10,000 Birds

APRIL 20, 2014

While the ranking is limited by our current knowledge of the fossil record and the state of genetic sequencing techniques, it certainly spotlights some fascinating and enigmatic global treasures with unique physiologies and lifestyles. It’s important to understand that the evolutionary distinctiveness ranking proposed by Jetz et al.

Madagascar 278

Madagascar Comoros South America Ecuador 278

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2022

I wonder what Americans would think if, in a Wikipedia entry, a Bald Eagle would be illustrated using a photo taken at an Albanian zoo. We Germans of course chose a much more aggressive national bird to match our (hopefully only past) militaristic instincts: the white-tailed eagle. But I am grumbling a little bit about it.

Birds 197

Birds Sparrows Protection Humane 197

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

It’s an intriguing proposal — none of these birds had belonged much of anywhere before (heck, bustards were dumped in Gruiformes with cranes and rails) — and it means that birds adapted either to arboreal or to ground-dwelling lifestyles more than once within the clade. Jarvis et al. Remaining Afroaves.

Family 279

Family Birds Parrots 2014 279