10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2023

The person who named this bird apparently cleverly chose the name Yellow-rumped Flycatcher to distinguish the bird from the Narcissus Flycatcher, which is also yellow-rumped. In Chinese, this bird is called White-browed Flycatcher, which introduces some (possibly undesirable) logic into the world of bird names.

Monkeys 147

Monkeys Birds South Korea Owls 147

Reddit Animals

APRIL 11, 2023

FWC officers arrived at a reptile facility and forcefully killed 29 reticulated pythons, 5 Burmese pythons, and 1 pregnant Boa constrictor. The FWC then proceeded to kill the total 34 pythons using a bolt gun. After killing Coffee's pythons, the FWC then committed another criminal act.

Pythons 40

Pythons illegal Florida Killing 40

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 24, 2023

Back in July, my fellow 10,000 Birds contributor Dragan wrote a delightful piece about birding Lake Kerkini in spring. I first visited Kerkini and this bird-rich region of northern Greece 15 years ago, and have been returning regularly ever since. My photograph below is of a captive bird).

Greece 224

Greece Pelicans Geese Buffalo 224

10,000 Birds

MAY 25, 2023

May is a busy month for birds migrating through Shanghai – and of course, last May was completely missed due to the lockdown. So, I spent a lot of time birding this month, and to keep this post at a manageable length, it mostly only covers the first half of May. The video is notable for the bird basically refusing to move at all.

Birds 130

Birds Raised Cattle Mammals 130

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2016

Mark Gamin, a Cleveland lawyer, likes cats and birds both. This is Mark’s first contribution to 10,000 Birds. In Oregon, the Barred Owl is taking over Northern Spotted Owl territory and threatening that smaller bird’s survival. Agonizing quandaries concerning invasive species are well-known to wildlife biologists.

Feral Cats 264

Feral Cats Cats Tnr Feral 264

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 27, 2013

The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the rest of 10,000 Birds. I’m not just saying this to be an annoying gadfly on the backside of the birding and general wildlife community, although this is certainly a fringe benefit. Qualifying statements to follow). I’m not even trolling (much).

Lions 188

Lions Killing Hunting Hunters 188

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2014

The snake was wrapped firmly around the hawk’s tail, neck, and wings, and had enough strength to immobilize the bird but not to kill him. Key West Wildlife Center takes mostly birds, but will rescue mammals, marine mammals, and both land and sea turtles as well. Want to help this great place?

Reptiles 215

Reptiles Chickens Sea Turtles Wildlife Rehabilitation 215

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2021

His second book on migration is a tale of many birds and many research studies all connected by the theme of migration and by his thoughtful narrative voice. In fact, early, photographic versions of several chapters appeared in Living Bird and Audubon Magazine (see the above links). is through the personal and the specific.

Cyprus 259

Cyprus Slaughter Slaughtered Research 259

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2023

Another item they feed on is hunting edible bird nest swiftlets, which are quite common in edible swiftlet houses in Sabah, Malaysia ( source ). Another paper reviews information on Oriental Pied Hornbills raiding the nests of various bird species in Singapore and even pet bird cages.

Rhinoceros 131

Rhinoceros Singapore Transported Hunting 131

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2022

To be precise, “Birding Shanghai from June 10 to June 30, 2022” – but that is even less of an exciting title than the one above. The reason for this post only covering the period from June 10 being that an earlier post, “Revenge Birding”, was about the first 9 days of June. You should try it too.

Birds 197

Birds Sparrows Protection Humane 197

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 17, 2022

Within 140 ac / 60 ha of Rancho Naturalista’s Reserve, there are 500 bird species – or 55% of the nation’s total! While I already visited Costa Rica once, I do not feel overly-confident with its birds. And Verbena attracts another specialty bird and a regional endemic (from Honduras to Panama), the Snowcap.

Costa Rica 257

Costa Rica Rats Parrots Raccoons 257

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2016

And then, two canids appeared in my scope field of view… My plan was that the downpour should finally be over in the morning, so I could go birding. They are sitting in the wet grass at the edge of the water, observing the bird movements around them. I am thrilled: this is more than just birding, this is a full-scale safari!

