10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

That was a wild cat, a wild Wildcat, the cat that lives in the wild because that is where it is from and where it belongs, at the southern end of its pan-African range that extended at one time well into Europe and Asia. I find it astonishing that people argue of whether feral cats are bad for birds in North America.

Feral Cats 255

Feral Cats North America Feral Cats 255

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

A flock of small birds at the dyke, Yellowhammers mostly… I cannot see well because of one enthusiastic hunting dog which takes pleasure in running through the snow and flushing them up whenever the birds land. Scanning the water for rarer species… S. warns me of two locally rare Bean Geese. Watch for the dark beaks.”

Geese 175

Geese Hunting Boars Birds 175

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

The very first thing we notice about this large member of the Galliformes is that there is a wild version and a domestic version, and although the two are rather different, they are both given the same species name, Meleagris gallopavo. This is not entirely unknown among domestic animals, but many domesticates have no living wild version.

Turkey 202

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 202

10,000 Birds

MARCH 26, 2014

It hasn’t achieved as much attention yet, presumably because people are rather preoccupied with wars brewing in Eastern Europe and missing airliners, but give it time. If the whole thing passed you by then Mother Jones did a good piece on why zoos sometimes have to kill individuals for the good of the species.

Lions 150

Lions Giraffes Zoos Killing 150