10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2021

Shorebirds – or “shorbs” for the cuteness factor (as if that needed any enhancement) – remain one of the most fascinating families of birds for me. I had the good fortune to visit Lake Nakuru in Kenya in 2019, one of the high elevation rift valley soda lakes. There is still so much to learn!

Buffalo 264

Buffalo Kenya Trinidad 2019 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2021

Ballantine and Hyman explore how birds communicate and summarize studies on how that communication functions in diverse bird families all over the world. She writes, “Broadly, I am interested in the evolutionary mechanisms underlying phenotypic variation and population divergence in animals, primarily birds.”

North America 278

North America Research Birds Groups 278

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

The species are taxonomically divided into two families: Tytonidae, Barn-Owls, and Strigidae, Owls, encompassed in one order, Strigiformes. When you look at Clements latest taxonomic spreadsheet, you get a sense of the depth of their relationships to each other and the world. This is a great summer read.

Owls 209

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 209

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

Penguins are cartoons, emoticons, animated films, children’s books (though owls really take first place here), sports teams, a book publisher, and a Batman villain (a rare example of penguin negativity, though Burgess Meredith did bring an endearing attitude to his 1960’s TV portrayal). .” Press, 2011). Press, 2011).

Penguins 278

Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 278

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2022

Wrynecks are fascinating because they are woodpeckers, taxonomically and evolutionarily, yet they do not share many behaviors and anatomical features of most members of the Picidae family. But they are woodpeckers: the genus Jynx of the subfamily Jynginae of the Picidae family. They are beautiful, but in a different way.

Woodpeckers 232

Woodpeckers Hungary Thailand 2014 232