10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2021

Humans, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves. I have to say that the pattern suits the buntings much better than humans, though, and hopefully, it is also more pleasant for them to wear. Apparently, there are no Lesser Scaup around here, so even I can be fairly confident to get this species identification right. Or duck?

Birds 242

Birds Humane Japan Ducks 242

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2016

The key to solving the puzzle of Germany’s large white-headed gulls was banding juveniles of all forms in their breeding colonies and the fact that some humans find immense joy in driving around garbage dumps, looking at birds with pricey scopes and trying to decipher tiny codes on plastic or metal rings of various shapes and sizes.

Kazakhstan 117

Kazakhstan Germany Ukraine Asia 117

10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2022

For once, eBird gives a good description of the Asian Glossy Starling, calling it a “Fierce-looking, large songbird” As are humans, this species is fairly urbanized – it “sometimes enters urban areas to roost, e.g. in Singapore” (HBW). Next to me, a local birder tried to get a photo of a Common Iora.

Singapore 229

Singapore Birds Zebras Feral 229

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

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.

Dissection 228

Dissection Birds Research Europe 228

Critter News

MARCH 28, 2009

Touchy subject there in Germany. The German constitutional court has ruled that animal rights organisation PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) must end its campaign in which it draws a comparison between the Holocaust and industrial farming.

Campaign 100

Campaign PETA Factory Farm Factory Farming 100

Animal Ethics

JANUARY 30, 2012

The legal rights of nonhuman animals might first be achieved in any of three ways. In 2002 the German Parliament amended Article 26 of the Basic Law to give nonhuman animals the right to be “respected as fellow creatures” and to be protected from “avoidable pain.” What is the common law? 7 in The State of the Animals II , ed.

Rights 40

Rights For Animals Legislation Laws 40

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2013

It’s either that or the Hindus are right, that our existence is a continuing chain of lives through re-birth, a system of action and reward, and Corey Finger’s former life was that of a panda bear whose biggest mischief was eating bamboo, while I was Pol Pot. What could possibly go wrong?

Germany 145

Germany Birds Pandas Kittens 145

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 12, 2011

The last few days have been particularly good for sun-gazing here in Germany, and I have captured a few images for your valued entertainment. The following image was taken in central Germany on November 9th at 13:00 under ideal fog conditions, and I was surprised at how many sunspots there currently are on the sun’s surface.

Germany 165

Germany Science Protection Humane 165

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2016

Quite recently, it has started to expand inland, along the river Rhone and to the South of Germany, where it is now an uncommon but conspicious breeder. A different form ( atlantis ) which may or may not constitute a separate species, is found on the Azores, Fuerteventura, and the Canary Islands.

Europe 126

Europe Spain Italy Ireland 126

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2015

It therefore comes as no surprise that it has been regarded as a subspecies of the Spanish Sparrow or the House Sparrow, or as a species in its own right. We currently are experiencing a rare time where all major taxonomic bodies tend to regard it as a species in its own right, the Italian Sparrow Passer italiae.

Sparrows 223

Sparrows Italy Asia Austria 223

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 12, 2013

A Carolina Parakeet mounted in a museum in Germany Fritz Geller-Grimm. The population is not directly dependent on human support. But its not just parrots that are doing well in their adopted city. Dozens of other introduced bird species, largely escapees from pet owners, now call Miami home.

Miami 138

Miami Parrots Research Birds 138

4 The Love Of Animals

NOVEMBER 24, 2009

No one in the room–neither dog nor human–can tell which cup hides the biscuit. Instead, he simply points at the cup on the right. Understanding a pointed finger may seem easy, but consider this: while humans and canines can do it naturally, no other known species in the animal kingdom can. “Humans are unique.

Wolves 100

Wolves Fox Dogs Puppies 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 19, 2011

juvenile Parasitic Jaeger by Larry Jordan Jochen enjoyed a plover : My Best Bird of the Year is a White-tailed Lapwing I “twitched” in Germany in June. That was a cool bird sighting because the eagle had to swoop around among power lines and overpasses and high rise buildings, being right in the dead middle of the city and all.

2011 188

2011 Birds South Korea North Dakota 188

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2023

Oh, cheeky me left out another alternative for both cases, which brings us right to the origin of these sayings: the devil. This model was very popular in Germany in the 1970s and 1980s and it was commonly called “Ente“ (duck) due to its round hood.

Germany 189

Germany Birds Hunters Owls 189

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

Germany is underrated as a birding destination. Nestled right in the middle of Europe, we have a little bit of everything, a nice cross section of Europe’s avifauna. Greater Rheas, a species the Germans call Nandu, are very popular in Germany and frequently kept in zoos as well as private enclosures.

Germany 251

Germany Birds 2000 South America 251

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Dates of first arrival listed by Schorger (1966) are: Italy 1520, Germany 1530, France 1538, England 1541, Denmark and Norway 1550, Sweden 1556. Early research suggested that “Fragmented distributions and population bottlenecks due to human activities appear to have increased genetic differentiation among populations” (Leberg 1991).

Turkey 207

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 207

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2021

For years now, Victor Emanuel Nature Tours has included among its birding excursions a group of tours that acknowledge the breadth of birders’ horizons, taking full advantage of both the natural and the human richness of some of the birdiest destinations on the planet.

Birds 245

Birds New Jersey Guatemala France 245

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2019

Below legal size for humans is still legal for pelicans. When one thinks of ecotourism here and how it changed lives, it should be known that the locals were leaving the region, in 1960s to the USA, but in the last ten years, after the World Economic Crisis, mostly to Germany.

Greece 198

Greece Pelicans Buffalo Fish 198

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2024

Then again, why would anyone name a bird after a botanist, let alone one I only just made up right now? In the right light, the male Common Pheasant can look ridiculously attractive. I should also point out that contrary to popular belief, the Common Starling is not named after Edward Common (1858-1892), the English botanist.

Birds 198

Birds Research Science Europe 198

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2022

As with Chinese male humans, having your own building is still vital to raising young. One of the established ways to evaluate self-cognition in animals (including humans) is the mirror test. Among humans, there is a tendency to dress very young humans up in the most colorful way possible. You should try it too.

Birds 192

Birds Sparrows Protection Humane 192

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2022

I may have said this before, but thrushes always remind me a bit of German housewives – robust and reliable, but not particularly graceful (there is a reason I live in China and not in Germany). I do not have anything interesting to say about the Red-flanked Bluetail right now, but the male is a very beautiful bird.

Birds 215

Birds Eggs Bangladesh China 215