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Potpourri of Amazing Bird Science

10,000 Birds

The potpourri covers some interesting bird related science of the last few weeks, and the promise is this: I’ll get to that other stuff soon, I promise! Their total population, from the Baja Peninsula to Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, is estimated at somewhere between 1 million and 3.5 You see, it is all connected.

Science 151
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Some Hokkaido Winter Passerines

10,000 Birds

But while humans mainly try to stay slim and fit for health reasons, Eurasian Siskins care more about the danger of being eaten. In science speak, this is named the optimal body mass hypothesis. People tend to eat more food when in company. The same was shown for Eurasian Siskins ( source ).

Research 181
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Vagrancy in Birds: A Book Review

10,000 Birds

There are many more factors than I imagined: compass errors, wind drift, overshooting, extreme weather and irruptions, natural dispersal, and human-driven vagrancy. Some birders may want to carefully read the chapter on human-driven vagrancy, which takes up the question of ship-assisted vagrancy. Next time, I’ll know why.

Birds 262
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What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds: A Book Review

10,000 Birds

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. What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds is a joyous, fascinating read.

Owls 219
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COMMENTS ON COLLECTING BIRDS: A Reply

10,000 Birds

While it makes a passing attempt to say not all scientists are like these monstrous fiends (or truly arrogant, as she dubs them) it mostly focuses on these monstrous fiends simply to prove that scientists in wildlife conservation can be monstrous fiends, particularly compared to the environment-loving oil industry of Alaska.

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Selling Birds Short: A Heretical View Of Avian Intelligence

10,000 Birds

Picture being a Blackpoll Warbler being born in the boreal forests of Alaska. Almost as soon as you leave the nest, you have the strong urge to migrate to a place called “Venezuela” Can you imagine how many potential choices and decisions are involved in flying from Alaska to the Atlantic Seaboard, flying down the eastern U.S.,

Emotional 211
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ACTION ALERT! Tomorrow, MARCH 15, 2011, is the deadline for public.

10,000 Birds

March 14, 2011 Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Jon Gassett, Commissioner One Sportsman’s Lane Frankfort, Kentucky 40601 Dear Mr. Gassett, I am a writer, naturalist and artist with a special interest in human/bird interactions. Kills in Canada, Alaska and Mexico are not included in the count.

2011 251