10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

For one thing, we become more aware of cultural biases in our science (new findings on warbling female birds, for example, reveal both gender and geographic biases). Many popular science books have neither. As Ackerman explains in her Introduction, studying extreme behavior brings new insight into what we think we know.

Research 245

Research Birds Science Costa Rica 245

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2022

This would have allowed you to summarize your experience in sentences such as “A total of 98 boluses regurgitated by 52 chicks aged 1 day to 11 days after hatching form the sample and are shown to contain 323 food items.” Where it is not – for example, in Japan – it will have difficulties finding a partner to mate.

Birds 162

Birds South Korea Japan Abandon 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences. 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. But what do we know beyond these commonly seen and heard behaviors?

Owls 231

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 231

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2022

Of course, it is hard to resist looking at a paper titled “Host personality predicts cuckoo egg rejection in Daurian redstarts” Basically, the personality of a female redstart (bold or shy) predicts the responses to parasitic eggs – bold hosts are more likely to reject parasitic eggs. Not this one though.

Birds 215

Birds China Eggs Owls 215

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 17, 2011

So sorry, but this is a necessary part of our thought experiment!) Let’s do another thought experiment. First, I set the dial to produce the kind of high energy radioactive radiation stuff that would be emitted by an atomic bomb, and calibrate it to dose you (sorry, but this is necessary for our thought experiment!)

Mammals 250

Mammals Birds Fish Cooking 250