10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 16, 2011

The task of wrestling this topic down into something that the human mind can manage, without losing sight of the big picture because it’s snowing in Buffalo, is likely to be the task of a lifetime for many science communicators. If I have any complaints, they lie not in the information but in the way the information is presented.

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Netherlands Birds Buffalo Science 158

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2013

It also has one of the highest human population densities in the state. Not surprisingly, this brings Burrowing Owls into close contact with humans across the county. Loss of habitat due to development, disturbance at burrows and negative interactions with humans are some of the threats facing this charismatic species.

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Owls Florida Raised Coyotes 237

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2013

It comprised eight short talks on subjects ranging from investigations into the genetics of magnetic receptors for navigation, to the use of eBird and other “citizen science” crowdsourcing efforts in studying migrant phenology. According to the program guide, nearly half of the presenters were students.

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San Diego Ostriches Chicago Colorado 176

Critter News

MARCH 31, 2009

Earthlings is a feature-length documentary about how dependent human beings are on animals, primarily in five key areas: pets, food, clothing, entertainment and science.

Humane Society Of The United States 100

Humane Society Of The United States Animal Abuse Phoenix Ethical Treatment 100

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2018

It is presented in two main parts, the “how” – considering the physical processes involved in the way animals perceive their environment, and “why” of animal behaviour – examining the evolutionary forces that have shaped the more complex behaviours. Those bears live in the wild and are not used to humans.

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Animal Bears Stray Dog Blackbirds 115

Animal Person

JUNE 1, 2009

Steve Best's verbal presentation of his ideas sometimes irks me. But " Minding the Animals: Ethology and the Obsolescence of Left Humanism " is a great look back at how we humans have managed to always find a way to consider ourselves unique, despite what the reality of the nonhuman world tells us. [S]ince

Speciesism 100

Speciesism Morals Vegan Humane 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2020

Not all habitat change is due to humans; there is Chestnut Blight destroying American Chestnuts in the early 1900s, and the more recent Dutch Elm disease. The first three sections are brief, presenting a summary of the bird’s current NYC status (migrant, resident, breeder, vagrant, etc.), Another big year memoir?

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New York City New York Birds Breeding 150

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

However, we now know that human ancestors became upright first, and were bipedal for millions of years before they started to use tools extensively, and then another million years went by before their brains started to evolve a significantly larger size. At present there may be three reasonable hypotheses to explain this. Vinther, J.,

Penguins 192

Penguins Seals Peru Science 192

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2014

It’s very hard to organize the many ways in which human beings relate to avian beings into comprehensible text. Cocker presents Eurasian Larks as a prime example of one of the recurring themes of the book, our culture’s tendency to cherish a bird in poetry and myth and to simultaneously exploit, even ravish, the actual bird. .”

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Birds Egypt Family Eagles 215

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 22, 2013

Today we speak of the not-so-distant past, the present, and the history in between. Not only is it a very impressive citizen science project that manages to marshal the legions of birders around Canada and the U.S., Hello my birding sons and daughters. This post is meant to serve as a flashback to 1998, 15 years ago.

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San Diego California Condor California Bald Eagle 171

Animal Person

JUNE 8, 2009

For those who didn't read the five-part Slate series " Pepper, the stolen dog who changed American science " by Daniel Engber , I recommend it for the history, but also for the misconceptions and assumptions that you might want to discuss on the Facebook discussion about the series. It "guarantees humane treatment?" Maybe on paper.

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Animal Welfare Monkeys Animal Welfare Act Vivisection 100

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 28, 2010

This last implies of course an improvement in ethics, as opposed to morality, as I have defined it, unless we already understand 'Do as you would be done by' as applicable to whales, cattle, chickens, and so on, as it is to human beings. Smart , "Ethics and Science," Philosophy 56 [October 1981]: 449-65, at 453 [italics in original])

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Morals Whales Whaling Chickens 40

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2012

What I didn’t know was how this relationship actually works: the mechanics of Red Knot migration, the reduced digestive systems necessary for their long flighta, the need to fatten up quickly so they can fly to the Arctic and breed, how they compete with other shorebirds and gulls and, it turns out, humans, for horseshoe crab eggs.

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Delaware New Jersey Research Eggs 179

Animal Ethics

NOVEMBER 24, 2009

Farm animals also benefit from the humane farming movement, even if the animal welfare changes it effects are not all that we should hope and work for. Go vegan, go vegetarian, go humane or just eat less meat. If we all decide to consider animals as precious as humans, the only logical place for us is back in the jungle.

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New York Times New York Vegan Vegetarian 40

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2020

This is a delightful book, large (8-1/2 by 11 inches), filled with Sibley’s distinctive artwork and an organized potpourri of research-based stories about the science behind bird’s lives. This was a pleasant surprise if only because I’m so used to the more technical views presented in his field guides.

