10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2016

Agonizing quandaries concerning invasive species are well-known to wildlife biologists. They argue for the elimination of free-range cats entirely. Arriving in North America around the time of Columbus, they have become “one of the most successful invasive species on earth.”.

Feral Cats 257

Feral Cats Cats Tnr Feral 257

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

But they don’t live in North America. I find it astonishing that people argue of whether feral cats are bad for birds in North America. In some regions of the world, the carnivore landscape is taken up by many different cats at the middle and larger range, and by things like civets and mongoose at the smaller end.

Feral Cats 254

Feral Cats North America Feral Cats 254

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2020

I am only responding to my subjective impression of a single species’ appearance here; specifically, that of the Bronzed Cowbird. Instead, they lay their eggs in other species’ nests, and let those nest-making birds (often significantly smaller than the cowbirds) raise their young. Native versus invasive species?

Birds 154

Birds Blackbirds Mexico Cattle 154

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

Back in 2009, Tai Haku sent us a fascinating post exploring a question that ecologists worldwide grapple with: can the translocation of rare species into niches left empty by extinction be successful or justified? It is extinct. It persists in captivity at a breeding facility on Guam and in a number of American zoos.

Puerto Rico 186

Puerto Rico Guam Virgin Islands Feral 186