10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

This shouldn’t have to be stated, especially in a book on bird evolution by an evolutionary biologist with a Ph.D. How Birds Evolve: What Science Reveals about Their Origin, Lives, and Diversity by Douglas J. Futuyma is a synthesis of theory and research about evolution and birds. that’s three birds).

Science 239

Science Albatross Research Birds 239

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2012

Nick Sly, a friend of 10,000 Birds who writes intermittently at the thoroughly-recommended Biological Ramblings , is an ornithologist who graduated not so long ago from Cornell only to be cast out into the real world where he keeps a wry eye on all things biological! The youngest bird in this clutch is only two or three days old.

Eggs 269

Eggs Venezuela Porcupines 2008 269

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2023

Everyone loves baby birds; 10,000 Birds even had a Baby Bird Week once upon a time! Baby birds are cuteness personified, possibly even more so than other baby animals, including human babies, and pose interesting questions of survival and development. Aren’t they usually in their nest with their parents?”

Wildlife Rehabilitation 281

Wildlife Rehabilitation Birds Family Collecting 281

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2021

There was a time when I thought each bird species had its own individual song. Then I found out that there was this vocalization called a ‘call,’ so I thought each bird species had its own individual song (but just the males) and individual call. Bird communication is a complex and evolving science.

North America 279

North America Research Birds Groups 279

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

They may be about bird eggs ( The Most Perfect Thing: The Inside (and Outside) of a Bird’s Egg , 2016), or a 17th-century ornithologist ( Virtuoso by Nature: The Scientific Worlds of Francis Willughby, 2016), or How Bullfinches learn songs from humans ( The Wisdom of Birds: An Illustrated History of Ornithology.

Dissection 249

Dissection Birds Research Europe 249

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2024

The chapter titles of Feather Trails: A Journey of Discovery Among Endangered Birds represent both ends of the spectrum: “A World Full of Poisons,” “Malaria,” “Forest Intruders,” “Lead Shock,” “Shot.” Conservation. It’s not easy.

California Condor 207

California Condor Falcons California Birds 207

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2020

When it comes to one’s most exciting bird sightings, of course, it all comes down to context. I wouldn’t change my central Mexican endemics for any other region’s birds. So my favorites for 2019 includes a good number of birds that are rather common elsewhere, but were firsts for me.

Austria 162

Austria Spain 2019 Birds 162

10,000 Birds

MAY 26, 2013

Many of us are still enjoying the final weekend of May, so let’s cut to the chase and talk about our best birds. My best bird this weekend was an Eastern Wood-Pewee calling from a bare branch. What was your best bird of the weekend? Birding best bird weekend' How about you?

2013 193

2013 North America Birds Eggs 193

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2016

When I picture state birds, I picture the gorgeous Scissor-tailed Flycatcher of Oklahoma, the pristine white feathers of Alaska’s Willow Ptarmigan , or the haunting call of Minnesota’s Common Loon. And yet, that is the very bird Rhode Islanders chose for their state bird: the Rhode Island Red Hen !

Rhode Island 102

Rhode Island Oklahoma Chickens Minnesota 102

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

” While certain New Jersey decisions may be dubious, their state bird, the American Goldfinch, is a beautiful choice. The legislature named the goldfinch the state bird in 1935 , sharing the designation with Washington and Iowa. Unlike many other songbirds, these goldfinches subsist entirely on a vegetarian, seed-based diet.

New Jersey 150

New Jersey United States Legislature Iowa 150

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2015

Producing a book about birds and nesting is a dangerous business. The truth is that there are few images cuter than baby birds in the nest opening their mouths and begging for food, but there are curmudgeons amongst us, myself included, who don’t like to admit this. And of birds courting and mating. We simply refuse to squee.

Eggs 263

Eggs Family 2006 New York 263

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 10, 2016

As a boy growing up, I scoured every bird book I could get my hands on. I guess it is that gruesome boyhood interest in any bird that would use thorns and barbwire to impale its prey on. These fiercely territorial birds. Here is a pair birds that I visit quite often, in an arroyo near La Ventana, Mexico. Migrans and L.i.

