10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2022

Thank you, goddess of birding luck and text group people).* My inner self felt stuck in an area between disbelief and total joy and the voices near me were echoing this state of mind: “Oh My God,” “I never thought I would see this bird,” “Look at that bill!” “How did that bird get here?”

Birds 264

Birds Compassion Eagles Science 264

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2021

Louisiana is a magical place to bird. At the same time I was ogling Scissor-tailed Flycatchers and Upland Sandpipers, Marybeth Lima was also birding Louisiana. Chapter Two is a potpourri of stories about nemesis birds, birding by ear, birding for science, under the rubric of birding ‘for the love of it.’

Louisiana 264

Louisiana Species Mississippi Alabama 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

One good thing about birding during a pandemic–the forced restrictions on place and time translate into more time to observe what birds do. Bird behavior–endlessly fascinating, but so much still hidden and unknown. Extreme behaviors also push scientists to look at birds in new ways.

Research 260

Research Birds Science Costa Rica 260

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2024

The chapter titles of Feather Trails: A Journey of Discovery Among Endangered Birds represent both ends of the spectrum: “A World Full of Poisons,” “Malaria,” “Forest Intruders,” “Lead Shock,” “Shot.” Conservation. It’s not easy. This is the most intense, tragic section.

California Condor 224

California Condor Falcons California Birds 224

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2017

I hadn’t until a little over a month ago when while flicking through one of my volumes of the Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) I came across it. I was looking for a new project to write about on Wikipedia, something unusual, and this species appealed for reasons I can’t quite define. One mystery was its movements.

Science 122

Science Argentina South America Uruguay 122

10,000 Birds

MAY 2, 2023

Flight Paths is a splendid but risky title for a book about bird migration. It could easily be mistaken for a book about aviation or space navigation or even a flight simulator game if you don’t read the long, adjective-filled subtitle: How a Passionate and Quirky Group of Pioneering Scientists Solved the Mystery of Bird Migration.

Science 233

Science Illinois Investigation Research 233

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 259

Dissection Birds Research Europe 259

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2024

There’s something wonderfully primeval about the Northern Bald Ibis: it has the look of a bird that really ought to be extinct. The fact that it’s not is quite surprising, as this curious bird has come very close to the brink. Sadly, they no longer breed in Algeria, while in Turkey no free-flying birds remain. (In

Morocco 246

Morocco Austria Algeria Germany 246

10,000 Birds

JULY 15, 2015

I was told when I first started blogging here at 10,000 Birds that I was never to use the short form, “10K.” ” But here I’m using it because someone ELSE used it … the Bird 10K project is an effort to do the whole DNA thing they do on groups of species on the whole mess of 10K (or more) birds.

Birds 257

Birds Research Groups Investigation 257

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2021

Audubon guides to birds have been around since 1946. The first guide bearing the National Audubon Society imprint was Audubon Bird Guide; Eastern Land Birds , written by Richard Hooper Pough, and illustrated by Don Eckelberry. Plate 28 from Audubon Bird Guide, Eastern Land Birds, by Richard H. Knopf, 1994/97.

North America 279

North America America Birds California Condor 279

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2018

Of all the ways people choose to pass their time, few recreational activities are as tightly bound to science as birding. Much of the deep satisfaction birding delivers over a lifetime of practice comes from this evidence-based affinity with modern zoology, biology, ecology, and geography.

Birds 136

Birds Science Collecting Woodpeckers 136

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2017

Birders derive “value” from birding. But does the value of a particular trip come from the number of birds seen, viewing a particular species, seeing an endangered species, catching a glimpse of a rarity, adding a lifer, or something else? How much do birders value a birding experience?

Oregon 202

Oregon Washington Birds Chad 202

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 19, 2016

Long ago, before I became the bird-name rancoteur I am today, I had an idle question. Author Ray Reedman writes from a British point of view, with some time devoted to the birds of North America, Australia and other former colonies but the bulk of the space given over to European species.

North America 154

North America America Birds Science 154

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2018

When it comes to initiatives that promote birding, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is hard to beat. Numerous projects take place that monitor bird populations and help educate people of all ages about birds. The Lab also acts as the heart and soul for the very popular (and often addictive) citizen science gem known as eBird.

Costa Rica 188

Costa Rica 2018 Colombia Collecting 188

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2020

Happy New Year, 10,000 Birds readers and writers! Everyone is looking back on their best birds of 2019, so I thought it would be a good idea to look at a book that looks back a little further: Urban Ornithology: 150 Years of Birds in New York City , by P. The Bronx also has a special place in birding history.

New York City 180

New York City New York Birds Breeding 180

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2019

But, sometimes an appreciation of birds and birding requires more than a reference book with images of birds and facts about their identifying field marks. There are large avian handbooks and small ‘how-to bird’ guides, and quite a few excellent books of both types have been published.

Birds 117

Birds North America Breeding America 117

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 23, 2013

Some of those mysterious creatures were birds. 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.

Apes 166

Apes Birds Woodpeckers Primates 166

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2015

There is GISS and there is Birding by Impression and they are not the same. Birding by Impression is a conscious, deliberate method of identifying and recognizing birds based on the study and evaluation of “distinctive structural features and behavioral movements” and comparison with nearby and similar species.

Birds 183

Birds New Jersey Science Groups 183

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2014

It took me a while to wrap my mind around the concept of Birds and People , Mark Cocker and David Tipling’s book that, in 592 pages, explores the intersection of just that—birds and us. Nor have I overlooked “sightings” of birds in movies mouthing other birds’ calls. I’m not sure why.

