10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2011

The absurdity of mob rule is summed up well, I think, by the idea of a fully healthy human male saying out loud, as evidence of a woman being a witch, that “She turned me into a newt!&# But what, exactly, is a newt? Newts can be found in Asia, Europe, and North America. Now get out there and find a newt! … a.

Salamander 161

Salamander Pythons North America Europe 161

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 209

Dissection Birds Research Europe 209

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2019

Birds may have taken to these artificial perches like ducks to water, but human reactions to the newfangled poles and wires were hardly as appreciative, especially in the early day. We humans tend not to think of utility poles and wires as “beautiful” or “natural” elements of the environment, when we notice them at all.

United States 116

United States Game North America New York City 116

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 23, 2013

The most obvious place that cryptozoology and ornithology overlap is in the area of Lazarus taxa and would-be Lazarus taxa — the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Eskimo Curlew, Pink-headed Duck , and the like — birds that no one doubts existed once, whether or not they exist today. Now why should this be? Unexplained!

Apes 159

Apes Birds Woodpeckers Primates 159

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2022

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 255

Birds Compassion Eagles Science 255

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2015

And, of course, the reputation of certain species of birds as troublemakers for humans is a problem in bird conservation, so this is worth watching. H5N2 is a subtype of Influenza A, and infects many species of birds including those mentioned as well as ducks (domestic and wild). Most viruses do not survive, or are not passed on.

Mississippi 173

Mississippi Fowl Turkey Minnesota 173

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 24, 2012

Crowned Lapwing For such a huge area of land with great expanses of pasture, prairie and field, I find it odd that the Americas only host 2 species of Lapwing. A grounded flock of Black Vultures ducked as the lapwings buzzed close overhead trying to drive them off.

Brazil 129

Brazil Protection Family Africa 129

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 16, 2011

The task of wrestling this topic down into something that the human mind can manage, without losing sight of the big picture because it’s snowing in Buffalo, is likely to be the task of a lifetime for many science communicators. Few issues of our day are as huge, in scope or in implication, as climate change.

Netherlands 158

Netherlands Birds Buffalo Science 158

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 12, 2013

Well-represented exotic families include starlings, ducks and doves and there are also many more individual species that now thrive here. The population is not directly dependent on human support. The Spot-breasted Oriole , a native of Central America, is one of the lucky exotics to make the list.

Miami 130

Miami Parrots Research Birds 130

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

Larry starts us off right with an owl that makes birders drool: I was able to see and photograph many great birds in 2014 but my Best Bird of the Year would have to be the Great Gray Owl , the largest Strix in North America. I had enough time to warn my husband that it was headed our way and we ducked.

2014 183

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 183

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2017

The Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Eastern North America by Nathan Pieplow is innovative, fascinating, and challenging. The Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Eastern North America is divided into three main sections: Introduction, Species Accounts, and Index to Bird Sounds (also called the Visual Index).

North America 161

North America America Birds New York 161

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 9, 2011

But the fact remains there may be a few more weeks yet of getting by enjoying pretty ducks, and savoring the returning Tree Swallows and Eastern Phoebes before we get to that magic tipping point where the flood gates open and things get really interesting. Every human does. Twitching or patch-birding? Patch-twitching, naturally!

Delaware 234

Delaware Colorado 2012 Advocacy 234

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2020

For those of us with the great good fortune to bird in Latin America, or other less-studied biological regions, my experience suggests that we are much more likely to benefit from the new species created by such splits. But you pretty much must come to Mexico to see the Mexican Duck , which I see every time I go to our nearest lake.

San Diego 170

San Diego San Francisco Mexico Baltimore 170

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2011

My birding adventures this week, while Western, were far from Interior (three words for you: Black-bellied Whistling Duck ). The main body of the guide covers 150 species of North American birds that are found in close proximity to humans and likely to be seen well.

North America 160

North America America Dissection Birds 160

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

Other birds with webbed feet, including ducks and geese, have only three webbed toes; the hallux (which in birds is usually the “hind toe&# and in humans, the “big toe&# ) is free. For all of recorded history, humans have classified other living things by their physical characteristics.

2011 151

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 151

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

Most birders are familiar with this story; back in the day, the pesticide DDT was in widespread use all over North America. But within a couple of decades, it’s effects on both wildlife and humanity became apparent. While DDT is still used some places in the world, it has largely disappeared from use in North America.

Albatross 198

Albatross Endangered Species Geese Alaska 198

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

The first bird to draw my eye was a fine adult Grey Plover, or what is known in America as a Black-bellied Plover, sitting characteristically hunch-backed just a few yards from my car, on the edge of the tide. It was obviously happy with where it was, as it didn’t move much. These tough little waders are notorious for eating almost anything.

Geese 175

Geese Russia Breeding Unwanted 175

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2020

The longer Introduction lists and briefly summarizes topics covered in the Portfolio (evolution feathers, coloration, variation, senses, movement, physiology, migration, food and foraging, survival, social behavior, birds and humans, threats). 167, Meadowlark line of sight–not p.67). copyright @2020 by David A llen Sibley.

