10,000 Birds

JUNE 15, 2012

So, yes, it was Spain. Specifically, rural northwestern Spain, at various points along the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage route to the supposed burial place of Saint James the apostle and, before that, to the westernmost point in continental Europe, the supposed End of the Earth, the Finis Terra. My life White Stork.

Spain 168

Spain Europe Industry Rodents 168

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 26, 2022

This is a rather photographer-friendly species, staying on the same branch for quite a while and even returning to it after catching some insects – you can see this on video here and here. While the source does not say so directly, it hints that this means the species is not as intelligent as Eurasian Magpies (which pass the test).

Finland 147

Finland Birds 2016 McDonalds 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2020

But like Spain, its only neighbor on the Iberian Peninsula, Portugal is cut off from the rest of Europe by the steep, natural border formed by the Pyrenees. Beyond that is the entire expanse of the Atlantic Ocean, stretching some six-hundred leagues west to Newfoundland — and even further to the mainland shores of North America.

2015 154

2015 Portugal France Europe 154

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 29, 2020

These goods, purchased with Mexican silver, would then be transported overland through Mexico City, and shipped from Veracruz to Spain. I had never birded this way before, and can confirm that what I had heard is true: Birds are much more tolerant of human presence when those humans are on a boat!

Birds 158

Birds 2006 Mexico Morocco 158

Critter News

MARCH 1, 2010

I know people will whine about why she didn't leave the money to human causes, but I'm proud that she did it. I get so tired of people calling for money to human charities. Humans control the frigging WORLD. That's a problem with humans as a species, not with specific people like this woman. Grrrrrr!!!!

Endangered Species 100

Endangered Species Spain Humane Tagged 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

When you think of invasives, you think of the birds that have been helped by human beings to get where they are, such as House Sparrow or European Starling. Other species have certainly expanded their ranges, but never in such a rapid and global scale. Cattle Egret has been introduced by humans to Hawaii and the Seychelles.

Cattle 170

Cattle South Korea Suriname Seychelles 170

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2016

I am planning to have this post be the first in a (very) small series on Europe’s “large white-headed gulls” It will of course only be a small series since there aren’t that many large white-headed gull species in Europe and particularly because I don’t want to cause too harsh a drop in the blog’s visitor numbers.

Europe 117

Europe Spain Italy Ireland 117

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2015

In its natural old-world range, the House Sparrow offers an interesting identification challenge and has vagrant potential since it is a polytypic species with a highly complex taxonomy. The genus Passer has several well-recognized and recognizable species in Europe, and still holds several enigmas.

Sparrows 208

Sparrows Italy Asia Austria 208

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

The very first thing we notice about this large member of the Galliformes is that there is a wild version and a domestic version, and although the two are rather different, they are both given the same species name, Meleagris gallopavo. This is not entirely unknown among domestic animals, but many domesticates have no living wild version.

Turkey 197

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 197

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 208

Dissection Birds Research Europe 208

10,000 Birds

JUNE 10, 2012

I am heading towards the end of a two week family break in Andalusia, Spain as I write this and last week we jumped in the hire car and headed to a Spanish Town called Ronda for a day trip. It felt like coming home. There is beauty in these places but sometimes I have to look hard to find it.

Birds 166

Birds Spain Industry Humane 166

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2020

Even through they subsist on insects during much of the year, European Robins are year-round residents of Britain, and during the colder, gray months of year, their colorful bearing and often audacious presence around humans was not lost on early observers.

Ireland 153

Ireland Branding Spain Compassion 153

10,000 Birds

JULY 27, 2012

Until 2007 the British Ornithologists’ Union lumped it with the Herring Gull , perhaps the classic “sea gull” of human contempt. Yellow-legged Gull The Yellow-legged Gull fits in with Fisterra in that it is not, at first glance, very romantic. Now it has cachet and even a certain Mediterranean charm.

Portugal 163

Portugal ALA 2007 Sparrows 163

4 The Love Of Animals

MARCH 17, 2011

Dogs are able to detect diseases such as cancer and diabetes and warn humans of impending heart attacks and strokes. In many ways, human emotions are the gifts of our animal ancestors. In June 2006, Jane and I visited a chimpanzee sanctuary near Girona, Spain. Grief in magpies and red foxes: Saying goodbye to a friend.

Emotional 100

Emotional Animal Whales Whaling 100