand Slavery and the mode of white supremacy which it supported. Well, no more!

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Birds North America Cooking Campaign 260

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 13, 2012

Nonetheless, I thought it might be interesting and informative to review a DVD put out by Crowe’s Nest Media , a family owned and operated company, which is how I found a copy of Your Backyard: A young beginner’s guide to identifying 18 common feeder birds by sight & sound in my mailbox earlier this week.

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Science Owls Pennsylvania United States 177

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 29, 2024

Location, location, location – some practical advice for River Lapwings aiming to have a family: “ River Lapwing nests on open, unvegetated river banks achieved significantly greater nesting success than those in crop fields” ( source ). Which sounds like a species name taken from a science fiction novel for children.

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Squirrels Birds China Bears 140

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 28, 2017

The World’s biggest citizen science wildlife count takes place this weekend. It is marketed as a family activity and limited to one hour to allow for young attention spans. It is a very simple and accessible event which requires each observer to sit for one hour in their garden or a local park. How easy is that?

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Birds Wildlife Science Protection 100

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

If you have always wondered what the minimum anesthetic concentration for isoflurane and sevoflurane for the Crested Serpent-eagle is, science has an answer. Another member of the magpie family, the White-winged Magpie , makes do with far fewer colors. Apparently, if exposed to sunlight, the green of the magpie plumage may turn blue.

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China Birds Pythons Eagles 239

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 15, 2013

The single greatest challenge facing any book of science writing is balance. Otherwise, there would be no science writing, everyone would just go straight to the journals. That issue aside, though, this is a fascinating book which will engage not just birders, but most people who have any interest in nature or the science of the mind.

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Humane Emotional Stray Dog Science 148

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2021

The photographs are from VIREO, the ornithological image collection associated with the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, which licenses bird photographs to many guides and reference books. Using the icons to locate specific bird families takes a little getting used to, but if you do it often it works well as a finding tool.

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North America America Birds California Condor 279

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2023

I tried to get a better idea of what exactly the definition of cuckoo-dove is but am still not very clear about it – Wikipedia only offers the rather formal definition “any of several species of bird in the genera Macropygia , Reinwardtoena, and Turacoena of the pigeon family.” But I may well be wrong.

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Birds Geese Fish Industry 147

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. They portray the nesting cycles of Mallard, Red-tailed Hawk, and American Robin, illustrating the various ways in which birds create families.

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2020 Birds Groups North America 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2020

Her children’s books–which include the charming Mama Build a Little Nest , other picture books, and chapter books–evince an easy familiarity with birds, their science and birding ethics. It’s an excellent resource for family and child-learning adventures. © 2019 Jennifer Ward, © 2019 Alexander Vidal.

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Los Angeles 2019 Birds 2014 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2011

And if you look into it enough, it presents a classic case where science can fail us. I believe in science. Science is based on logic and evidence, which I think is a very respectable way to look at the world. But what many people fail to realize, and too often scientists themselves, is that science is elastic.

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Emotional Science Birds Mammals 214

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2013

Fantails are a family that, apart from the aberrant Silktail and Pygmy Drongo, are extremely similar in appearance and behaviour. The New Zealand Fantail was once placed with the Grey Fantail of Australia, but are now treated as separate, because of science. The family also reaches into India and as far east as samoa and Fiji.

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New Zealand Samoa Fiji Killing 177

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2015

I would be more apt to accept the science of BBI if the science of hemispheric brain functions was not subject to so much misconceptions and simplification.* I wish Karlson and Rosselet had cited scientific articles explaining the basics of brain psychobiology to support their ideas.

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Birds New Jersey Science Groups 172

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 3, 2017

According to Reedman , murre is the old Cornish world for a Razorbill , and eventually became a vernacular term for alcids more broadly; murrelet, then, makes simple sense as a name for the smaller members of the family. Some murrelets are named for their styling.

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North America Science Collecting Fish 115

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

Birkhead, the experienced storyteller who is also Emeritus Professor at the School of Biosciences, The University of Sheffield, author of multiple scientific articles as well as books of popular science, knows how to make it readable and fun. Colonialism and appropriation of knowledge is discussed in Chapter 6, The New World of Science.

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Dissection Birds Research Europe 231