Serbia 138

Serbia Sheep Birds Eagles 138

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 16, 2012

A while back I asked the question, How much bird is there, anyway? I had noted that if you took a quick look around you’d think there were a lot of birds and very few mammals. Of course, a lot of the mammals would be hiding. And some of them would be hiding behind bushes waiting for a chance to jump on some of the birds.

Cats 189

Cats Boston Ferrets Killing 189

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

I find it astonishing that people argue of whether feral cats are bad for birds in North America. This is approximated by the size of the animal, but really, this has to be adjusted for depending on modality of killing. How many wild birds are eaten by either feral Cats or “outdoor Cats?” Which would be even worse.

Feral Cats 256

Feral Cats North America Feral Cats 256

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2014

And Flamingos and Hornbills and a Secretarybird and birds with names like Hamerkop and Thick-knee and Eremomela (which I know is a scientific term, but which, when pronounced correctly, reminds me of a Yiddish term of endearment my grandmother used). And so, I went on the American Birding Association Safari to South Africa.

South Africa 254

South Africa Africa Leopards Penguins 254

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

You get three or four books in one with Jonathan Meiburg’s A Most Remarkable Creature: The Hidden Life and Epic Journey of the World’s Smartest Birds of Prey. Meiburg doesn’t say it in so many words, but it’s almost as if he believes he and the birds are in telepathic converse. And it’s more than the sum of the parts.

Guyana 252

Guyana South America Washington DC 252

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2015

Motomco’s Material Safety Data Sheet for “Hawk” warns that the product “is extremely toxic to fish, birds, and other wildlife” and that “dogs and predatory and scavenging mammals and birds might be poisoned if they feed upon animals that have eaten this bait.” Motomco Ltd criekena@belllabs.com 608-241-0202 x3052.

Mountain Lions 266

Mountain Lions Rats Rodents Lions 266

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2012

I am so sick of the feral cat colonies that infest so many locations that I like to bird. Mr Kerridge says it is a misconception that cats kill a huge number of birds. Birds are a long way down a cat’s food chain so well-fed cats tend not to hunt at all, he says. Feral cats kill huge numbers of birds.

Feral Cats 227

Feral Cats Feral Cats Coyotes 227

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2013

This week, a new study was published about Sparrows in Nebraska, that in some ways resembles the study by Bumpus and may well be a better example of Natural Selection in birds. House Sparrows ( Passer domesticus ) are introduced birds over most of their very large range. As you know, a lot of birds are killed in the U.S.

Killing 204

Killing South Africa Nebraska Collecting 204

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2014

Most of the books about extinction, including Fuller’s Extinct Birds (now, ironically, out of print), describe what was lost and look for explanations, scientifically and historically. The idea of Lost Animals was conceived after the publication of Extinct Birds (2001), a 400-page, four-pound book on 75 extinct species.

Animal 270

Animal Mammals Hawaii Dolphins 270

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 17, 2011

Acrocephalus palustris is the old world Marsh Warbler, and is one of the birds in the Chernobyl area. The result might be that the cell recognizes itself as messed up and kills itself, or some other cell does it in, or in many cases, the cell will inappropriately produce a chemical that will have a negative effect elsewhere.

Mammals 244

Mammals Birds Fish Cooking 244

10,000 Birds

APRIL 16, 2015

They have pointy tails, almost eel-like, I do not notice any tail flipper… whatever, they aren’t birds. My first live otters ever (the only previous one was a road-kill)! In that first year, about 95 bird species were recorded here, not to mention the Otter, listed as the Near Threatened species in the IUCN Red List.

Otters 183

Otters Serbia Fish Mammals 183

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2013

Usually, it’s “Bird eating fish” but here we have a case of a “Bird-eating fish.” Now and then individual catfish of various species hunt nearer the surface and larger catfish such as the American Channel Cat will take a duck or other water bird. As noted, the fish-like mammals do this as well.

Fish 210

Fish Birds Whales Whaling 210

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

MAY 8, 2013

Birds are supposed to have feathers and birds without feathers look incomplete, like they left home with shaving cream on their ear and toothpaste spots on their shirt. The smellier the better, particularly as, unusually for birds, many species can boast a robust sense of smell. T urkey Vulture, photo by Dawn Puliafico.

