article thumbnail

The Hidden Qualities of House Sparrows

10,000 Birds

I’ll start off by naming the univerally accepted species, the House Sparrow propper Passer domesticus , the Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus and the ill-named Spanish Sparrow Passer hispaniolensis , which occurs from Spain all the way to central Asia and is rather difficult to find in the former.

Sparrows 216
article thumbnail

Birding Hongbenghe, Yunnan

10,000 Birds

The Blue Whistling Thrush is presumably named for its loud human-like whistling, and possibly for being blue. The Latin name “ chinensis ” is somewhat misleading as is much more common in Southeast Asia than in China – apparently, it was chosen in the mistaken belief that the type specimen had come from China.

Birds 147
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Trending Sources

article thumbnail

Phillipps’ Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo: A Book Review

10,000 Birds

Kinabalu (at 13,455 feet the highest peak in southeast Asia), and human development that has resulted in freshwater rice fields, secondary forest, and oil palm plantations, this means that Borneo offers an incredibly high degree of biodiversity. Borneo, the authors say, is under-birded. I think we need to do something about that.

Brunei 175
article thumbnail

Best Bird of the Year 2014

10,000 Birds

I got to see a beautiful female and owlet on a trip to a secret nest location near Howard Prairie Lake (human-made nest structures have enhanced local breeding for these huge owls whose nest success is boosted to 83% on artificial platforms vs. 66% at natural sites). Adam’s BBOTY – Lammergeier.

2014 188
article thumbnail

The Domestic Turkey and the First Thanksgiving

10,000 Birds

There are a lot of other large Galliforme birds around the world, and before the Spanish were busy conquering the New World, one of these, from Central Asia most likely, was already being imported as a food product and as live birds into Europe. This is where they got their name. According to R.D.

Turkey 202
article thumbnail

What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds: A Book Review

10,000 Birds

It’s also about human-owl interaction on an individual level and a wider sociocultural level, and ultimately how we can use all this for habitat and bird conservation. As the names and habitats imply, not all owl species are alike, in behavior, adaptation, relationship to humans, and in how humans perceive them.

Owls 211
article thumbnail

The Glitter in the Green: In Search of Hummingbirds–A Hummer Book Review

10,000 Birds

In 2012, I reviewed The Jewel Hunter , an absorbing narrative in which author Chris Goodie travelled throughout Asia, Africa, and Australasia to observe and photograph every Pitta species in the world. It provides goals and a definite direction for your birding travels and thoughts; sometimes it even becomes the basis of a book!