10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2024

This is the home of the Rusty-naped Pitta , admittedly one of the less glamorous of the family, particularly the subspecies found in Yunnan, but still a nice sight and still a pitta. He published a number of books on birds of India and Burma, making me wonder how hard all these overseas civil servants really worked in their day jobs.

Burma 214

Burma India Birds Indonesia 214

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2022

“A reading of recent research shows that Australian birds are more likely than most to eat sweet foods, live in complex societies, lead long lives, attack other birds, and be intelligent and loud.” When going to Australia, one of the two birds I wanted to see most was the Tawny Frogmouth.

Birds 242

Birds Australia Ducks Mountain Goats 242

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. The poor bird’s Latin species name is macgrigoriae , apparently (HBW) named after Jane Grant McGrigor, the daughter of Maj. Sir James McGrigor (1771-1858) Director Gen.

China 242

China Birds Pythons Eagles 242

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2021

There was a time when I thought each bird species had its own individual song. Then I found out that there was this vocalization called a ‘call,’ so I thought each bird species had its own individual song (but just the males) and individual call. Bird communication is a complex and evolving science.

North America 279

North America Research Birds Groups 279

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2023

As you probably are aware, male Lady Amherst’s Pheasants regularly get into fights with other birds. The typical scene is something like this: the pheasant enters a bird bar and orders a beer. Some other bird in the bar asks for its name, and it gives an honest answer: Lady Amherst’s Pheasant. Judge for yourself.

China 244

China Research India Zoos 244

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2022

Strangely, one of the easiest birds to see on Chongming recently is the non-native Black Swan. According to an article in the Guardian , “nearly a quarter of black swan families are parented by homosexual couples, the males sometimes mating with a female simply to have a chick. Homophobia? I thought I needed to mention this.

Birds 221

Birds China Pythons Breeding 221

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

The Plain Sunbird is the plain vanilla version of the otherwise often very colorful family (ok, a very low-budget sort of joke). Ok, Kai, nobody is really very interested in your thoughts on political issues – could you get back to the topic of birds? However, the HBW lists nectar among its food.

Los Angeles 200

Los Angeles Birds Woodpeckers Owls 200

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Birds of Belize by Steve N. Howell and Dale Dyer and Birds of Costa Rica by Dale Dyer and Steve N. Dale Dyer put in years working on his paintings for Birds of Central America , both in the field and in the museum. Two books, two authors, two countries bursting with neotropical avian diversity. Why are these issues?

Costa Rica 227

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 227

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

The magnificent history and diversity of birds on Earth came into sharper focus this month with the publication of 28 new scientific papers in Science and other journals. One of the central papers, Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds (Jarvis et al. American Flamingo photo by Dick Culbert).

Family 279

Family Birds Parrots 2014 279

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2020

Birders who submit their checklists to eBird likely know that their data may be used to conduct research on avian migration, range, or population. It has also been used by researchers from other fields, such as economists. Open spaces, especially recreation areas, appear to be important locations for bird observation in Chicago….

Chicago 284

Chicago Research Illinois Michigan 284

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 234

Dissection Birds Research Europe 234

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

I strongly suspect that the rate of attrition on this Loon family is inversely proportionate to the abundance of ducklings in the bay. Non-bird watchers without binoculars and experience are notoriously bad sources of information. But now there is some research on that. And, every now and then one of the Loons disappears too.

Humane 216

Humane Eagles Investigation Research 216

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2021

If you had your choice of one bird family to pursue, to seek out and observe and photograph and kvell over, which one would you choose? A passion for one bird family is also very useful. It provides goals and a definite direction for your birding travels and thoughts; sometimes it even becomes the basis of a book!

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Brazil Ecuador Bolivia 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

Forget lions, tigers, and bears – if Internet listicles are to be believed, all of Oz is full of crocodiles, sharks, jellyfish, snakes, spiders – even magpies – that are dead set on killing, maiming, or injuring any humans they encounter. Good birding and happy drinking! Teal Lake Shiraz (2019). Three out of five feathers (Good).

2019 238

2019 Australia Ducks Fowl 238

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2023

February 2023 was a slow month for birding in Shanghai, at least for me – so slow that I almost put the Spotted Dove , possibly my least favorite bird here, on the cover. Not a cover species The Black Kite is not actually black, but of course, misleading bird names are not exactly rare. Maybe those should be protected too?

Birds 130

Birds Iraq China Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2020

They looked out their windows and across their patios and up from their apartment terraces and saw–birds. This is a delightful book, large (8-1/2 by 11 inches), filled with Sibley’s distinctive artwork and an organized potpourri of research-based stories about the science behind bird’s lives.

2020 264

2020 Birds Groups North America 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2022

With the lockdown lasting until the end of May (ironically thus pretty much including the whole spring migration – the divine sense of humor is a rather malign one, I am afraid), June still had the freedom of birding anywhere in Shanghai, not just inside a smallish compound. Accessorizing for birds.

Singapore 147

Singapore Birds Mountain Goats Giraffes 147

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2020

Here are some of the things I learned reading Birds in Winter: . Birds who store food in advance of winter (corvids, t**s, and nuthatches) have a larger hippocampus (the brain structure that regulates memory) than non-storing birds do. Author Roger F. The book is organized logically by seasonality.

