10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2014

These bark-burrowing beetles, which apparently hitched a ride in cargo shipments from their native Asia, have been starving the ash trees of eastern and midwestern North America to death for a dozen years now. With all due respect to Maria von Trapp, combating the greatest infestation that U.S. Enter the woodpecker.

Woodpeckers 273

Woodpeckers Illinois Science Chicago 273

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 17, 2014

But the tenets of the North American Model were developed in the 19th century, when wildlife ethics and science were a mere glimmer of what we understand today. Now, in 21st century America, we’re entertaining new considerations, in keeping with our modern understanding of wild animals and conservation.

Wildlife 252

Wildlife Coyotes Hunters Wolves 252

10,000 Birds

MARCH 22, 2013

Everybody knows sparrows, except for the fact that most people don’t know anything about sparrows.Kim Todd sets out to rectify this in a small, elegant book that covers both House Sparrows , the Passer tribe, and the other birds colloquially called sparrows throughout the world (albeit she concentrates most on North America and Britain.)

Sparrows 197

Sparrows Feral Cats North America Feral 197

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2012

And, I started daydreaming about encountering something a little different, maybe a Horned Frog, Ceratophrys cornuta, a large, squat green and brown frog of South America, with a wide mouth large enough to eat other frogs as well as reptiles. As Mattison says, “Frogs are unlikely to be mistaken for any other type of animal.”

Reptiles 195

Reptiles Madagascar Family New York City 195

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

Found throughout South America in ever-dwindling numbers these extremely beautiful birds – threatened by habitat destruction and collection for the wild bird trade – are often difficult to see and hard to find. Chestnut-fronted Macaws Ara severa. Volunteers are one of the most important aspects to the project.

Peru 255

Peru Parrots 2011 South America 255

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 17, 2014

There’s been some interesting bird research lately, having to do with the origin of birds ( new analysis of new and old fossils ) and the overarching taxonomy ( using DNA analysis ) but I’ve not had a chance to absorb this weighty new knowledge so I’ll probably write about it next month.

Science 165

Science Birds 2000 North America 165

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2011

crossing the Carribean and winding up in South America? 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. Science, for many years, has done no better.

Emotional 226

Emotional Science Birds Mammals 226

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

And, Fuller should know; he has spent his career producing books about extinct birds and mammals, including the recent Lost Animals: Extinction and the Photographic Record, from his home in England. Fuller is also a photographer, but his web page notes that he seldom takes photographs of birds or animals.).

2014 162

2014 Killing Michigan Kentucky 162

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

For my new book, due out in 2012 from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, I’ve been researching sandhill crane hunting. The sandhill crane has the lowest recruitment rate (average number of young birds joining a population each season) of any bird now hunted in North America. to a high of 11%.

2011 260

2011 Kentucky Tennessee Hunting 260

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 5, 2021

Dragonflies and Damselflies of Costa Rica: A Field Guide by Dennis Paulson and William Haber fills a large gap in the field guide coverage of Costa Rica and continues the high level of excellence set by Paulson’s previous guides to dragonflies and damselflies of eastern and western North America. Damselflies first, then dragonflies.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica North America Family America 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2023

I am not sure about the security situation in Iraq these days but at least some people do ornithological research there – resulting in papers such as one titled “Breeding observations of the Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus (Desfontaines , 1789) in Iraq” Impressive. Fortunately, they are quite common in Shanghai.

Birds 130

Birds Iraq China Ireland 130