10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2015

I was surprised, however, that there is no mention of one of the dark spots in bird feeding history, the highly publicized application of toxic insecticides to Scott’s Miracle-Gro bird seed from 2005 to 2008 and the accompanying falsification of documents to hide it. Scott’s was fined $12.5 This is too bad. Margaret A.

America 222

America Industry Squirrels Birds 222

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2022

Like a bad boyfriend not changing into nicer clothes for an evening out, the Brown-cheeked Fulvetta gets chided on eBird for not making any efforts: “an unapologetically drab and unmarked fulvetta” The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater apparently digs nest-burrows in which to lay its eggs. “It is not deep enough yet!

Birds 147

Birds Myanmar China Chicago 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 19, 2013

Plus the fact that they only lay one egg per season which is incubated for about four weeks and the chicks don’t fledge for another fifty days gives you some notion as to why these birds are a Species of Special Concern. The Black Swift is considered a Species of Special Concern in California.

California 201

California North America Costa Rica Niger 201

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2013

For ornithologists, it is the documentation of a multi-year project designed to record the distribution and abundance of birds in a specific area (in North America, usually a state or a province), utilizing a mapping method involving blocks and grids. Let’s hear it for the return of the forest!

Pennsylvania 220

Pennsylvania Breeding Birds Sparrows 220

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2014

Phillipps’ Field Guide (I’ll be using this shortened form of the title) covers 673 avian species, including 59 endemics, and 53 species that have not been documented yet for the area but which may show up in the next few years. Borneo, the authors say, is under-birded. I think we need to do something about that.

Brunei 172

Brunei Birds Asia China 172

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2020

It didn’t occur to me till I started reading The Falcon Thief: A True Tale of Adventure, Treachery, and the Hunt for the Perfect Bird that there was also a possible threat to the eagle herself: poachers, who steal raptor eggs and chicks. McWilliam realizes he’s dealing someone special, a career falcon egg-thief.

Falcons 200

Falcons United Kingdom Zimbabwe Eggs 200

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

Holt and his staff, several of which are also ‘characters’ in the book, do hard-core field work, finding owls, owl nests, documenting them and working with concerned and unconcerned organizations to inform public policy decision-making. Humans were drawing owls 36,000 years ago, as Ackerman points out!

Owls 200

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 200

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2022

Habitat loss, as documented by hieroglyphs. The Latin species name lamigellerus is a Latin phrase for ‘a small, thin, metal plate’ which refers to the flattened feather shafts, especially on the underparts. Studies on improving ostrich egg hatchability. Medicinal and commercial uses of ostrich products in Tanzania.

Ostriches 147

Ostriches Parrots Birds Eggs 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2022

Most of this book is about Eurasian Wryneck, as the subtitle indicates, though Red-throated Wryneck is referred to throughout and there is a chapter focused on the species. Practically every sentence is documented with these studies. The latter is a nonmigratory, African endemic with a scattered, limited distribution.

Woodpeckers 224

Woodpeckers Hungary Thailand 2014 224

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

When we come to Gentoo Penguin again in the South Georgia chapter, for example, we’re referred back to its first appearance in Antarctica, utilizing the outline numbers.). The full-length species accounts are not repeated. It’s an unorthodox arrangement that can be confusing when you first open the book.

Penguins 277

Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 277

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2017

” Interestingly, the authors don’t attempt to give full descriptions of species, referring the user to the guide’s illustrations and the encyclopedic Handbook of Australian, New Zealand, and Antarctic Birds (which several of the authors also worked on). Subspecies are described under “Geographic variation.”

Australia 105

Australia Birds Penguins 2015 105

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2013

Plus there is my librarian-ish reluctance to use anything on the web for reference unless I know the author or the author’s credentials. 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 168

Ireland France Breeding Eggs 168

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2015

This is a comprehensive, handsome reference book that is likely to become the standard for many years. I also enjoyed the breeding photo series, showing Downy Woodpecker eggs and then hatchlings within a breeding chamber in a tree, with only a few wood chips to support them. How do you look it up?

Woodpeckers 234

Woodpeckers 2002 Europe Research 234