article thumbnail

The return of the Old Man

10,000 Birds

Despite the fact that efforts are made to ensure they are not imprinted on humans, they are naturally confiding, even friendly. Shooting remains a major threat to this population, for the Italians are still passionately keen on hunting. Such an intimate encounter with one of the world’s rarest birds was a memorable experience.

Morocco 215
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.

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

Post Apocalyptic Steampunk Birding

10,000 Birds

As I neared the shore, I spooked a hunting Striated Heron who in turn spooked a Neotropic Cormorant hunting the shallow water. These scarce residents are rarely seen – and even when visible, are usually quite wary of humans.

Trinidad 194
article thumbnail

Falcon Wild by Terry Lynn Johnson

10,000 Birds

Falcon Wild is a new book in that long tradition, and this one features a more realistic (though still very slightly romanticized) portrait of a human/animal partnership. Stark, a white Gyrfalcon , is a falconry bird born and raised. There’s no leisurely building a home in the wilderness aspect to this book.

Falcons 118
article thumbnail

Falconry – Bloodsport or Alternative Form of Birding?

10,000 Birds

Dirt hawking is a form of falconry that involves hunting rabbits and other small game with Harris Hawks (other hawk species also qualify). One of the primary reasons that these hawks make such excellent falconry birds is because they are one of only two raptor species (the other is the Galapagos Hawk ) that hunt cooperatively.

article thumbnail

Birding Singapore

10,000 Birds

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). Lucky ducks.

Singapore 210
article thumbnail

Bird Conservation News: The Good, The Bad (and Ugly), and More Good

10,000 Birds

The survival of songbirds depends in part upon eliminating illegal hunting. That means passing over the Mediterranean Sea and the Middle East, where you’re liable to get shot, trapped, or otherwise hunted. Thanks to a little human intervention, the future looks much brighter for Millerbirds. Fish and Wildlife Service). **And

Cambodia 142