10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2018

There is a virtual flock of new and interesting bird science news all of the sudden, including the rediscovery of an extinct Bahama Nuthatch. It was always thought that humans first inhabited the island of Madagascar about four or five thousand years ago or so. Science did not let us solidify that claim.

Madagascar 125

Madagascar Humane Elephants Bahamas 125

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2015

The potpourri covers some interesting bird related science of the last few weeks, and the promise is this: I’ll get to that other stuff soon, I promise! But in Iraq, and more exactly, Kurdistan and Iraqi Kurdistan, they are supposed to be there (and are regularly hunted and eaten) and the fighting is not supposed to be there.

Science 151

Science Iraq Research Birds 151

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

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.

Dissection 212

Dissection Birds Research Europe 212

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

Jennifer Ackerman points out in the introduction to What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds , that we don’t know much, but that very soon we may know a lot more. What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds is a joyous, fascinating read.

Owls 203

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 203

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2014

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.

Birds 207

Birds Egypt Family Eagles 207

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2020

Not all habitat change is due to humans; there is Chestnut Blight destroying American Chestnuts in the early 1900s, and the more recent Dutch Elm disease. This is a project that clearly spanned decades. It’s a very mixed chapter. Norse was a Wall Street broker; John Kieran was a sports reporter and radio panelist. Another big year memoir?

New York City 147

New York City New York Birds Breeding 147