10,000 Birds

JANUARY 25, 2018

This refuge offers such a wide variety of species, that I wrote a post awhile back showing several species of wading birds in the same location on the auto tour route. Check out this image of a Great Egret ( Ardea alba ), Snowy Egret ( Egretta thula ) and Cattle Egret ( Bubulcus ibis ) together. What a joy!

Wildlife 101

Wildlife Sacramento Bald Eagle Falcons 101

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 30, 2017

1,712 species, 12% of which are endemics. News flash–I just received the trip report from Carlos, and the tally is 419 species recorded, of which 16 were heard only; plus Ian and I saw an additional species before the tour started, courtesy of Paulo Boute. Oh my gosh! I shouldn’t have been surprised.

Brazil 148

Brazil Birds Los Angeles Tigers 148

10,000 Birds

MARCH 22, 2011

It didn’t take much imagination to name Cowbirds or Cattle Egrets or Cattle Tyrants , but there’s more fantasy, even more wit, involved in the naming of other bovine birds. The genus Bucephala includes three familiar ducks with big heads. The tertium comparationis between birds and cows isn’t always visual.

Cows 142

Cows Cattle 2011 Birds 142

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2016

This property is located in northern Butte County which is nearing the (dwindling) northern most historic range for this species in California. This property is also a site with vernal pools and uses cattle grazing for vegetation control. Here is a video I shot when we first discovered the new residents of Tuscan Preserve last July.

Owls 101

Owls California 2010 Colorado 101

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2022

Unfortunately, in the science of language, this does not sound particularly raunchy but rather like a rational decision: “A rare species such as the Chinese Pond Heron might choose heterospecific mates rather than abandoning all chances of reproduction.” This Cattle Egret has just read a paper stating that it would be 3.6

Birds 162

Birds South Korea Japan Abandon 162

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2019

We were met by several Cattle Egret in beautiful breeding plumage feeding on the grass right next to the train station. We had found thirty four bird species so far in Singapore and had to admit defeat due to lack of sleep and returned to the hotel. 169 bird species and one day to go! It had become quite a celebrity!

Singapore 114

Singapore Transported Boars Malaysia 114

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

We remember starlings not skylarks, House Sparrows not Eurasian Tree Sparrows , Cattle Egrets not… well, whatever we’ve forgotten because it didn’t do as well as the Cattle Egrets. Especially of all the species that had been introduced to the US. And after all, some birds have to expand their range sometimes.

Montana 134

Montana 2011 New York Bahamas 134

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

The field site I am assigned to is located in one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world and home to a particularly rich avifauna that numbers well over 500 species. Hundreds of riotously colored birds representing 14 species of macaws and parrots flock and frolic together in less than fifty meters of forest canopy.

Peru 255

Peru Parrots 2011 Research Center 255

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2011

Making the quiz even more diabolical was the fact that two species of parrot do frequent Queens – we have a large population of Monk Parakeets and a small and seldom seen flock of Mitred Parakeets. Wicked, right? Cats Are Still Public Enemy Number One, For Birds The New York Times and Tweety have it absolutely correct.

Bald Eagle 113

Bald Eagle Zoos 2011 Parrots 113

Animal Ethics

FEBRUARY 25, 2008

What we do to animals shows how we feel about other species. Yet not mentioned is a simple step that will go a long way toward ensuring compliance with our already lax slaughterhouse requirements: Place video cameras throughout the kill process. Indeed, we have not come far from Upton Sinclair’s “ Jungle.” Bertha Rogers Delhi, N.Y.,

New York Times 40

New York Times New York 2008 Factory Farm 40