10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2012

The team explored Nevada and Utah, with Ridgway collecting thousands of bird specimen, plus nests and eggs for the Smithsonian. Ridgway spent the rest of his career in the Castle, the Smithsonian building that then housed the National Museum’s bird collection.

Collecting 151

Collecting Illinois United States Science 151

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2012

Like many odenate enthusiasts, I was excited when I heard that Dennis Paulson’s field guide, Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East , was finally being published by Princeton University Press. A longer reference list that includes scientific articles can be downloaded from the Princeton University Press web site.

United States 238

United States Costa Rica Massachusetts North America 238

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2013

The book is produced by WILDGuides, a nonprofit publishing organization that joined forces with Princeton University Press last year to create the Princeton WILDGuides imprint. The where and how of egg laying and larva emergence is briefly treated, with page references to larval drawings at the back of the book.

Ireland 177

Ireland France Breeding Eggs 177

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2012

As a Northeast birder I am familiar with the alarming decrease in the number of Red Knots along Atlantic shores and have signed petitions and written e-mails calling for legislation and rules that will limit the overharvesting of the horseshoe crab, whose eggs Red Knots depend on. Rutgers University Press/Rivergate Books, 2012.

Delaware 182

Delaware New Jersey Research Eggs 182

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 5, 2014

A History of Birdwatching in 100 Objects uses stuff, redefined as ‘objects’, a term that gives an archival sheen to everyday items, to tell our collective history. I expected a picture book; I got a collection of essays! 32, 1887) and Egg collection (no. There are many unexpected goodies here.

Collecting 173

Collecting Mauritius Egypt Cyprus 173

10,000 Birds

APRIL 17, 2012

June 2, 2010 BP apparently bans workers from showing dead or dying wildlife and from talking to the press. April 6, 2011 Center for Biological Diversity files a petition to list the Dwarf Seahorse as endangered as a result of the destruction of its habitat by the BP oil spill and over collection for the aquarium trade.

2010 241

2010 Louisiana 2012 2011 241

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

My friend Ian had purchased Richard ffrench’s classic A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad & Tobago just before we left, the third edition, hot off the presses. For some reason, Yale University Press discontinued its arrangement with Helms, so there is no United States edition. The bird guide question was a conundrum.

Trinidad 201

Trinidad Birds South America Research 201

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2017

Illustrations were created using diverse visual and physical source materials–skin collections from Australian museums and a database of over 300,000 photographs (plus, of course, the artists’ years of field experience). Some offer nest information, egg information, breeding timeline, in flight views, etc. Press (U.S.),

Australia 108

Australia Birds Penguins 2015 108

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2011

Speaking of pregnant snakes, do sea snakes lay their eggs ashore like sea turtles or do they keep them internally until the young are ready to hatch/ be born, like some sharks? These do lay eggs on land and are (reasonably) mobile once they hit the beach. It seems like there is great diversity in this continent.

Australia 152

Australia 2011 Sharks Deer 152

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2019

Yet, Wright points out, Song Sparrow was first depicted and named (‘Little Sparrow’) by Mark Catesby decades earlier, and then again collected by William Bartram and described and drawn by George Edwards in 1764. And, the 1996 volume includes information on nests and eggs, a topic not covered by the Peterson guide.

North America 154

North America Sparrows America United States 154

10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2014

I enjoy collecting children’s books about birds and nature that I come across in the expected (book stores) and unexpected (academic library conference reports) places. SeaGrove Press, July 2013. Here are three excellent but very different children’s books I enjoyed this year (two were published in 2013, one in 2011).

Puerto Rico 239

Puerto Rico Parrots New York City 2013 239

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2011

For instance, I can lay my hands on data for primates and rodents (because I’ve collected those data for research) but I don’t have comparable data for bovids (just selected data) and zero data for birds (in spreadsheets on my computer). Oxford University Press. Where the abyss touches the sky: A Booby and Noddy ecosystem.

Mammals 177

Mammals Rodents Birds Reptiles 177

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2017

The 10-page section aptly named “Age, sex, and identification of ducks using in-hand upperwing patterns” is a guide to just that, utilizing images from two Washington State museum collections. A mid-book extension of the introductory section on Aging and Sexing Waterfowl, this is a unique tool that advanced birders will love.

Ducks 122

Ducks North America Geese Hunters 122