article thumbnail

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! So, here we go… Fighting in Iraq has been affecting starlings. “We may be talking about 50,000 to 100,000 deaths. ” Crows are smart.

Science 151
article thumbnail

The Feather Thief: A Book Review

10,000 Birds

government (Johnson had worked in Iraq for USAID, where he learned about his friends and colleagues problems first-hand). This is also where Johnson starts talking about the cost of the theft to the Museum and to science. That’s pretty much the reaction of anybody hearing this for the first time. Mostly adult males.

article thumbnail

Birding Shanghai in February 2023

10,000 Birds

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