Butcher 128

Butcher Birds North America Mexico 128

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2012

Like all good things even Baby Bird Week must come to an end. And though we are sad to see seven days of adorable baby birds come to an end we can be happy that at least some of them will grow up to adulthood and make more baby birds. Sunday, 15 July It’s Baby Bird Week on 10,000 Birds!

Costa Rica 171

Costa Rica Birds North America Albatross 171

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

The Bank Swallow ( Riparia riparia ) is North America’s smallest swallow. The recently released 2014 State of the Birds Report lists the Bank Swallow as one of the common birds in steep decline. The recently released 2014 State of the Birds Report lists the Bank Swallow as one of the common birds in steep decline.

North America 196

North America 2014 California Birds 196

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2015

(This photo is actually of a TK seen a few days later, but it was at our favorite birding gas station pit stop that we also stopped at on our first day. Excellent 10,000 Birds posts have been written about Pico Bonito and Honduras by Corey and Carlos , so I’m going to focus on some of my most memorable experiences.

Honduras 261

Honduras Birds Costa Rica Groups 261

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

The Mourning Dove ( Zenaida macroura) is among the most abundant and widespread terrestrial birds endemic to North and Middle America. This gentle bird frequents bird feeders and readily nests almost anywhere. A seemingly rather peaceful bird, it gets its name from its easily identifiable mournful call.

Hunters 188

Hunters Hunting North America Game 188

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2012

Most weeks, we tend to focus on the movements and migrations of birds. However, with upcoming Easter and Passover festivities and America’s all-important Spring Break, now is a good time to focus on the peregrinations of people. Will you see birds there? Where are you going this weekend?

2012 163

2012 Albatross New York Eggs 163

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2011

In this post, I shall elaborate on what bird poop is. Bird poop is, summarized and generalized, the same thing as any other animal group’s poop: the final stage of digestion, the getting rid of the garbage. Bird – Stone – Poop, an inseparable combination. Birds do that, too. Birds do it differently.

Mammals 259

Mammals Birds Eggs Fish 259

10,000 Birds

JUNE 18, 2014

The featured image above shows a female incubating eggs from my first resident breeding pair back in 2007. These elegant birds nest in cavities of various sites, including trees, cliffs, and nesting boxes. The four to six eggs are white and unmarked. You can also see the bird’s leftt wing sticking out.

Eggs 166

Eggs North America 2007 Woodpeckers 166

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2013

All four major flyways in North America — the aerial migration routes traveled by billions of birds each year — converge in one spot in Canada’s boreal forest, the Peace-Athabasca Delta in northeastern Alberta. About three billion birds fly north to the Boreal Forest each spring to build nests and lay eggs.

Obama 261

Obama 2008 United States Industry 261

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 21, 2015

Isla Rasa was declared a sanctuary in 1964, and egg-collecting and disturbance during the breeding season are discouraged. These factors have caused the IUCN to rate this bird as “Near Threatened” 2. You know what one of my favorite things is about bird blogging? www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUBX_tlHySc. v=FUBX_tlHySc.

San Francisco 160

San Francisco North America Seals Sanctuary 160

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2012

Most of the Osprey breeding in North America are migratory, only Florida, the Caribbean and Baja California host non-migratory breeders 1. Osprey pairs usually form at the nest site where females are fed almost exclusively by their mates prior to egg laying behavior 1. To see all of our Bird Love Week posts, just click here.

California 223

California North America Sacramento Breeders 223

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2016

Northern Flicker nestlings hatch slightly asynchronously as the adults begin incubation one to two days before the last egg is laid. According to Birds of North America Online , on day 10 or 11 their eyes are beginning to open. They also have this strange looking white fleshy fold at the jaw hinge, and a white egg tooth.

North America 102

North America Eggs America Birds 102

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2011

So how do nesting birds deal with the excrement of all those nestlings until they fledge? Here’s a photo of a House Finch nest before the eggs hatch and the hatchlings start producing fecal sacs. The fecal sac is a translucent gelatinous membrane containing the excrement of nestling birds. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHSgyxRQXvg

Bald Eagle 250

Bald Eagle Chickens Birds North America 250

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2015

They nest on large inland lakes in western North America and migrate to the Pacific coast in winter, however they maintain local populations year-round in California. They normally lay 3 to 4 eggs per clutch. What a great bird! Click on photos for full sized images. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbRrxw-H6xA. v=ZbRrxw-H6xA.

