10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2020

How, to humans, is “behavior” separate from the bird itself? For example, ritualistic displays of aggression and appeasement, of coming to the brink and then backing off, are common in humans and, probably, all animals. Again, both these behaviors seem quite human — or maybe our equivalents seem quite avian.

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Bald Eagle Puffins 2001 Boston 260

Critter News

APRIL 1, 2009

He asked whether cows, chickens, sheep and some of the other animals that we eat are usually treated and killed in a humane manner. The meat industry will say yes, of course, all animals are treated and killed humanely. In my opinion, the crux of the question touches on what is “humane.” Here is my opinion.

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Animal Person

JUNE 12, 2010

When the landscape is barren and there are few living creatures of any kind, people begin to lose their humanity. And that's when they start to do the unthinkable: eat other humans. Bad guys treat humans the way they'd treat animals. Even the good guys sometimes treat people the way they'd treat animals.

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10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2022

Indian gazelle You know the secret of how African park rangers find animals for tourists? And the animals themselves? When they spot a traffic jam in the savanna, it is easy enough to conclude that some unfortunate animal is being surrounded by telephoto lenses. Well, busy observing the Great Indian Bustard, of course.

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Gazelles India 2012 Pakistan 255

Critter News

AUGUST 24, 2011

Someone posted a question about why humans have human rights and whether they should considering that others do not. In the matter of science, and there are varying levels of this viewpoint, the human is the most advanced of creatures. I responded. It's not profound, but an opinion. We are made in God's image.

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10,000 Birds

JANUARY 14, 2022

Of course, a land of beefeaters needs butchers. In fact, the family name Lanius derives from a Latin word for “butcher”, though the “butcherbird” was a butcher long before humans even developed the language to describe these activities.

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Animal Person

JULY 1, 2009

Angus directed me to a story about the Calgary Stampede (rodeo) and the Calgary and Vancouver Humane Societies which had me asking: Whose side are they on? The Calgary Humane Society works with the Stampede to make sure the animals are safe (and by the way that's impossible if the animals are being used in the rodeo.

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Reddit Animals

DECEMBER 3, 2023

How often do we try to give animals a way to talk? It seems like the idea that animals are, in a sense, trying to talk [to you] is not a common thought. And I'm not saying that I expect animals to literally talk. And I'm not saying that I expect animals to literally talk. Do we do it enough?

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Experience Experiments Parrots Pets 40

Reddit Animals

MARCH 29, 2023

Actually, it surprised me more about cats -- dogs always seemed more attuned to humans. How there is the slightest doubt that animals have a "theory of mind" I will never know. Of courses, cats and probably many other animals have this -- very valuable ability for survival to know what another animal is probably thinlking.

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10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2021

Even if the birds could speak like humans, their instincts would still come into constant play. The Rufous-naped Wren is a very animated, common species in Costa Rica. No, you wouldn’t be allowed to count those avian ambassadors but human attendees would benefit from interaction and insights coming straight from the birds.

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Animal Person

APRIL 5, 2011

A couple of years ago I wrote about whether it's a good use of my time to be a purist about the term "animal rights" when most of the world doesn't have the same understanding of the term as I do. Or how a paragraph would refer to animal rights and animal welfare as if they're interchangeable.

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Critter News

JANUARY 17, 2010

The Humane Society has information here. Even under the best conditions, animals have a tough life in poverty stricken nations like Haiti. But, of course, we don't pay attention to Haiti unless the buildings all fall down. The ASPCA has a page too. I imagine like everything else, this is going to take a lot of hard work.

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10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2023

And of course, the photos here show a female, as far as I can tell. Of course, this factoid should be presented with a photo of a male, not a female rosefinch. The Light-vented Bulbul apparently benefits from being a social animal, which I personally (being not very social) find a bit unfair.

