10,000 Birds

JANUARY 22, 2018

I was psyched to see the one that had been reported but first I had to do some other birding on Sunday morning to keep my year list moving along. Once I got my trip out to Breezy Point (four year birds!) and a visit to Big Egg Marsh (one year bird!) No bells or whistles…er, no fancy field marks on this bird.

Jamaica 154

Jamaica Wildlife New York City Ducks 154

10,000 Birds

JUNE 12, 2011

Feathers are the unique ingredient when it comes to birds. Platypus have bills, bats and bugs can fly, and reptiles lay eggs, but only birds have feathers. The introduction gives both a simple overview of how birds use their feathers as well as brief idea of how humans have been fascinated by feathers since prehistory.

Reptiles 245

Reptiles Bats Eggs Humane 245

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2012

Baby Bird week couldn’t come at a better time for someone in the High Arctic, suddenly there are birds hatching everywhere. Baby birds here, as everywhere else fall into two broad categories, altricial and precocial. Precocial birds hatch in a relatively developed state. And now onto some precocial birds.

Eggs 247

Eggs North America Breeding Europe 247

10,000 Birds

MAY 26, 2024

By Clive Finlayson Growing up in Gibraltar, it is impossible not to notice large birds of prey, in the thousands, overhead. That, and his father’s influence, got Clive hooked on birds from a very young age. Pu blishing papers, articles, and books on birds aside, Clive is also a keen bird photographer.

Africa 246

Africa Morocco Senegal Europe 246

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2015

It is probably a safe bet that readers at 10,000 Birds relish field guides irrespective of their subject. If this was a bird guide, we would all have one already. Did you know for example that some species of bee are cleptoparasites , exploiting the nests of other species for their own eggs.

Ireland 124

Ireland United States Game Species 124

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

Yes, cute little Skylarks were all well and good, but what Kiwis really wanted were birds they could shoot and fish they could, uh, fish. New Zealand had, once upon a time, some fairly spectacular game birds, including massive flightless geese, massive flightles rails, and really enormous moa. Female Mallard, photo by Corey.

Species 217

Species New Zealand Ducks Game 217

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2011

July, as all northern hemisphere birders appreciate, is the month when the egg timer flips and everything starts pouring back out again in a steady stream south. Ponds and estuaries fill up with passage waders and the birding gets good after the summer lull as we rise slowly and surely towards the fever pitch of autumn.

Poland 157

Poland 2009 Europe France 157

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2019

My review copy (well, actually a contributor’s copy—more on that later) was waiting for me when I returned from the ABA birding tour of Thailand and Malaysia (more on that in a separate post) in early March. The book does not include House Sparrow, an Old World sparrow that belongs to a completely different bird family. Mexico border.

North America 201

North America Sparrows America United States 201

10,000 Birds

APRIL 17, 2012

Oil begins to wash up on the beaches throughout May and June of 2010 May 6, 2010 Oil washes ashore on the Chandeleur Islands off the Louisiana coast, an important nesting and breeding area for many bird species. May 13, 2010 BP boss, Tony Hayward, labels the spill as “relatively tiny” in comparison to the ocean.

2010 269

2010 Louisiana 2012 2011 269

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 12, 2022

The task is not made easier by some birds that are robins in name only, such as the American Robin, a typical RINO (robin in name only). Let us start with a comparison of size. With only 3-5 eggs per breeding attempt, it is less productive than the European Robin with its 4-7 eggs. A European Robin. A Japanese Robin.

Eggs 279

Eggs Ethics Species Rights 279

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2017

Are there birders out there who do not dream of birding Australia? Possibly birders who have already birded Australia (but, wouldn’t you want to go back?) or birders who live there (but, how can you bird it all?). So, I welcomed the opportunity to review The Australian Bird Guide.

Australia 160

Australia Birds Penguins 2015 160

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 19, 2012

Think about the difference between birds and mammals. Think about the difference between a typical bird, say, your favorite common songbird, and Elk. Both Elk and songbirds have the same basic method of inseminating eggs, which is one of the steps in reproduction (but not by any means the first!), What’s that?

Mammals 221

Mammals Eggs Abandon Abandoning 221

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

The descriptions of the territory’s birds, seals, whales, introduced mammals, invertebrates, and plants are written within the framework of the conversationist, so it is more than a field guide, it is a record of endangered wildlife and the efforts being made to protect it.

Georgia 210

Georgia Penguins Wildlife Whales 210

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 29, 2024

Welcome to Birding Tongbiguan, part 1. The authors of the paper sound a bit helpless, stating that “At the time of discovery, both birds [two bee-eaters] were still alive, but it was not possible to free them from the net because the bees began to attack the ringer.” Of course, the same applies to pizza services for humans.

Squirrels 204

Squirrels Birds China Bears 204

10,000 Birds

JULY 2, 2019

Greeney was recommended to me as a book I HAD to review by no less than three birding friends. I hesitated because a 496-page book about two skulky neotropical bird groups is a little intimidating. I also wondered if a book like this would be of interest to 10,000 Birds readers.

Research 198

Research Eggs South America Costa Rica 198

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 30, 2023

Sepilok is one of the best places I ever spent time birding at – I did so for a week and could have easily spent more time there. So, in order to economize a bit, the Sepilok birds are described in three separate posts. Maybe the HBW should be administered by a university with a stronger interest in birds than Cornell.

Woodpeckers 246

Woodpeckers Birds Eggs India 246

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2023

The Large-billed Crow ( video ) is one of the natural enemies – in the study above, it predated 19 eggs from four pitta nests. The HBW has comprehensively nothing on its breeding: “Breeding – No Information” I guess birds are not their main focus. I hope he is right.

Birds 130

Birds China Research Tenant 130

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2022

I did not find much about this bird online except for a paper with the exciting title “A new quill mite Torotrogla emberizae sp. Fortunately for the buntings, they seem to detect most cuckoo eggs smuggled in (75% in one study). Maybe there is some justice in this world after all. Better safe than sorry.

Birds 264

Birds Eggs Bangladesh China 264