10,000 Birds

APRIL 16, 2016

As with any birding locales, there are similarities and there are differences and in this transcontinental case, the differences are obviously much more pronounced but I can’t help but think about comparisons. I have been back from Eilat, Israel for more than a week but still find myself dreaming about birding in the desert. As I scan for the Hoopoe Lark that I dipped, I wonder what else is being seen in the sparse wadi vegetation.

Israel 43

Israel Costa Rica 2016 Jordan 43

Hannah's Blog

FEBRUARY 4, 2020

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2020 100

2020 Horses Laws Compassion 100

Critter News

MARCH 30, 2010

It spotlights the Humane Society, but I think it's a pretty universal comparison. This article pretty much sums up how the two agendas are simply at cross-purposes. Compassion is perceived to hurt profits.

Animal Welfare 100

Animal Welfare Welfare 2010 Agenda 100

Critter News

MARCH 28, 2009

The German constitutional court has ruled that animal rights organisation PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) must end its campaign in which it draws a comparison between the Holocaust and industrial farming. PETA wants to run a campaign that compares factory farming to the Holocaust. Touchy subject there in Germany.

Campaign 100

Campaign PETA 2009 Factory Farm 100

Critter News

AUGUST 9, 2009

This is a great response to his recent complaining that the NFL is colluding against Vick and his insulting comparison of Vick to Jackie Robinson, the African American who broke the race boundaries in major league baseball. Jesse Jackson is just a nut I think. The defense is not from an animal rights perspective, but it's still good, especially in exposing the lame attempt to make this a civil rights issue.

2009 100

2009 Pit Bulls Michael Vick Animal Rights 100

Animal Person

AUGUST 16, 2011

When he spends what seems like an eternity discussing cockfighting and the people who participate, mostly to set up the comparison to how the chickens we eat are treated and the lack of outrage over that, I respond, “What is wrong with you? Hal Herzog’s “ Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat ” (Harper 2011), though fascinating, is ultimately depressing for vegans and animal rights activists.

2011 172

2011 Morals Advocacy Pit Bulls 172

Critter News

AUGUST 2, 2010

By comparison, Bangor University used 1,464 mice and 664 fish, Aberystwyth used 289 cattle, 153 mice and 102 sheep and Swansea used 1,208 fish. Here's an article about an increase in animal experiments at Cardiff University in Wales. According to a Wales on Sunday investigation, the number of animals used at Cardiff has risen by 13 percent since 2006.

Animal Research 109

Animal Research 2010 Research Mice 109

Animal Person

AUGUST 1, 2009

By comparison, there were only 727 white male inmates per 100,000 white men. Something interesting happened when I read New York Times columnist Bob Herbert's article about the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., called " Anger Has Its Place." Allow me to jump down to the paragraph that startled me into forced contemplation for several reasons: Black people need to roar out their anger at such treatment, lift up their voices and demand change.

2009 100

2009 Obama Puppies illegal 100

Animal Person

MAY 9, 2009

Here's my concern: Though I think the game is disgusting and cruel, it sort of pales in comparison to what comes next for the lobsters. My self-appointed job in this blog is to think critically about how our human lives intersect with those of sentient nonhumans, in action and thought. Yesterday I received an e-mail alert from the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida (ARFF) regarding " a coin operated game that uses live lobsters at the Royal Palm Ale House in Royal Palm Beach.

Advocacy 100

Advocacy 2009 Game Slaughter 100

Animal Person

JUNE 20, 2009

But by presenting that example to the reader, the author positions herself to then present an alternative that is worlds better by comparison. Bea sent me a link to an article in Gourmet called " Humane Slaughterhouses ," by Rebecca Marx, that is absurd. And the absurdity is in the reality that the author and the featured person who kills sentient nonhumans for a living, think they're onto something.

Slaughter 101

Slaughter Slaughtered 2009 Cows 101

Animal Person

JULY 3, 2009

Regarding accusations of anthropomorphism (which arise frequently and did in Bekoff's previous book, as well) and also evolutionary continuity, which provides for symmetry in comparisons, the authors write: "It isn't that we set out looking for humanlike traits in animals and hope to find some. " Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals ," By Marc Bekoff and Jessica Pierce, is the most recent (for me) book that debunks myths about the differences between human and nonhuman animals.

