10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

For one thing, we become more aware of cultural biases in our science (new findings on warbling female birds, for example, reveal both gender and geographic biases). This is a bit of a rabbit hole, however, and you may find yourself, as I did, spending the day watching videos of Superb Lyrebirds singing and Kea Parrots making snowballs.

Research 211

Research Birds Science Costa Rica 211

10,000 Birds

JUNE 13, 2022

Quite likely, these birds are also the inspiration for Australian science communicator Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki. According to the HBW entry for this species, it “has been claimed that loss of native mammals after European settlement created shortage of nesting material, explaining this species’ penchant for taking hair from humans.”

Australia 186

Australia Birds Feral Cats Kangaroos 186

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2011

The post stimulated some great discussions but not really any additional commentary on the science behind these proposed relationships. Last month, I wrote about hypothesized relationships between passerines, parrots, falcons, and seriemas , noting a need for further research on the subject.

Parrots 187

Parrots Falcons Indonesia Rodents 187

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 29, 2022

was responsible for maintaining the universe, judging the dead, and for writing and science ( source ). Is it offensive to say that Australian Zebra Finches breed like rabbits? The Sacred Ibis was seen as the incarnation of the god Thoth, who (with gods apparently better at multitasking than humans) was (or maybe still is, who knows?)

Birds 147

Birds Australia Sheep Zebras 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2011

I took home a few of the pellets and found that the owls were feasting on grey squirrels and cottontail rabbits. There was also a mammal jawbone in the pellet too. I stuffed it in my pocket and decided to take it to Richard Oehlenschlager at the Science Museum of Minnesota. What was throwing me off were the feathers.

Bats 198

Bats Dissection Owls Minnesota 198