article thumbnail

Birding Ruoergai, Sichuan, China – The Raptor Edition

10,000 Birds

Rarest among the ones we saw was the endangered Saker Falcon. At sky burial sites, human corpses that are intended for consumption by Himalayan vultures are broken up by burial priests. At sky burial sites, human corpses that are intended for consumption by Himalayan vultures are broken up by burial priests. Himalayan Marmot.

China 245
article thumbnail

“The Hawk’s Way” — a book review

10,000 Birds

Some, according to her, consider it a form of slavery; a 1982 book in my library, The Birdwatcher’s Companion cites “the sentimentalist element of the wildlife protection movement” as deeming falconry to be comparable to cockfighting.). As Montgomery shows, falconry is different from any other human/animal interaction.

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

The Gas Station Bird

10,000 Birds

Here’s a quote about bird lungs from Britannica: “Himalayan geese have been observed not only to fly over human climbers struggling to reach the top of Mount Everest, but to honk as they do so.” Both falconers and wildlife rehabilitators have to study, gain experience, and jump through various hoops in order to get their licenses.

article thumbnail

Grassy Green Space in the Central Valley- Trash Habitat or Prime Real Estate for Oddball Birds?

10,000 Birds

A few spots manage to persist and welcome them in this human-dominated landscape. Keep birding and you might see a White-tailed Kite hovering as it hunts rodents and one of the few Bat Falcons in the Valley might dash into view. I worry because no protection is given to such supposed “trash” habitats.

article thumbnail

Urban Nature Persists in San Joaquin, Heredia, Costa Rica, May 4th, 2021

10,000 Birds

In birding circles, Costa Rica is better known for protected areas, quetzal tours, and glittering displays of hummingbirds than the things that fly in urban spots. In the final bits and pieces of green space that dot a typical human dominated landscape? This morning, the surprise was the call of Laughing Falcon.

article thumbnail

The Raptor Situation in Costa Rica

10,000 Birds

In keeping with high diversity in other aspects of the avian kingdom, including falcons and excluding owls, this small country has a raptor list that tops fifty species. While there’s a lot of protected habitat, with so many other raptors and birds to compete with, each species has a pretty small population.

article thumbnail

Birds and Us: A 12,000 Year History from Cave Art to Conservation–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

They may be about bird eggs ( The Most Perfect Thing: The Inside (and Outside) of a Bird’s Egg , 2016), or a 17th-century ornithologist ( Virtuoso by Nature: The Scientific Worlds of Francis Willughby, 2016), or How Bullfinches learn songs from humans ( The Wisdom of Birds: An Illustrated History of Ornithology.