Birds 241

Birds Egypt Family Eagles 241

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

I’ve been fortunate to encounter many owls in my birding life, sometimes because I’m looking for them, sometimes happily by happenstance. 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.

Owls 244

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 244

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2016

I want to alert you to a recent study (from April) that looks at the plight of bird populations under conditions of climate change in Europe and North America. The study looked at common birds, and used data divided by either state (in the US) or country (in Europe). Stephens et al. Stephens, Philip, et al. 352:6281(84-87).

North America 141

North America Europe America United States 141

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2019

It’s a matter of personal preference: neither does every reader like, say, science fiction, or the writing of Henry James, or romance novels. The wealth and depth of information about birds and birding, and the intertwining of birds into each plot, makes them irresistible. There’s no accounting for taste.

Humane 168

Humane 2018 Laws Science 168

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2011

Birds evacuate waste in many ways. Birds will barf them back up out of their mouths. Many are familiar with dissecting owl pellets, but several birds will caste a pellet including hawks, eagles, gulls, herons and heck, I once witnessed a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher hack up a small one. They’ve got it coming and going!

Bats 240

Bats Dissection Owls Minnesota 240

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 25, 2013

The Inaccessible Island Rail is perhaps the coolest bird that neither I nor anyone I will ever meet will ever see. BirdLife International believes that this might be maximum population the species can reach, as it seems to completely saturate its range.

Science 235

Science Transported Shelters South Africa 235

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 3, 2017

It is now the month of love, and there are few birds I love more than the alcids. This may be surprising in a group of birds that – let’s be honest here – all tend towards the drab, but the Marbled Murrelet was not named for its luxurious bathroom finishes. And yet the birds themselves remain mysterious and lovely.

North America 117

North America Science Collecting Fish 117

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2020

Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) releases a survey called “ Birding in the United States: A Demographic and Economic Analysis.”. The report stated that there were 45 million “birders,” of which 39 million were “around-the-home birders” and 16 million were more active “away-from-home” birders who traveled at least a mile to see birds.

2016 264

2016 North America 2020 2019 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2012

“ There is, perhaps, no better place in the world for birds than this country. Despite discovering dozens of bird species, he is however not remembered in any English names of birds. Wahlberg travelled even more extensively and amassed a huge bird collection. Image by Hugh Chittenden. Image by Adam Riley.

Mozambique 219

Mozambique South Africa Africa Collecting 219

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2013

We’re always interested in what he’s up to and pleased that his research and our collective interest in cool birds can come together in such an opportune manner. Would you support research on birds with just a click on Facebook? Basically, we want to learn the molecular mechanics of how birds function and evolve.

Panama 243

Panama Research Investigation Chickens 243

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2011

Be warned, The Atlas of Birds is not a map book, though it does contain maps, lovely orange and purple and green bird distribution maps. It is not an encyclopedia, though it does summarize research, explain basic concepts, and ends with a section on bird statistics. Intriguing, isn’t it?

Albatross 230

Albatross Birds Campaign Protection 230

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 17, 2014

Developed in the post-frontier era, the NAMWC helped put a stop to wanton wildlife destruction in an era where many species were being hunted and trapped ruthlessly to the brink of extinction. Wilderness Act, Endangered Species Act, Clean Air and Water Acts, and similar acts in Canada. were funded by hunters and 95.1%

Wildlife 254

Wildlife Coyotes Hunters Wolves 254

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2012

I spent the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in the usual post-hurricane activities—looking for storm birds, making sure my loved ones were o.k., trying to grasp the enormity of what had just happened, and reading this book, The Feathery Tribe: Robert Ridgway and the Modern Study of Birds by Daniel Lewis. And, draw birds.

Collecting 172

Collecting Illinois United States Science 172

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2012

There are probably more identification guides about raptors than there are for any other bird group. Third, Hawks in Flight was primarily illustrated by David Sibley’s excellent black-and-white drawings, supplemented with a collection of black-and-white photographs in the back of the book. Yes, I saw the bird and it was incredible.)

North America 255

North America Bald Eagle Birds Eagles 255

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2016

Jason’s first contribution to 10,000 Birds tackled the importance of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Fish & Wildlife Service released “ Birding in the United States: A Demographic and Economic Analysis.” That’s a lot of birding. Note that the FWS birding report is an addendum to a larger survey not directed to birding.

Wildlife 189

Wildlife Portland 2002 Collecting 189

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

This is the second part of a post showing some birds seen at Nonggang in December 2022, along with the usual (mostly irrelevant) comments. Even the Latin species name soror (“sister”) indicates the similarity to another pitta species (blue-naped). Sir James McGrigor (1771-1858) Director Gen.

China 262

China Birds Pythons Eagles 262

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 14, 2015

The species was in the news because some scientists had finally managed (or bothered – it’s much the same thing) to locate the population high in the mountains of the Solomon Islands, and catch and photograph one. I’m not going to rehash the arguments for scientific collecting here. Box after box of egg. Bush Wrens.

Collecting 256

Collecting Solomon Islands New Zealand Fiji 256

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

Found throughout South America in ever-dwindling numbers these extremely beautiful birds – threatened by habitat destruction and collection for the wild bird trade – are often difficult to see and hard to find. That’s right – birds eating clay.

Peru 255

Peru Parrots 2011 South America 255

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2012

Of course, I jest a bit in the above paragraph because as a sometime New Jersey birder I have birded the Delaware Bay and seen sights such as the memorable image below, in which thousands of Red Knots, Dunlins, and Short-billed Dowitchers fly up as if connected telepathically.

Delaware 199

Delaware New Jersey Research Eggs 199