10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

When you think of invasives, you think of the birds that have been helped by human beings to get where they are, such as House Sparrow or European Starling. I’d like to introduce you to a diminutive heron, the Cattle Egret Bubuclus ibis. Cattle Egret has been introduced by humans to Hawaii and the Seychelles.

Cattle 170

Cattle South Korea Suriname Seychelles 170

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2024

Despite the fact that efforts are made to ensure they are not imprinted on humans, they are naturally confiding, even friendly. On a visit in October 2022, I found ibises feeding with cattle in scruffy roadside paddocks adjacent to the marismas ( photographs below ). Here they were easy to overlook.

Morocco 213

Morocco Austria Algeria Germany 213

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Thus, the cattle we raise for meat and dairy are sometimes called Bos taurus while the extinct wild form is always called Bos primigenius. It is possible that Columbus brought Turkeys back to Spain, but if he did, he did not bring them from the Caribbean Islands he spent much of his time in, because they did not exist there.

Turkey 197

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 197

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2012

This species prefers wetlands and its numbers have been decimated due to a combination of habitat destruction caused by human population growth and illegal removal of birds and eggs from the wild for the pet and zoo trade. This plain used to be little affected by humans, being grazed by just a few cattle, goats and camels.

Endangered Species 182

Endangered Species Species Morocco South Africa 182