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2020 Birds Groups North America 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2021

In contrast, the Common Terns present look much more elegant. I guess looking elegant during sex is difficult for most humans, too. Popular with Black-winged Stilts … … Common Redshanks … … and with Pied Avocets , though their activities look a bit dangerous.

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Birds Uganda Breeding Rats 217

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

It turns out that there are new things that can be learned about extinct birds, and that even if the conclusion is obvious–the bird is gone, there is no time machine and we can’t change that–the way in which it is presented can differ as well. “Winter Sports in Northern Louisiana: Shooting Wild Pigeons.”

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2014 Killing Michigan Kentucky 160

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2023

It is also about Chris’s personal history: his boyhood in suburban Long Island, college years at Harvard and the struggle to come out, ‘nerdy’ passions beyond birding–namely science fiction books and films, career highs at Marvel Comics, travels to foreign countries, and his complicated relationships with his parents.

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Emotional Birds Minneapolis Nepal 224

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2022

Gisela Kaplan has written a book about the species, and how they seem unperturbed by humans: “It’s one of their most successful defense strategies. Of course, if science is not for you, you can also look for the Spiritual Meaning of Willie Wagtail (“Unlock the amazing secrets of this spiritual symbol”) here.

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Birds Australia Ducks Mountain Goats 230

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2018

It contains numerous citations to the literature, as the process must be based on the best available science. Habitat has been improved and conserved in some areas, though Hawaii’s increasing human population has made that a challenge. Several national parks, national wildlife refuges, and state lands host significant populations.

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Endangered Species Species Hawaii 2018 102

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2011

And if you look into it enough, it presents a classic case where science can fail us. I believe in science. Science is based on logic and evidence, which I think is a very respectable way to look at the world. But what many people fail to realize, and too often scientists themselves, is that science is elastic.

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Emotional Science Birds Mammals 206

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2014

There is a bit of science news. These lineages remained present in the area during successive formation of the islands, with one lineage re-colonizing the mainland 0.24–0.7 I got it on “film” using my camera, but they were so far away you can only see them for a second, and you can only see a few hundred. million years ago (Ma).

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Birds Bald Eagle Zoos Philippines 180

10,000 Birds

MAY 16, 2018

I am a human being, so I am entitled to, and I do, say that the starling is an ugly bird. Thomas acknowledges that the Anthropocene epoch, the age of humans, is bringing a sixth great extinction, but that, by itself, is not something he much mourns. Prum, Doubleday). Indeed, it’s when Prum tries to apply his theories ( viz.,

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Humane Species North America Sparrows 103

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2011

Way back when I started what turned out to be my thesis research (on humans), it became important for me to learn about bird migration. I was involved in the study of human movement and navigation on land, and there was a lot of research coming out about bird navigation. Itcher birds, migratory members of the tern family. Image source.

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Research Humane Compassion New York 193

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

The magnificent history and diversity of birds on Earth came into sharper focus this month with the publication of 28 new scientific papers in Science and other journals. 2014), presents an authoritative framework for our understanding of and future work on bird phylogeny. So do parrots, some songbirds, humans, and a few other mammals.

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Family Parrots Birds 2014 279

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2011

Eventually, I found the lone whooping crane present at the refuge by its call. My friend Vickie Henderson , who has some serious long-range vision, looked at the science behind Tennessee’s crane hunting proposal and found it badly wanting. I knew I’d never heard that before. Here’s the petition. Sandhill Hunt: They’re Voting Now.Or

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2011 Hunting Kentucky Hunters 242

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 17, 2011

The Problem with Brains And, most interestingly and relevant to the present discussion, tissues that demand lots of Oxygen will have a much higher proportion of oxidants bothering them, because these radiation-induced oxidants will include lots of reactive oxygen. It is a very nice bit of science.

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Mammals Birds Fish Cooking 234

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2018

Darwin Day is February 12th, and for an early celebration I thought I’d take a look at a book that rethinks the way Darwin, and we, think about evolution—a very specific part of evolution, the way beautiful features and behavior have developed amongst birds and, by extension, amongst humans.

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Ducks Research Animal Stud 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2011

To describe his life as one filled with achievement is a major understatement, and what I present is a brief summary. Both species had undergone massive declines since the arrival of humans and where in a perilous position in the 1970s.

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Species New Zealand Rats Endangered Species 228

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2015

None fly, most are curious and social, which probably contributes to our cultural perception of penguins as one step away from human. Science and Conservation , the second section, presents two-page summaries of the diverse research being done around the world about penguins. Some are cute, some are dignified (and royal!).

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Penguins New Zealand South Africa Albatross 200