California 145

California North America Eggs America 145

10,000 Birds

MARCH 7, 2011

home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birds / Bird Surprises Bird Surprises By Bill • March 8, 2011 • 9 comments Tweet Share Sometimes we watchers see birds do things that surprise us—things birds are not supposed to do.

2011 238

2011 Birds Michigan Ohio 238

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2013

Podicipediformes, aka Grebes, are freshwater diving duckish birds that are not ducks. That of course is true of many birds.) Like many birds, Grebes are mainly preyed on by other birds, but also, because Grebes liv in and on and near (mostly) fresh water, they are also preyed on by the smaller carnivores such as ferrets.

2010 216

2010 South America 2011 Argentina 216

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

The threat of extinction of such iconic Florida bird prompted State and Federal agencies to find solutions to stop and reverse the declining trend. While the native apple snail continued declining, another species of apple snail native to South America began to appear in canals and ponds in South Florida.

Florida 240

Florida South America Eggs Bolivia 240

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2014

In her free time she travels near and far to find birds to continue building her life list, though many of her favorites can still be found right in her own backyard. She has contributed many pieces to 10,000 Birds and writes about her birding adventures on her blog, newbirder.tumblr.com. Lots and lots of birds.

Birds 194

Birds Florida Groups Breeding 194

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2015

The Andean Flamingo ( Phoenicopterus andinus ) is one of the three flamingos occurring in the high Andes of South America. Egg harvesting to sell as food was intensive then, with thousands taken annually from the breeding colonies in Chile. Egg collection for local consumption still continues at lower scale.

Chile 155

Chile Endangered Species Eggs Argentina 155

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2013

They packed up in June of 2013 and headed south from San Diego with the southern tip of South America as their destination. Like so many trips this one is more about the journey than the destination which brings us to why they have a guest post (hopefully the first of several) on 10,000 Birds. We were ecstatic!

South America 202

South America San Diego Mexico America 202

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 8, 2015

The Brown Pelican occurs in both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of North America and northern South America. They nearly disappeared from North America between the late 1950s and early 1970s because of pesticides entering the food chain. The Brown Pelican is Louisiana’s state bird. Brown Pelicans in non-breeding plumage.

Pelicans 157

Pelicans North America Peru Fish 157

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2014

Young Least Terns , some still begging for food, begin to appear on Florida beaches and will soon continue their flight south eastern South America. By early May most terns have laid eggs. Interestingly, the bird activity during the incubation period is misleading when it comes to estimating the number of nesting terns.

Florida 175

Florida Raccoons South America Eggs 175

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 10, 2012

A few weeks ago I was working out in the garden and noticed a small bird flutter into the garden. This bird didn’t look like the Bewick’s Wrens I was used to seeing. I believe the bird pictured above (click on photos for full sized images) is possibly a young bird going through its prejuvenal molt.

Mississippi 173

Mississippi North America Eggs America 173

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2015

Seashores anywhere support very similar bird communities. Shores and sandbars along Amazonian rivers support a similar bird community, which includes resident and migratory birds. During the dry season, shallow rivers and narrow channels concentrate fish, which in turn becomes easier to catch by fish eating birds.

South America 170

South America Fish Breeding Eggs 170

10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2015

When I first approached the nest tree I saw an adult squirrel climbing the snag near the sapsucker entrance and, knowing that squirrels will eat bird eggs and nestlings, I was quite concerned. References: 1 Birds of North America Online. Click on photos for full sized images. It should be here later today.

Squirrels 157

Squirrels Woodpeckers North America Eggs 157

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2014

In the mid-1970s, a local breeder was burglarized and a few of his birds escaped, after which the breeder released his remaining stock of about 50 birds 1. This is an animated map made from Christmas Bird Count data of Eurasian Collared-Dove sightings from 1987 through 1997 2.

Breeders 186

Breeders 2002 North America Bahamas 186