article thumbnail

15 Australian Birds (Episode 5)

10,000 Birds

Anyway, I was much keener to see this kingfisher than the Emu (who I consider to be a bit of an underprivileged ostrich). I was surprised that this species is named for its vocalization – which sounds like laughter. For example, the Diamond Dove is the world’s second-smallest species of the columbidae order ( source ).

Australia 147
article thumbnail

Vagrancy in Birds: A Book Review

10,000 Birds

Vagrancy in Birds is organized into two major parts: (1) A detailed, 62-page synthesis of research and theory and (2) “Family Accounts,” 259 pages covering bird families from Struthionidae/Ostriches) to Thraupidae/Tanagers and allies (Clements is the taxonomic authority). Next time, I’ll know why.

Birds 263
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

Avian influenza H5N2 in the Mississippi and Pacific Flyways

10,000 Birds

And, of course, the reputation of certain species of birds as troublemakers for humans is a problem in bird conservation, so this is worth watching. H5N2 is a subtype of Influenza A, and infects many species of birds including those mentioned as well as ducks (domestic and wild).

article thumbnail

Swimming with dolphins

10,000 Birds

Even people with no other interest in wildlife, who couldn’t tell a sparrow from an ostrich (or even a dolphin from a fish) love dolphins. Leaving from the harbour on boats were tours to swim with one of New Zealand’s most endangered mammal species, the Hector’s Dolphin. Which has always mystified me slightly.

Dolphins 157
article thumbnail

72 dangerous animals africa

Reddit Animals

This species is found on the African continent, in Angola, as well as central, eastern, and southern Africa. Many tarantula species have a special kind of setae, known as urticating hairs , that serve as a defensive weapon. Ostrich eggs have been used by humans for millennia. With the ability to run at 70 km/h (43.5

Africa 40
article thumbnail

Mrs Pankhurst’s Purple Feather–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

Their populations, plus those of other species that ‘wore’ the coveted long, colorful feathers used for women’s fashionable hats, were being dangerously depleted by hunters intent on feeding the millinery industry. The late Victorian age was not a good time to be an egret!

Industry 121
article thumbnail

The complete guide to Dodo relatives, living and dead

10,000 Birds

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. One species alive today offers a glimpse of such behavior: the Nicobar Pigeon ( Caloenas nicobarica ). .’s