10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2020

Aïthurus polytmus , a family of Red-billed Streamerbirds depicted in a print dated between 1820 and 1860 from the Special Collections of the University of Amsterdam. Superstitions about the Red-tailed Streamerbird’s supernatural powers continue today and it’s considered bad luck to kill one. I can think of no higher honor.

Jamaica 272

Jamaica Detroit Birds Medical 272

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2020

I should add that the Big Owls taking over NYC social and even hard print media, dominating conversations with my nonbirder friends and family, are not the only owls in the five boroughs, but like a musical, the closer you are to Broadway, the closer you are to fame and fortune (and maybe even a higher quality rodent for dinner, who knows?).

New York City 186

New York City Birds Owls Fox 186

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. They are also threatened by cultural beliefs that lead to killing them because they’re seen as harbingers of death and bad luck. They are also hunted. This is a great summer read.

Owls 210

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 210

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2023

It was the same day George Floyd was killed. This is what makes this memoir more than a collection of anecdotes; it’s our opportunity to understand the different parts that make the whole of a black gay man negotiating the natural world and the more challenging, the adjacent “real” world. I remember that day.

Emotional 223

Emotional Birds Minneapolis Nepal 223