10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

Paging through a fieldguide, it’s always with a sense of dismay and sadness that I come across reference to an extinct species. Islands, for various reasons, experience more extinctions than continents (with Africa being the only continent not suffering a bird extinction!). This bird was kept in captivity until it died a year later.

Madagascar 238

Madagascar Lemurs 2006 Owls 238

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2014

In fact, the Dodo belonged to a clade (sometimes called Raphini) of 15 remarkable, bizarre, intriguing island-adapted pigeons, some of which are still alive today, but eight of which have been hacked from the tree of life, driven to extinction by humans. The Dodo lived on Mauritius, an island east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.

Solomon Islands 275

Solomon Islands Guinea Mauritius Humane 275

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 24, 2012

A young bird contemplates a future of attacking humans in a funny field. It is also worth clarifying that these attacks are not a “nuisance” People go to hospital suffering from eye injuries and falls from bikes. Bicycle helmets often sprout antennae during the breeding season, or poles mounted on the back of the bike.

New Zealand 150

New Zealand Birds Australia Kangaroos 150