Research 176

Research Birds Hoarding Sweden 176

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2015

… since this is a family website, I’m not sure I can finish that sentence. (Is ” Scientists studying Great T**s , of all birds, have shown that the earlier a male awakens , the more likely he is to successfully hook up with the mates of other males. I wonder how this applies to humans, though. Is “OPP” PG-13?)

Research 154

Research Birds Raised Owls 154

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 15, 2013

” Gifts of the Crow by John Marzluff and Tony Angell finds the crucial balance between those poles, perhaps because they are respectively a researcher and an artist. They draw on the work of such notable researchers as Bernd Heinrich and Irene Pepperberg as well as the observations of everyday birders and their own work.

Humane 149

Humane Emotional Stray Dog Science 149

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2022

The main attraction for birders here are the hornbills – I have written about them before , so this post will be more on the other birds I saw there in 2017. The Blue Whistling Thrush is presumably named for its loud human-like whistling, and possibly for being blue.

Birds 147

Birds Myanmar China Chicago 147

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 26, 2022

This year, it seems I wrote one post on birding in Shanghai each month – and I am still not even sure anyone is interested in these. Probably the most interesting bird this month was a Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher showing up in the Shanghai Botanical Garden. I know – sexism is very common in the birding world.

Finland 147

Finland Birds 2016 McDonalds 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2022

Hannah Buschert was first exposed to birds and birding during a required ornithology course at Oregon State University and she quickly caught the birding bug. This is Hannah’s first contribution to 10,000 Birds. Hannah and Erik ready to see some birds! I love to go on cruises.

South Africa 264

South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 264

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2021

But if there is any justice in this world, there will be room on those lists for Shearwater: A Bird, an Ocean, and a Long Way Home , by Roger Morgan-Grenville. It was Bird Number 83 on his life list, and it became, he says, his “metaphor for wilderness and adventure, always free, always out there, always just beyond reach.”.

West Virginia 219

West Virginia Rats Albatross Georgia 219

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 149

Research Eggs South America Costa Rica 149

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 224

Birds Egypt Family Eagles 224

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2016

Great Tit Telomeres, Baby Talk, Brainy Birds. This morning, I have three interesting scientific findings related to bird for you. First, birds may age more quickly in urban environments. Third, which we already suspected, bird brains are adjusted to provide extra smartness in a way not seen in mammals. Salmón, J.

Mammals 113

Mammals Zebras Birds Primates 113

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2016

That’s what a group of researchers suggest in a paper recently published in Behavioral Ecology. The scientists, who studied bird populations in Europe and China , speculate that urban areas may have some appeal for passerines that rural areas otherwise lack. Smaller birds are much more likely to tolerate a human presence.

China 101

China Europe Research Falcons 101

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2022

The little red bit on the crown on this photo indicates that it is a male bird. The Buff-necked Woodpecker (Taman Negara, Malaysia) is classified as Near Threatened, with the usual rationale of “habitat loss” (which sounds nicer than “evil humans destroying anything that does not immediately bring in money).

Woodpeckers 245

Woodpeckers South Africa China Singapore 245

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2022

Not bad given that the 5 families in the inner circle of the laughingthrush family have a combined number of about 68 species. Presumably, in the early days of ornithology, some scientists spent most of their time transcribing bird calls. 36, if my counting is right and there has been no very recent split or lump.

San Diego 219

San Diego Malaysia China Zoos 219

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2017

I’ve never been to the Indonesian Archipelago, but I really like the birds there. Lynx Edicions, the ornithological (and now mammal) publisher that gave us the Handbook of the Birds of the World , has now published Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago: Greater Sundas and Wallacea , by James A. So, this is no ordinary bird guide.

Indonesia 134

Indonesia Brunei Birds Malaysia 134

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2015

Producing a book about birds and nesting is a dangerous business. The truth is that there are few images cuter than baby birds in the nest opening their mouths and begging for food, but there are curmudgeons amongst us, myself included, who don’t like to admit this. And of birds courting and mating. We simply refuse to squee.

Eggs 263

Eggs Family 2006 New York 263

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2011

A profound and deep understanding of birds is hard to complain about. Despite the vacant look in the eye of a Rock Pigeon , birds are not stupid…they cannot afford to be, or else they wouldn’t be here now. And the ultimate question, the one we may never know the answer to… what is a bird thinking ?

Emotional 216

Emotional Science Birds Mammals 216

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 156

New York City New York Birds Breeding 156

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

There were three profound questions my birding group discussed while we birded Trinidad and Tobago, back in December 2012: (1) How many Bananaquits could fit on a banana? (2) 3) What was the best guide to the birds of Trinidad and Tobago? The bird guide question was a conundrum.

Trinidad 205

Trinidad Birds South America Research 205

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2020

Over and again, Kroodsma admits to things to which neither he, nor any other researchers, yet have answers – including areas where diligent amateurs can, he says, make discoveries. How long does the bird stay aloft, and how many dives does he do? To humans, birdsong is akin to Joycean language, isn’t it?

Virginia 254

Virginia Boston North America 2020 254

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 12, 2013

Dozens of other introduced bird species, largely escapees from pet owners, now call Miami home. Well-represented exotic families include starlings, ducks and doves and there are also many more individual species that now thrive here. I recently had a great day out targeting miami’s exotic birds.

Miami 141

Miami Parrots Research Birds 141