4 The Love Of Animals

DECEMBER 20, 2013

On November 30, SeaWorld Orlando welcomed the first chick to hatch at Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin, the all-new attraction featuring a colony of more than 250 penguins from four species – king, Adelie, gentoo and rockhopper. This is also how they carry the chick once it hatches. penguins wildlife'

Penguins 100

Penguins Transported Eggs Raised 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2021

There was a time when I thought each bird species had its own individual song. Then I found out that there was this vocalization called a ‘call,’ so I thought each bird species had its own individual song (but just the males) and individual call. © 2021 Barbara Ballentine and Jeremy Hyman & Quarto Publishing.

North America 279

North America Research Birds Groups 279

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2015

Excellent 10,000 Birds posts have been written about Pico Bonito and Honduras by Corey and Carlos , so I’m going to focus on some of my most memorable experiences. We saw a smaller member of the potoo family, Northern Potoo , Nyctibius jamaicensis , at Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge, boating and birding the Salado River.

Honduras 258

Honduras Birds Costa Rica Groups 258

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

Ackerman surrounds each individual story with background facts and studies on other birds who mimic, play, parasitize nests, engage in complex cognitive routines, parent in unusual ways–presenting a complex mosaic of avian behaviors amongst bird families and the scientific histories of trying to understand them.

Research 241

Research Birds Science Costa Rica 241

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2018

It’s not often that we have the opportunity to glimpse the home life of albatrosses, nor of any seabird species. Where does the female Emperor Penguin go after she has produced that one egg and handed it over to the male for incubation? Technology to the rescue! What about incubation shifts?

Albatross 114

Albatross Penguins Research Breeding 114

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2019

I like observing them, reading about them, grappling with species and subspecies identification, and even—on a good day—talking about sparrow taxonomy. Peterson Reference Guide to Sparrows of North America covers 61 species of the New World sparrow family Passerellidae that breed in Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico.

North America 161

North America Sparrows America United States 161

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

Experiments in the field (the famed Asa Wright Nature Center veranda) involving Bananaquits and bananas came up with numbers ranging from 7 to 16, but a tanager always came along to interfere with Bananaquits’ noisy appreciation of their namesake fruit. (2) Which hummingbird was more beautiful—Tufted Coquette or Ruby-topaz Hummingbird? (3)

Trinidad 208

Trinidad Birds South America Research 208

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2022

At the very least appreciated for their hard-shell adaptation, the way they quietly survive in ponds, rivers, oceans, islands, forests, even, for a few species, deserts, and, if you are of a certain age, their cultural depiction as ninja warriors. Or that tortoises and terrapins are considered part of the turtle family.

Turtles 215

Turtles Tortoises Family Terrapins 215

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences. I’m wondering as I write if you are shaking your head, uneasy that all these FACTS will interfere with your love of observing owls, an experience that easily borders on the mystical for some of us. But what do we know beyond these commonly seen and heard behaviors?

Owls 228

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 228

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

I’ve been fortunate to see two Penguin species in the wild (African and Galapagos) and have dreamed of seeing more–maybe even all!–especially The goal of Around the World For Penguins is simple: Describe the 18 species of penguin and their breeding grounds “from the perspective of a traveller.”

Penguins 279

Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 279

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2013

The story of the cahow, a “Lazurus species” that was thought to be extinct for over 300 years and then discovered to be breeding on a tiny remote island in Bermuda, is part of modern birding legend. These are magical experiences. He also mentors young conservationists, including Jeremy Madeiros, his successor as conservation officer.

Birds 173

Birds Rats Breeding 2012 173

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2022

It’s a unique bird, even its scientific name is wonderful, so it’s not surprising that Gerard Gorman, Woodpecker Expert Supreme, has written a book all about the species. But they are woodpeckers: the genus Jynx of the subfamily Jynginae of the Picidae family. They are beautiful, but in a different way.

Woodpeckers 250

Woodpeckers Hungary Thailand 2014 250

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2017

The guide covers 747 breeding residents or regular migrants, 29 introduced species, and 160 vagrants, a total of 936 species. Within each group, birds in the same family are grouped together and birds in the same genus “usually occur consecutively.” 210-531), indicated by brown page tabs.

Australia 110

Australia Birds Penguins 2015 110

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2019

While the jays did catch our attention by way of a smart crest and different shades of blue and gray punctuated by a black necklace and mascara, they were part of our common natural experience, their existence was taken for granted. Like crows and jays, they are social, vocal, intelligent, and omnivorous (including eating eggs and nestlings).

Costa Rica 189

Costa Rica Panama Eating Eggs South America 189

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2012

I know from experience how accessible Dennis is, last year he helped me identify a damselfly I photographed in Costa Rica (Argia anceps, no common name). Although designed as a field guide, it is a hefty book, 376 pages long, covering 336 species. Many species are dimorphic, with females looking different from males.

United States 243

United States Costa Rica Massachusetts North America 243

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2023

So, all this makes birding this place an occasionally less than pleasant experience. The family has about 37 species, but that includes several fulvettas – only 21 of the species have “parrotbill” in their names (and frankly, the bills of fulvettas do not look like those of parrots at all).

Pandas 222

Pandas Birds Eggs China 222

Animal Person

OCTOBER 26, 2009

Yet he spends time describing the miserable deaths of day-old male chicks and understands what happens in dairy production, and I assume he doesn't partake of anyone's eggs or milk. He is against it for himself and his family. But why does he say "vegetarian?" The plate might have to be five feet across" (50). This is very silly.

Factory Farm 100

Factory Farm Factory Farming Animal Vegan 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2013

I couldn’t wait to give names to all my new species. I tried using the Internet, but found it frustrating for all the usual reasons; websites either didn’t include all species or were difficult to use for identification. Each species account is 2-pages long, one page of text and one page of photographs.

Ireland 182

Ireland France Breeding Eggs 182

Animal Ethics

NOVEMBER 29, 2006

According to Dr. Spock: Most families have become more conscious about the fat content of meats, and many are choosing the lower-fat cuts. My emphasis] There are other reasons why families are looking more favorably at plant-based choices. Sadly, Gillette's experience is not unique. But what about prior to two years?

Animal 40

Animal Meat Cows District of Columbia 40

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2012

It was a heart-pounding scene straight out of Jurassic Park, an odd experience for a laid-back pursuit like birding. This bird represented only the second documented record of this species in Florida. This may sound mundane, but my Best Bird of the Year is a species we all know quite well in one form or another.

2012 158

2012 Birds Guatemala Florida 158

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2011

I had spent several holidays with my family in the USA in the 1980′s and then worked in Maine during the summer of 1985-beware the poison ivy and the snapping turtles! We are devoting a whole week to wood-warblers but are only just barely scratching the surface of possible topics involving this amazing family of birds.

South Africa 159

South Africa United States Austin Alligators 159

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2015

Picidae, Woodpecker, is one of those charismatic bird families that everybody gets excited about. Woodpeckers of the World: A Photographic Guide is the first major guide to family Picidae in 20 years. The Species Accounts vary in length from one to three pages. The taxonomy is tricky, as Gorman notes in the introduction.

Woodpeckers 254

Woodpeckers 2002 Europe Research 254

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2022

I have written about the interesting sex life of these jacanas a few times already (short version: female mates with male, lays a bunch of eggs for him to incubate and raise the chicks, leaves him, finds another male, repeat). Apparently, after a male first mates with a female, he throws out the first one or two eggs she lays in their nest.

Birds 147

Birds China Eggs Breeding 147