California Condor 190

California Condor Turkey North America Jordan 190

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2015

On average, over 100 rhinos were illegally killed each month. Molewa added that so far this year 49 rhino had been killed countrywide. Conservation Africa Mammals poaching South Africa' The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said the figures showed a 21% increase in poaching from 2013, topping that year’s total by 195.

Rhinos 174

Rhinos South Africa Rhinoceros White Rhinos 174

10,000 Birds

JULY 11, 2013

A dusty-red road leads me through Marico bushveld deeper into the 750 square kilometers large wilderness of the Madikwe Game Reserve – the 4th largest reserve in South Africa, home to 350 bird and 66 mammal species, some 4 hours’ drive from Johannesburg. Trips Mammals South Africa' Sniffing us.

Africa 200

Africa South Africa Elephants Rhinos 200

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2013

I have raved on and on about how Kaikoura is the best place in the world to see albatrosses , but the once sleepy seaside town is not actually famous for these magnificent birds. What put this once small fishing town on the map was not birds but mammals, specifically whales and dolphins. And people do go to see them.

Whales 211

Whales Whaling Albatross New Zealand 211

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2014

They also have relatively large eyes that help the birds with an excellent sight. Additionally, Cathartes vultures are unable to grab, kill, and carry a prey item with their feed. What is unusual here is that these vultures may be sniffing for large invertebrates as their feet are no help when it comes to grab and kill a small mammal.

Mice 167

Mice Killing Turkey Mammals 167

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2012

Why can’t a baby bird just hatch out of the egg and fly away, or at least, be able to fly a little and not require weeks of constant feeding and attention? Some birds do this a little. But baby birds get eaten by predators too (often other birds), so I’m not impressed with the difference.

Mammals 199

Mammals Turtles Eggs Fish 199

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 11, 2012

I was going to continue talking about birding in Sydney today, but an incident on Friday needs to be addressed quickly, before the immediacy of the memory is gone. And that bird is the Southern Cassowary. Although slightly shorter than the Emu , the cassowary is a sturdier, heavier and generally larger bird.

Sharks 234

Sharks Birds Australia Boars 234

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 19, 2019

In mid-December, I was birding along the Beljarica levee (Beh-LYAH-ritza), my local patch north of Belgrade, when something other than birds attracted my attention: three wild boars , appearing all black because they had just swam through the swamp to reach the bottom of the levee. I barely started when some sulphur (a.k.a.

Serbia 246

Serbia Otters Boars Eagles 246

10,000 Birds

JULY 14, 2011

Apparently, not being able to kill large marine mammals with speeding boats is a violation of the constitution. Add manatees to the large (and growing) list of things that the Tea Party can’t abide. “That’s against the Bible and the Bill of Rights.&# Sigh… a.

Mammals 166

Mammals Killing Rights 166

10,000 Birds

JULY 11, 2012

New Zealand has been the recipient of a higher than average number of introduced species, in particular a range of mammals from elk to mice. This is quite a big deal for an island group that had no mammals save bats for millions of years. This is a very serious business here in New Zealand.

Animal Rights 267

Animal Rights Rights New Zealand Animal 267

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2014

On Saturday morning I was exploring the newly-mowed Edgemere Landfill, one of my favorite birding spots in Queens, enjoying birds like Eastern Meadowlarks and American Pipits , both of which seemed to appreciate two years of brush being removed. Birds Bird Behavior Edgemere raptors Red-tailed Hawk' I don’t know.).

Bald Eagle 172

Bald Eagle Opossums Squirrels Meat 172

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2014

A poisoned rodent can kill whatever eats it, and death by poison is a very bad way to go. as well as a rare mammal, the California fisher. See the website for a self-congratulatory description of their efforts to plant trees, but no mention of their slaughter of the birds who might want to land on them.

Rats 248

Rats Barn Owls Rodents San Francisco 248

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 28, 2015

As 2015 comes to a close and birders the world over start thinking about what 2016 will bring we here at 10,000 Birds would like to take a moment to celebrate our best birds of 2015. Each Beat Writer was given the opportunity to share their Best Bird of the Year for 2015 and, as usual, we had some pretty solid birds.

2015 188

2015 Costa Rica Birds Sparrows 188