2009 100

2009 Morals Emotional Elephants 100

4 The Love Of Animals

APRIL 20, 2012

We take a look into how man’s best friends see and how good their vision really is in comparison to that of a human’s. Dogs are incredibly intelligent animals, learning tricks, words and even learning how to push their owner’s buttons to get that much-deserved treat! Colour myth. First up, let’s visit a common myth circulated about dogs’ vision. Contrary to popular belief, dogs can see in colour; however they can’t see the full range of colour that humans can.

2012 109

2012 Dogs Hunting Humane 109

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 30, 2020

The juvenile Pied Oystercatcher gives you a glimpse into its development when it stretches a wing out and when it stands close to its parents for size comparison. The one surviving Pied Oystercatcher chick that I introduced you to four weeks ago continues to thrive.

2020 75

2020 Eggs Breeding Family 75

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2015

At least we have birds… My desire to see boreal specialties pales in comparison to my passion for staying warm and dry. Keep your eyes to the skies for freaky hybrids ! If you live on my side of the globe–north/south axis, of course–you may be as sick as I am of winter weather. Alas, the long slog to spring will take many, many more frigid, blustery weeks.

2015 63

2015 ALA Hunting Birds 63

Critter News

JUNE 16, 2010

If they are "only" animals, if they are beasts which abstract not, then my comparison is a piece of sentimental foolishness. I particularly question the use of chimpanzees in medical research. From what I recall, chimpanzees share at least 95 percent of human DNA, although the number that floats around the most is 98.6 percent. The following is from The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan.

2010 109

2010 Animal Apes Medical Research 109

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2020

While the 480-odd species recorded within T&T may outstrip our fellow Caribbean islands by leaps and bounds, it pales in comparison to the massive lists of mainland South and Central America. Birding in Trinidad and Tobago has been likened to an introductory chapter in the book of birding in the Neotropics. And for good reason.

2020 66

2020 Family America Species 66

4 The Love Of Animals

MAY 16, 2010

Here are the tips and stats that they sent us: Nearly 2,900 letter carriers were bitten by dogs last year, yet that pales in comparison to the 4.7 Did you know that May 16-22 is National Dog Bit Prevention Week? Neither did we! That is, not until we got an email from the USPS. Now that we know, we are happy to spread the word. They are working hard to help spread that word about how to prevent dog bites.

2010 100

2010 Tethering Neutering Dogs 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 19, 2019

And for the sake of comparison, here is the normal, run of the mill Bushtit. Fast becoming one of my all time “Go To” spots, Florida Canyon, just a few miles north of Madera Canyon has yielded yet another great bird. Just last Saturday, I was up in the canyon, hoping to see the Yellow-billed Cuckoo that has been reported. I was shut out on the cuckoo, but discovered a group of Bushtits , which made them a first time for Florida Canyon for me.

2019 43

2019 Florida 2014 Arizona 43

10,000 Birds

MARCH 27, 2016

Maybe this whole comparison falls apart upon closer scrutiny, but these are still fine days to be looking at birds! While so many spent the weekend obsessing over eggs, others cast their eyes to the feathered fruit of eggs… not necessarily Easter eggs, but different, non-chicken eggs. I enjoyed observing Wild Turkeys , clearly feeling bolder on Easter than Thanksgiving, foraging openly along the Palisades Parkway.

2016 40

2016 Eggs Chickens Turkey 40

10,000 Birds

APRIL 8, 2015

I took a few shots of the male Calliope Hummer a few years ago, perched next to a male Anna’s Hummingbird ( Calypte anna ) seen in the background here for comparison. This is around the time of year I expect to start seeing the Calliope Hummingbird ( Selasphorus calliope ) at my feeders. Click on photos for full sized images. The Calliope Hummingbird is the smallest North American breeding bird 1.

2015 81

2015 2010 North America Breeding 81

4 The Love Of Animals

APRIL 22, 2009

Only soy-based inks used for all package printing - Soy-based inks require substantially less energy to produce in comparison to standard petroleum-based inks, and also help reduce air pollution. The Honest Kitchen has offered a great package of treats for the dog owner who cares about the planet and the health of their pet! One lucky reader will get a pack of Smooches, Nuzzles, and Pecks!

2009 100

2009 Transported Meat North America 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2020

I particularly like the large falcons and the two-page spread giving you a chance for easier comparisons.

Mongolia 67

Mongolia 2020 2019 Falcons 67

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

Whatever Corey will be doing surely pales in comparison, so let’s not even talk about it. We all have invasive species on our minds this week, which should serve as an inspiration to those of us interested in expanding our personal range. Being a resident in an ecosystem certainly has its advantages, as does being a breeder (sometimes), but, every once in a while, you should visit someplace where you’re considered an exotic!

