10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2017

Even more pass through Costa Rica during spring and fall migration, and in summer, you can cross paths with an errant Whimbrel and other shorebirds that opt to extend the vacation in Costa Rica rather than heading way north to the boggy breeding grounds. Some of the birds at Morales. No sparrow but the dawn chorus was a treat.

Costa Rica 101

Costa Rica Morals Breeders Sparrows 101

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2019

I understand that this is a complicated undertaking, but a new birder reading this book would have no idea that Bushtits (#92: “Breeding System: ‘It’s Complicated'”) are only found in Western states. He received a B.A. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University and a Ph.D.

Birds 115

Birds North America Breeding America 115

10,000 Birds

JUNE 12, 2019

Now, I do hope you have stayed with me to this point, because there is a moral to this story: How much do you like your ducks, grebes, sandpipers, and plovers? In the case of birds that breed in the Arctic, they may only spend a fourth of the year up north. One of these shorebirds is not like the others!

Ducks 115

Ducks Blackbirds United States Pelicans 115

10,000 Birds

JUNE 12, 2012

a miniature version of that well-established national citizen science project the Breeding Bird Survey. Now that the data is being entered into eBird regularly even this extremely local look at breeding birds will have some value beyond sitting in a folder on a professor’s desktop. That and the moral reprehensiveness of slavery.

North Carolina 157

North Carolina Transported Morals Science 157

Animal Ethics

JUNE 7, 2016

In light of this horrible incident, is it right for the zoo to carry on a breeding program that subjects more animals to such unnatural lives? Many sanctuaries do not permit breeding. The zoo, surely, carries responsibility for deficiencies in its enclosure. Finally, what of the audience?

Los Angeles 40

Los Angeles Gorillas Zoos Non Human 40

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 21, 2016

The abandonned farm hosts one of the few remaining breeding pairs of Little Owl in Germany’s Northeast, so be aware of this possibility but also take good care not to disturb them should you see them (most likely at dusk). This is prohibited under German nature conservation laws and a moral no-go.

Germany 101

Germany Abandon Abandoning Abandonment 101

Animal Person

APRIL 1, 2010

It moves society closer to the view that all forms of speciesist exploitation--from dog breeding to commercial fishing--are morally wrong (151). In contrast to old-speciesist and new-speciesist advocacy, nonspeciesist advocacy advances the goal of emancipating all sentient beings from human abuse.

Speciesism 100

Speciesism Apes Advocacy Salamander 100

Animal Person

MARCH 9, 2010

However young and healthy, captives judged inappropriate for exhibition or breeding are considered 'excess' and usually are 'unloaded' or killed. I'd rather extend moral consideration to something that can't suffer than fail to extend it to someone who can" (154). Overly generous inclusion?

Animal 100

Animal Vivisection Suffering Emotional 100

Animal Ethics

FEBRUARY 6, 2007

Consider some of the victories: On November 5th, 2002, more than two and a half million Floridians voted "Yes" on Amendment 10 to amend the state constitution and prohibit the use of gestation crates , narrow metal cages where breeding pigs are kept for most of their lives. The full text of the amendment is available here.

Factory 40

Factory Factory Farm Factory Farming Gestation Crates 40

Animal Person

JUNE 8, 2009

Here's where we reach the point of the series: Clayton was born in a breeding center; he grew up in metal boxes and spent his adolescence with a hole in his head and a coil around his eye. He writes as if what he used to do--and what he defends--is morally justifiable on its face, and it's just the details that might be questionable.

Animal Welfare 100

Animal Welfare Monkeys Animal Welfare Act Vivisection 100

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 29, 2018

It might be that the ringing sounds of yellowlegs remind me that once again, I am shorebirding, this time somewhere far from the algae on the northern shores of Lake Erie and the wetlands of the Iroquois but still looking for birds that fly so damn far between breeding and wintering grounds. They bring me to other places. Marbled Godwit.

Costa Rica 143

Costa Rica South America Panama Morals 143

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2022

According to Wikipedia, “A l owl ife is a term for a person who is considered morally unacceptable by their community” The local Nanhui shrikes are well aware that the word “lowlife” has an owl hidden inside, and mark the appearance of owls in their territory with harsh protests.

Birds 199

Birds China Eggs Owls 199

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

They reach breeding maturity at four to seven years of age, produce only one chick per nesting season, and only one in three offspring survive to fledging age. Ohio has tracked two families of their state-endangered breeding sandhill cranes and found them to have wintered over in Tennessee in 2010. It is OK for people to like to hunt.

2011 247

2011 Kentucky Tennessee Hunting 247

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 15, 2022

thesis on the “Social Behavior and Cooperative Breeding of Kalij Pheasants” in a place with much nicer sanitary facilities than where I saw the bird (in rural Fujian). I feel that thanking your own baby for moral support in the acknowledgment section of a Ph.D. thesis – as she did – is a bit much though.

Rhode Island 147

Rhode Island Research South Dakota North Dakota 147

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

This display is called strutting and the purpose of this display is to attract hens for breeding. Benjamin Franklin disapproved of the selection of the Bald Eagle as our national bird, calling it “a Bird of bad moral Character.” He can often be seen puffed up, tail feathers fanned out and his wings dragging on the ground.

Turkey 245

Turkey Bald Eagle Game North America 245

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2019

For instance, Frederick rejected centuries-old folk wisdom that claimed that Barnacle Geese ( Branta leucopsis ) – a species with a seasonal occurrence in Europe – were born not of eggs laid by breeding geese but were spontaneously incarnated from driftwood afloat at sea.

2015 113

2015 Italy Falcons Europe 113

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 31, 2023

For Pacific Golden Plovers , the situation is similar – in one study , males showed strong breeding ground fidelity, with 100% (8 of 8 birds) returning to a site in Western Alaska while only one of 4 females (25%) returned. Maybe the males were not that impressive. Maybe the males in your local pub are not that impressive either.

Birds 130

Birds China Taiwan Raised 130

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2022

The Lesser Coucals sometimes try to argue with Chestnut-winged Cuckoos about the morality of having other species raise their chicks (The Lesser Coucal Species Committee also likes to point out that the species neither invaded Ukraine nor ever voted for Donald Trump – they can be a bit boring in insisting on always being on the good side).

Birds 187

Birds Sparrows Protection Humane 187