10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2013

The smellier the better, particularly as, unusually for birds, many species can boast a robust sense of smell. In any case, our hang-ups with vultures clearly stem from our own issues rather than any inherently bizarre trait of the species themselves. Vultures famously feed on carrion. Dead things. Here’s the kicker though.

California Condor 182

California Condor Turkey North America Jordan 182

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2011

Among these white-headed/dark-winged gulls formerly lumped into the genus Larus , there were 18+ recognized species the last time I checked, sharing similarities that make telling them apart for the amateur birdwatcher very difficult. 1998), then the proper name for this species is L. fuscus – should be separated as species.

2011 157

2011 Cyprus Deer Species 157

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2021

I was especially interested in “To Hide From God,” the chapter on songbird slaughter and protection in Cyprus. Has it really been 21 years (almost) from the publication of Jonathan Franzen’s New Yorker article, “ Emptying the Skies ,” six years since the documentary with the same name?

Cyprus 253

Cyprus Slaughter Slaughtered Research 253

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 24, 2014

I dreamed of birding the Sundarbans delta – roughly the size of Connecticut or Cyprus – ever since my very dear friends Tim and Hanna Balke told me a story of their visit to these swamps where the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Mehgna rivers converge in the Bengal basin. They are doing it bare-handed without any protective gear.’

Bangladesh 185

Bangladesh Dolphins Cambodia Cooking 185

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2011

What could motivate gunmen (I cannot call them hunters) in two states to deliberately kill North America’s tallest and most critically endangered bird? It may be as sick as deliberately targeting an endangered species for death. In the only state in the Central Flyway that protects cranes from hunting. The big white one.

2011 242

2011 Hunting Kentucky Hunters 242

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 5, 2014

The story of the flightless Dodo, discovered on the island of Mauritius in 1598 and killed off by 1700, is sad and familiar. by Arthur Ransome, 1947, starts with an affectionate recollection of a children’s book, in which a group of kids identify and protect a possibly rare bird (Great Northern Diver?), Number 57, Great Northern?

Mauritius 172

Mauritius Collecting Egypt Cyprus 172