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Evidence of earlier humans in Madagascar is unconvincing but interesting

10,000 Birds

It was always thought that humans first inhabited the island of Madagascar about four or five thousand years ago or so. It was after that date that many of the great and strange animals of that island went extinct, presumably because of human hunting. If they are the only evidence of humans, then not fine.

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Birds and Us: A 12,000 Year History from Cave Art to Conservation–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

They may be about bird eggs ( The Most Perfect Thing: The Inside (and Outside) of a Bird’s Egg , 2016), or a 17th-century ornithologist ( Virtuoso by Nature: The Scientific Worlds of Francis Willughby, 2016), or How Bullfinches learn songs from humans ( The Wisdom of Birds: An Illustrated History of Ornithology.

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Birds and People: A Book Review

10,000 Birds

It’s very hard to organize the many ways in which human beings relate to avian beings into comprehensible text. We worship birds, we hunt birds, we protect birds, and, yes, we eat birds. We politically worship them, but at the same time we’ve severely decreased the numbers of many species by hunting and habitat loss.

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Drones: The Next Thing Birders Will Be Arguing About

10,000 Birds

I was chatting with Gordon about this and we discussed how drones could be a safer way to get photos of birds or document birds for breeding surveys, but he was quick to point out, “You and I already have an idea of what a safe distance would be to test that out with an active bald eagle nest. What if there’s an injury?

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Patch: An Urban Red-tailed Hawk (2 of 4)

10,000 Birds

A lot of nature photographers try to exclude human made elements but I think the porta potty kind of makes the photo. More on her hunting techniques and some documented cases of her cacheing food in Part 3 on Friday December 2nd. It always made me wonder how many close encounters I’d missed.

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An Osprey Nest and The Migratory Bird Treaty Act

10,000 Birds

A letter requesting information on the permit issued to remove the nest got this response from the city, “In reference to your request for documentation for the removal of an active Osprey nest from the light pole at the soccer field, please be advised that none exist. That is what the Migratory Bird Treaty Act is meant to do.

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Do birds avoid predators because of culture?

10,000 Birds

Many of the great debates over human behavior, those related to things such as race or gender, are muddled and messy because plasticity is ignored. Plasticity in humans is probably modulated primarily through experience and enculturation. Presumably the humans keep away the predators. Clearly, more research is needed!

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