2014 62

2014 Colombia Breeders Species 62

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 14, 2009

Force, coercion, and manipulation, by comparison, are inferior on each score. I foresee a day, perhaps not far in the future, in which it is illegal to raise cows, pigs, and other animals for food. The ground for this will not be animal welfare, as you might expect, but environmentalism. Lawmakers, perhaps as a result of an international treaty, will prohibit the intensive rearing of at least large hoofed animals for food, on the ground that it is damaging to the natural environment.

Meat 40

Meat 2009 Vegetarian Animal Welfare 40

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

There is a major difference: the Raptors guides are photographic and the Birds of Prey guides are illustrated with Wheeler’s paintings, over 1,000 images in each guide, organized with logical precision for reference, research, and comparison, with a self-evident side benefit–the portrayal of the beauty of raptors. Habitat, Comparisons & Maps. Not really a fair comparison, since these guides are so very specific, almost purely aimed at identification of hawks in the air.

2018 67

2018 Mississippi Bald Eagle North America 67

Animal Ethics

MARCH 3, 2008

An accurate quantitative comparison of the value he gains with that which the lamb loses is really impossible. But an accurate quantitative comparison of how he feels about eating them and about letting them live is made every time he chooses between these alternatives. Love demands, as every interest demands, that it should dominate life completely.

2008 40

2008 Lamb Fowl Morals 40

Animal Ethics

NOVEMBER 9, 2009

Consequently, a comparison between moral vegetarians and meat eaters at large is hardly fair. A relevant comparison would not be between moral vegetarians and nonvegetarians in general but between moral vegetarians and nonvegetarians who eat meat after moral reflection, that is between moral vegetarians and what might be called moral nonvegetarians. For an explanation of this feature, click on “Moral Vegetarianism” at the bottom of this post.

Morals 40

Morals Vegetarian Meat Inhumane 40

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 27, 2016

Here is the Eurasian Wigeon pair for comparison (note the tan eyelid on the drake). I have tried for what seems to be a long time to get a decent photo of a Eurasian Wigeon ( Anas penelope ) drake. Not that the female Eurasian Wigeon is not exciting to view but she looks a lot like the female American Wigeon. This is a shot of the American Wigeon ( Anas americana ) drake. Click photos for full sized images. And the American Wigeon pair.

2016 41

2016 Groups Ducks Birds 41

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2016

I have included a photo of the Whimbrel , for comparison. In my continuing coverage of the return migrants to the lower Baja, todays story is of the Long-billed Curlew. This extremely large shorebird, coming is at nearly 24 inches. It is easily identified by not only by its overall size, but the extremely long bill. For the most part, there is little question about the appearance of the bird, for identification purposes.

2016 46

2016 San Francisco Groups Pelicans 46

Creature Talk

APRIL 7, 2009

What immediately hit me after getting so emotional about this is how nature is kind in comparison to the horrible cruelties humans impose on non-human animals, especially “food&# animals. Sometimes being an animal rights advocate is emotionally exhausting. Today is one of those days. Last night I was watching Animal Planet, as I often do, and the show was about polar bears in the wild. There was a mama polar bear and her 2 cubs who were not yet full grown, but also not tiny.

Emotional 46

Emotional 2009 Downers Factory Farm 46

10,000 Birds

JULY 15, 2020

But, in comparison with most of my sightings, these Anis looked almost gaudy. What with lockdown and all, it had been a while since I had made the one-hour drive down to Paso Ancho, my closest option for birding a full-blown tropical thorn forest habitat. At 3,300 feet (1,000 m), this is the edge of what Mexicans call Tierra Caliente, the Hot Country. But geographers and biologists would call it the northern edge of the Balsas River Basin, a hotbed of west Mexican endemism.

2020 51

2020 Cooking Squirrels Sparrows 51

Animal Ethics

AUGUST 11, 2008

It may also be the case that their rights (if they have any) are, because of the nature of their interests, so insignificant in comparison with those of humans that they hardly deserve the appellation. ( One aspect of the question of whether animals have rights may now be treated. If animals have rights, then these are welfare rather than option-rights. My pet turtle does not exercise, at his option, any rights over itself, things, or people.

