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Evidence of earlier humans in Madagascar is unconvincing but interesting

10,000 Birds

There is a virtual flock of new and interesting bird science news all of the sudden, including the rediscovery of an extinct Bahama Nuthatch. It was always thought that humans first inhabited the island of Madagascar about four or five thousand years ago or so. Science did not let us solidify that claim.

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15 Australian Birds (Episode 2)

10,000 Birds

Quite likely, these birds are also the inspiration for Australian science communicator Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki. Anecdotally, this first volume is reported to have been much more successful than its successor, “The Useless Birds of Southern Australia”, R Hall, 1908. This is the most common swallow in Australia. .

Australia 201
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15 Australian Birds (Episode 6)

10,000 Birds

The Sacred Ibis was seen as the incarnation of the god Thoth, who (with gods apparently better at multitasking than humans) was (or maybe still is, who knows?) was responsible for maintaining the universe, judging the dead, and for writing and science ( source ). Possibly also for doing the dishes. So typical.

Birds 147
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The popstars are back: Paradise Flycatchers in Shanghai

10,000 Birds

It is listed as Near Threatened – the HBW cites the usual reasons that are just other ways of saying that humans do not care enough for other species, such as forest loss and degradation in its winter range. Fear not, science has an answer: about 1.16 not their own).

Japan 130
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Birds and Us: A 12,000 Year History from Cave Art to Conservation–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

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.

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Firebirds and the Future

10,000 Birds

Sometimes it’s hard to know what to think about science reporting on this vast Internet of ours. Nevertheless, if true, this is very interesting: apparently raptors in Australia have been observed playing with fire, picking up smoldering sticks from burned-over areas and using them to set fresh blazes and drive prey into the open.

Science 118
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What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds: A Book Review

10,000 Birds

Jennifer Ackerman points out in the introduction to What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds , that we don’t know much, but that very soon we may know a lot more. What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds is a joyous, fascinating read.

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