article thumbnail

How Birds Evolve: What Science Reveals about Their Origin, Lives, and Diversity: A Book Review by a Non-Science Person

10,000 Birds

He also believes that we are living in an era of incredible scientific research, one in which new genetic technology and findings from diverse scientific disciplines have turned assumptions upside down, opened up new lines of thought, and provided answers, or at least probable answers, to many of our questions about why birds do the things they do.

Science 223
article thumbnail

Some Ingenuity Can Go a Long Way

10,000 Birds

The use of tool by animals is surprisingly rare. I find fascinating the fact that Egyptian Vultures , New Caledonian Crows and Woodpecker Finches learned to use a tool with tremendous success. Further support for inherent behavior comes from experiments. Woodpecker Finch using a tool. The behavior was inherent.

Fish 163
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Trending Sources

article thumbnail

Feather Trails: A Journey of Discovery Among Endangered Birds–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

Her experiences are framed within the larger scientific histories how once common species become endangered, and of how people and organizations have strategized and explored controversial paths to bring their numbers up and nurture them till they fill our skies. Endangered. Extinction. Conservation. Author Sophie A.

article thumbnail

Galápagos: A Natural History, Second Edition–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

Galápagos: A Natural History, Second Edition by John Kricher and Kevin Loughlin gives the traveling naturalist the tools needed to fully appreciate and experience the Galápagos Islands. The 11th chapter is on research and conservation challenges. Still, I wish I had prepared. I wish I had read this book.

2006 258
article thumbnail

The Incredulous New Caledonian Crows

10,000 Birds

A number of research projects have sought to determine if some of these human brain abilities are found in other animals. And most recently, a team of researchers from New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Austria have demonstrated that New Caledonian Crows understand UCAs. But that’s another story. The graph shows the results.

Abandon 235
article thumbnail

Dragonflies and Damselflies of Costa Rica: A Field Guide–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

I know how intense some birders can be), I can tell you from experience that there are some exquisite, stunning odonates flying around there. Species are arranged by family and genus along taxonomic lines, but not always in accordance with the very latest molecular DNA research. Damselflies first, then dragonflies.

article thumbnail

Far From Land: The Mysterious Lives of Seabirds–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

An array of tools ranging from geolocators to satellite trackers to depth measurers to miniature cameras have been employed by ornithologists and biologists over the past twenty years, yielding scads of information. The book becomes most engaging when Brooke tells stories based on his or his colleagues’ experience.

Albatross 114