Animal Rights 40

Animal Rights 2008 Welfare Rights 40

Animal Ethics

OCTOBER 9, 2009

The comparison to Nazi marches and racist hate speech fails to acknowledge a critical distinction—speaking out in favor of criminal activity versus the carrying out of criminal acts. To the Editor: Re “ Animal Cruelty and Free Speech ” (editorial, Oct. 6): I do not agree that “anyone with an appreciation for the First Amendment” must conclude that “crush videos” or videos of vicious dogfights are protected speech and that the federal law in question should therefore be struck down.

New York Times 40

New York Times New York Cruelty 2009 40

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2016

A couple of crows even showed up for a handy size comparison. I’ve written before about the surprising and sometimes lovely variety of forms that the simple Rock Pigeon can take, and how much fun there is in simply through sorting through a flock – like the one that inevitably gathers around the dumpsters of the grocery store a block from my apartment and wages a battle of attrition with the paint job of every car that parks on the street.

Falcons 57

Falcons 2016 Rats Dogs 57

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

Despite considerable speculation, the evolutionary origins of this species’ remarkable tool behaviour remain largely unknown, not least because no naturally tool-using congeners have yet been identified that would enable informative comparisons. Hawaiian Crows Use Tools. From Nature, “ Discovery of species-wide tool use in the Hawaiian crow “: Only a handful of bird species are known to use foraging tools in the wild.

Hawaii 56

Hawaii 2016 2012 Research Center 56

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 25, 2017

The juvenile of the light morph shows dusky feathers across its entire body which makes it easy to separate from the slimmer Little Egret if there is none with which to make the comparison. The Western Reef-Heron , Egretta gularis, sits neatly between Little Egret and Snowy Egret in Clements taxanomic checklist. The slim, elegant, white egrets are very similar and operate in similar niches, but in opposite hemispheres.

2017 40

2017 UAE Stray Sanctuary 40

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

I don’t think we ever saw the second one but the first one twice, as photo comparisons between my sightings seem to show the same individual. This past Saturday morning I was out at Jones Beach birding all morning with my good friends Seth and Mary, who had dragged me, kicking and screaming, from my local patches in Queens.

2019 59

2019 New York Hunting Species 59

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2011

For size comparison, a scrum of albies. It’s winter down here for sure now, and winter in Kaikoura , on the coast of South Island north of Christchurch, means one thing, albatrosses! This time a few years ago I attended an ornithological conference in Kaikoura, and the day afterwards we went out to see the many seabirds that come in close to the shore there.

Albatross 81

Albatross 2011 Breeders South America 81

10,000 Birds

JULY 19, 2018

Hence try the comparison of the species richness not per country – but per square mile. Summer is normally the vacation season, for ordinary tourists at least. Birders follow different patterns of bird migration and their local activities and travel accordingly. But – where? I discovered this cover-photo map somewhere at the BirdLife International’s website. It illustrates the bird richness per country.

2018 76

2018 Guyana Equatorial Guinea Suriname 76

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2013

Even by comparison with a couple of Dunlin and a one-legged Western Sandpiper, the Least Sandpiper look less than a satisfying mouthful. When the opportunity to get a series of pictures for a photo-gallery presents itself, one can’t take the time to wonder if Corey hasn’t already got some stunning digishots (he has of course). When the moment is at hand, shoot.

San Francisco 58

San Francisco 2013 Sea Lions Lions 58

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 26, 2015

For comparison, this is the male Purple Finch ( Carpodacus purpureus )… And the female Purple Finch … One of the physical distinctions between the Cassin’s Finch and the Purple Finch that may be most obvious is the bill shape. As I mentioned in my last post , Lassen Volcanic National Park is a great birding destination. You can see some of my older Lassen Park posts featuring several other species from this beautiful park here.

2015 59

2015 North America America Research 59

10,000 Birds

JUNE 12, 2011

Fancy was the most entertaining section to read, and the comparison of Vegas showgirls to birds-of-paradise is spot-on and just a little bit disturbing. Each and every section has strong points, and Hansen’s clear prose style makes even difficult concepts easy to understand, in a way that reminds me of Bernd Heinrich, though that comparison is too tempting to make considering that Hansen discusses taking Heinrich’s “Winter Ecology&# course.

2011 74

2011 Reptiles Bats Eggs 74

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2015

This means that any comparison of results obtained in different years may not reflect the success of a birder’s endeavours but rather the variation of the overall birding conditions of the respective years, which are outside the sphere of anyone’s influence. This not only leads to an unfair comparison between the results of different years.

2015 78

2015 Feral Asia Florida 78