10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2011

Last month, I wrote about hypothesized relationships between passerines, parrots, falcons, and seriemas , noting a need for further research on the subject. The post stimulated some great discussions but not really any additional commentary on the science behind these proposed relationships. Ringer Suh et al.

Parrots 187

Parrots Falcons Indonesia Rodents 187

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2011

There was also a mammal jawbone in the pellet too. I stuffed it in my pocket and decided to take it to Richard Oehlenschlager at the Science Museum of Minnesota. I wasn’t as interested in the mammal jawbone, but it totally piqued his interest. What was throwing me off were the feathers. Was that a cardinal beak?

Bats 199

Bats Dissection Owls Minnesota 199

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

The magnificent history and diversity of birds on Earth came into sharper focus this month with the publication of 28 new scientific papers in Science and other journals. So do parrots, some songbirds, humans, and a few other mammals. American Flamingo photo by Dick Culbert). Where do these abilities come from? Hackett et al.

Family 279

Family Parrots Birds 2014 279

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2011

As the name suggests, the National Bison Range is mostly known for its large mammals. More enjoyable was the arrival of an American Kestrel – not the Prairie Falcon I was hoping for, but it put on a good show and was easy to point out to the others in the car as it hovered for prey.

Rattlesnake 163

Rattlesnake Bald Eagle Mules Mammals 163