10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

’s bird family tree in a new tab and follow along as you read. So do parrots, some songbirds, humans, and a few other mammals. The Hoatzin, which may have reached South America by raft , has resisted placement in basically every study ever done. In 2008, Nick Sly published a review of Hackett et al.

Family 279

Family Parrots Birds 2014 279

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2014

Not, as Linneaus thought, an ostrich, nor even, as later scientists concluded, a distant cousin of pigeons deserving of family rank, it was an honest-to-goodness pigeon, deeply embedded within the family Columbidae. The Dodo ( Raphus cucullatus ) — that towering icon of modern anthropogenic extinctions — was a pigeon.

Solomon Islands 275

Solomon Islands Guinea Mauritius Humane 275

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2011

Between staying warm/cool, finding food, avoiding predators, migrating thousands of miles every year, finding mates, raising chicks and doing all this at the mercy of the elements, it makes sense that they have more brainpower than just simple instinct to run on. crossing the Carribean and winding up in South America?

Emotional 204

Emotional Science Birds Mammals 204

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2011

For native people, living in South America meant living with hummingbirds, and for Europeans, discovering South American meant discovering hummingbirds (and, tragically, exploiting South America meant exploiting hummingbirds, destroying hundreds of thousands for stuffed specimens and in futile attempts to keep them alive in captivity.)

South America 156

South America New York Alaska America 156

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2011

I was fortunate to have been born and raised in Africa, and although I have traveled extensively around the world, it remains my home and in my blood. Approximately 2,300 bird species inhabit Africa, however as impressive as that sounds, much smaller South America boasts nearly 1,000 species more.

Papua New Guinea 218

Papua New Guinea Madagascar Africa Equatorial Guinea 218