2020 262

2020 Birds Groups North America 262

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2013

How far is the closest human settlement? Well yes, but all of the planet’s tall mountains are relatively close to some form of human habitation. Some rain-forests could rightfully be termed remote but again, human habitation is actually relatively closer than what one might think. Eaton’s Pintail by N.

Birds 198

Birds South Africa South America Feral Cats 198

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

I occasionally get to see the Redhead duck near my Mexican home of Morelia. Mute Swans seem equally adapted to human presence in Europe. Only a pair of Mandarin Ducks ! And I did manage to get my first glimpses of some of the species listed in my European bird guides. I also managed to see some I did not expect.

Austria 122

Austria Switzerland Europe Geese 122

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2012

As humans we place exceptional value in the beauty of an individual’s eyes. Eye color is even more varied in birds than it is in humans. In fact, many birds exhibit more pigment coloration in their eyes than humans (for the scientifically-minded these pigments are called pteridines, purines and carotenoids).

Birds 252

Birds Humane Breeding Pelicans 252

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

Rightly or wrongly, there’s an hierarchy of extinct birds in North America, in the United States in particular. A weird mussel-eating duck. North America certainly doesn’t want for wood-warblers, many of whom are more dramatic that the little canebrake dweller. A slight, transhemispheric curlew. John Bachman.

South Carolina 177

South Carolina Cuba Missouri Mississippi 177

10,000 Birds

MAY 16, 2018

I am a human being, so I am entitled to, and I do, say that the starling is an ugly bird. Shakespeare was, supposedly , the reason starlings, house sparrows, and other non-native birds were introduced to North America. . • The Aliens Among Us: How Invasive Species Are Transforming the Planet – and Ourselves (Leslie Anthony, Yale). •

Humane 102

Humane Species North America Sparrows 102

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

Gassett, I am a writer, naturalist and artist with a special interest in human/bird interactions. 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. You don’t even have to have a duck stamp! to a high of 11%.

2011 239

2011 Kentucky Tennessee Hunting 239

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

l-r) Brushland Tinamou ( Nothoprocta cinerascens ), Southern Cassowary ( Casuarius casuarius ), Greater Sage-Grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ), Mandarin Duck ( Aix galericulata ). Have you noticed ducks and quail replacing loons and grebes at the beginning of newer bird field guides and checklists? This is why.

Family 279

Family Parrots Birds 2014 279

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

Ducks are easier prey for the Eagle. Over the course of nearly 15 years, James Paruk of the Biodiversity Research Institute and his colleagues used a combination of methods to investigate winter site fidelity at four locations across North America and found that birds had an 85% chance of returning to a site in subsequent years.

Humane 201

Humane Eagles Investigation Research 201

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2011

• Explore These Related Posts Tree Swallows Return, It Must Be Spring Stalking a Kiwi Icon Duck Migration Finally Saw-Whet Sea Snakes of Northern Australia.Or Dale Forbes Mar 16th, 2011 at 8:37 am Hi Laurent, that is a fascinating example of humans responding to difficult environmental challenges. Get yours today!

2011 203

2011 Breeders Breeding Deer 203

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2023

In somewhat dubious English, the abstract of one paper on this species by Chinese authors states that “ Pycnonotus sinens has got used to the city life and become a kind of city bird that are closely associated with human” (of course, my Chinese – spoken only anyway – is far worse than this English).

Birds 130

Birds Iraq China Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2019

Mandarin Duck, Central Park, NYS. It is very possible that Mike and Corey will penalize me for including the Mandarin Duck–also known as the “Hot Duck,” “Mandy” only to tourists and the Gothamist–in this list, but its celebrity cannot be ignored. Everybody wants to know about the Hot Duck.

2018 149

2018 New Jersey Michigan North Dakota 149

10,000 Birds

MAY 24, 2014

Just to be clear, as the main demographic reading here is from North America, this is the Soccer World Cup. It features lakes which can usually be relied upon for Neotropic Cormorant and White-faced Whistling Duck on the water with Kiskadees seemingly perched on every bank-side tree. Brazil will play in Gold, blue and green.

Brazil 160

Brazil Birds Transported Game 160

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2017

The Crossley ID Guide: Waterfowl covers every residential, migrating, vagrant, exotic, and introduced swan, goose, dabbling and diving duck in North America (Canada and the United States): 62 Species Accounts on four swan species and one vagrant subspecies; 15 goose species; 46 duck species; plus accounts for hybrid geese, ducks and exotics.

Ducks 114

Ducks North America Geese Hunters 114

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2022

As with Chinese male humans, having your own building is still vital to raising young. One of the established ways to evaluate self-cognition in animals (including humans) is the mirror test. Among humans, there is a tendency to dress very young humans up in the most colorful way possible. Humanity is not very human.

Birds 179

Birds Sparrows Protection Humane 179

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 2, 2006

And then realize this: On November 13, 2006, the lame duck House of Representatives passed H.R.4239 The rhetoric of terror has been used to “justify” the wire-tapping of America citizens' phone calls without probable cause. The rhetoric of terror has been used to “justify” human rights abuses in Guantanamo. That’s right.

Extremist 40

Extremist 2006 Laws Legislation 40