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Birds Blackbirds Indonesia Bhutan 195

Animal Person

APRIL 6, 2010

And of course, as a (pop) culture whose sensibility has been formed by The Onion and The Daily Show , it's no wonder. Riddle me this: Why would any human animal use as a default position that nonhuman animals do not have personalities as rich, distinct, obnoxious, obsequious and varied as human animals?

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10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2022

Some differences in animal behavior are quite striking. Of course, on Chongming, the Chinese Pond Heron is very common. ” I can see how this line of thinking leads to all kinds of sci-fi types of thought (“would I mate with an alien if I was the last human on earth”, etc.), of catching extremely small fish.

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Birds South Korea Japan Abandon 162

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2022

Most of the usual birds seem present, a frog or two call from a small wetland, and a few other expected animals are there too. During our time travels, we would note vast changes in many other birds and animals. Part of that recognition is assessing which types of plants and animals are more threatened than others.

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Costa Rica Parrots Albatross Birds 256

10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2021

As all my cats are indoor animals, I do not feel particularly responsible or guilty for this. Interestingly, these heronries frequently seem to be near highway exits – either because these relatively ugly places are less likely to be disturbed by humans, or because this shortens the commute of those birds working in downtown offices.

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10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2023

Baby birds are cuteness personified, possibly even more so than other baby animals, including human babies, and pose interesting questions of survival and development. Baby birds may be separated from the nest and their parents because of natural occurrences (violent weather, floods) or unknowing human interference or predators.

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Wildlife Rehabilitation Birds Family Collecting 255

Animal Person

FEBRUARY 19, 2010

Today's New York Times gives us Adam Shriver's Op-Ed " Not Grass-Fed, But at Least Pain-Free ," which presents its dilemma at the end: If we cannot avoid factory farms altogether, the least we can do is eliminate the unpleasantness of pain in the animals that must live and die on them. It would be far better than doing nothing at all.

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Factory Farm Factory Farming Animal Factory 100

Critter News

JULY 21, 2009

But of course, the argument will be that the project is economic development, jobs and "for the good of humanity.". Tags: animal research pharmaceuticals primates medical research malaysia. The stupid project is in partnership with a French pharmaceutical company. Fortunately, there are Malaysian activists opposing it.

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Critter News

OCTOBER 31, 2009

Issue 2 in Ohio would create 13-member state board to oversee the care of farm animals in the State. The Humane Society and other groups oppose it as a power grab by big agriculture to prevent another Proposition 2 (the initiative passed last year in California to improve standards for farm animal care.)

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Farm Animal Farmed Animals Animal Welfare Ohio 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2021

Humans, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves. I have to say that the pattern suits the buntings much better than humans, though, and hopefully, it is also more pleasant for them to wear. Japanese T**s have their own claim to fame – they are the first wild animal species with experimental evidence for compositional syntax.

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Birds Humane Japan Ducks 232

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2015

Consider this: ninety percent of birds treated at wildlife centers are admitted as a result of human interactions that have nothing to do with “nature.” When they called our state agency, they were told to “let nature take its course.” Our world has changed, and humans have created that change.

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Wildlife Rehabilitation Bald Eagle Rescue Wildlife 189

Animal Person

JANUARY 6, 2010

I did tweet about " Scientists Say Dolphins Should Be Treated As 'Non-human Persons' " yesterday, as I think this is a Gray Matter for a lot of people and might be interesting to explore. You could be for or against animal rights and believe the gateway theory. You could be for or against animal rights and believe the gateway theory.

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Dolphins Animal Rights Rights Animal 100

Animal Person

MAY 30, 2009

Bea directed me to an interview with Dr. Elizabeth Parker , the "chair man " (my emphasis) of the Animal Agriculture Alliance at CattleNetwork, which apparently is "The Source for Cattle News." Of course, Lobo is missing the point entirely. The Humane Society of the United States is the big bully on this strange playground.

