10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2022

So, it sometimes comes to South Africa to relax and enjoy relative anonymity. Interestingly, the HBW gives different contact calls depending on the country in which the flycatcher lives: “Contact call a simple ‘zeet, zwayt’ (South Africa), ‘ti-twit tee-twit’ (Gabon), ‘zi’zk’zk’ (Tanzania).”

Zimbabwe 147

Zimbabwe Birds South Africa Benin 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2023

In the slightly frighteningly named journal “Science of The Total Environment”, there is a paper on organochlorine compounds in Purple Heron eggs nesting in sites located around a chloralkali plant (Ebro River). Summary result: relevant chemicals emitted by the plant can be found in the eggs. Bye, bye, Lesser Coucal.

Birds 130

Birds Eggs Breeders Breeding 130

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences. Jennifer Ackerman points out in the introduction to What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds , that we don’t know much, but that very soon we may know a lot more. But what do we know beyond these commonly seen and heard behaviors?

Owls 209

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 209

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2022

This would have allowed you to summarize your experience in sentences such as “A total of 98 boluses regurgitated by 52 chicks aged 1 day to 11 days after hatching form the sample and are shown to contain 323 food items.” This is ok as birds do not have teeth anyway). Chinese Pond Herons also grow on trees.

Birds 162

Birds South Korea Japan Abandon 162

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2021

Bird communication is a complex and evolving science. Research experiments are described without citing the names of the researchers themselves or any other background information. There is always more to learn, more to explore, and it appears that in some areas we are just starting to know what we don’t know (female bird song!).

North America 278

North America Research Birds Groups 278

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2013

Geladas are the sole survivors of a once abundant branch of primates that historically foraged across the grasslands of Africa, the Mediterranean and India. They have also been known as Lion Baboons and Bleeding-heart Baboons, due respectively to the males’ lion-like cape and tail, and the bare patch of red skin on both sex’s chests.

Ethiopia 160

Ethiopia Primates Mammals Fur 160

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2014

Erika is a first year graduate student studying Ecosystem Science and Conservation at Duke. Of the ten students, two had gone on the trip the year before and one had experience with the Sooty Terns, meaning 30% of us knew what we were doing, and 70% had zero idea. Banding is best done in teams split into three, potentially four groups.

Birds 177

Birds Florida Groups Breeding 177

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2012

More than 150 bird species are known to have become extinct over the past 500 years, and many more are estimated to have been driven to extinction before they became known to science. White-backed and Hooded occur throughout most of Subsaharan Africa, but Rueppell’s is restricted to East and West Africa.

Endangered Species 188

Endangered Species Species South Africa Morocco 188

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. American Flamingo photo by Dick Culbert). Tyrannosaurus rex didn’t exist yet. Jarvis et al.

Family 279

Family Parrots Birds 2014 279

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2014

Where did the Coney Island Gray-hooded Gull come from, Africa or South America? He has led birding tours for many years and is a research associate at Point Blue Conservation Science. The mystery of their presence makes finding one, chasing one, viewing one a unique experience. What does “ship assisted” mean? by Steve N.

North America 252

North America America Birds United States 252

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2015

The reality is that it’s if pretty difficult to see most penguin species, excepting the wonderfully accessible African Penguins at Boulders Beach outside Cape Town, South Africa and the Galapagos Penguins, ironically one of the rarest and most commonly seen species.

Penguins 197

Penguins New Zealand South Africa Albatross 197