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10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2022

This is also why you very rarely find a photo of a giraffe on top of one of these posts – the other reason of course being that a giraffe photo would be relatively pointless in a birding blog. I had also not seen any Common Kingfisher for more than 2 months, a situation that is generally being frowned upon by human rights lawyers.

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Singapore Birds Mountain Goats Giraffes 147

Animal Person

MAY 10, 2009

In " 'Animal Rights:' Pernicious Nonsense for Both Law & Public Policy ," Massachusetts attorney and "sportsman" Richard Latimer is on the mark with some concepts, and way off with others. Now, I know you're saying: That's not what animal rights is. than with any genuine concern for species diversity or even animal welfare."

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Animal Rights Rights Broiler Chicken Animal 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 5, 2015

Of course, I was young and stupid (and I have a phenomenal memory for absolutely awful, nauseating jokes, seriously, once I hear them I never forget them). Just a few weeks ago I saw an image of animal cruelty in my Twitter feed that still causes my chest to tighten when I think about it. Who among you has never told a dirty joke?

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Hunters Hunting Animal Cruelty Game 168

Animal Ethics

FEBRUARY 10, 2012

I'm a longtime proponent of animal rights, but this suit is ridiculous. First, the 13th Amendment was designed to abolish human chattel slavery. Applying it to nonhuman animals is a stretch. Nonhuman animals can suffer. The right is defeasible, of course, as it is in the case of humans.

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Animal Rights Rights San Diego Animal 40

4 The Love Of Animals

MAY 5, 2011

We always love reading books about animals, and from time to time we get to review new books to share with our readers! This book explores the special connection and bond between humans and dogs. It’s a very interesting read, and anyone who has had a love of dogs, or any other animal for that matter, will enjoy this book.

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For Animals Animal Wyoming Dogs 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2011

However, many of the professionals who work at places like these exhibit enormous compassion for animals. Rather than risk the chick’s imprinting on humans, the team cleverly thought to pair their two charges. SeaWorld and similar attractions that serve up cetacean entertainment to the masses don’t do that much for me.

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Animal Person

JANUARY 23, 2010

A couple of years ago I catalogued the dozens of excuses/rationalizations from well-meaning, compassionate people about why they eat animals, and all fell into one of six categories: It's what god wanted (and other versions, such as: That's why they were put on the earth. Cain=farmer=evil murderer; Abel=slaughtered animals=victim/good son.

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10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

We know that the human mind has capacities that are not common in other animals. For example, humans have “Theory of Mind” which is not a theory in the scientific sense, but rather, a capacity whereby we have an internal theory of what is going on in other people’s minds. But that’s another story. Just eat the food.

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Abandon Abandoning Abandonment Research 227

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2017

Of course, if you’re reading this, then birds clearly matter to you, for any one of a number of reasons. According to the study’s senior author, Dr. Joseph Tobias of Imperial College London, “The trees of a forest may look healthy, but if the animal species required for pollination or seed dispersal are gone, then looks are deceiving.

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Birds Science Research Humane 100

Critter News

FEBRUARY 20, 2010

Katie Couric did a story on the use of antibiotics on factory farms in the US and the potential harm to humans. According to her, there was a message that removing the use of antibiotics would actually improve these poor animals' welfare. And, of course, the focus is on the impact on humans.

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Factory Farm Factory Farming Factory Farming 100

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 19, 2016

We watched the bird for awhile as it foraged and though the injury was painful to contemplate for we humans the bird seemed to be getting by alright. Of course, injured animals have a very difficult time making it in the wild. From a symbol (to me) of resilience to a falcon’s plaything in a few hours.

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Culling Falcons New Jersey Killing 157

Animal Person

JUNE 20, 2009

Bea sent me a link to an article in Gourmet called " Humane Slaughterhouses ," by Rebecca Marx, that is absurd. They believe you can take a life that doesn't want to be taken in a humane way, and I don't agree. The voice of Temple Grandin is of course the foundation. It’s how we treat humans, too. Potent if symbolic?

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