Tired of watching the National Zoo’s panda ? Stuck inside with the blizzard? We’ve got your birding fix right here. Male Blue Manakins dancing for the love of a female —as entrancing as the falling snow. Make a big steaming mug of cocoa and get your finger set on “replay”! Image via Wikimedia Commons). Birds Blue Manakins mating MORE

And that’s just the birds–you can spy on everything from panda bear cubs to beluga whales. You may already know how awesome Arctic Terns are. Clocking more than 50,000 miles per year, the birds appear to have cornered the market on the world’s longest annual migration. It probably helps that they weigh less than 5 ounces! You can learn more about their incredible journeys here.) . MORE

It's the third visitor the panda has bitten. Maybe the Beijing Zoo should start protecting the panda more so it doesn't have to protect itself from these idiots. Tags: zoos pandas china The tourist was trying to retrieve his child's toy. Stupid, stupid, stupid. MORE

Miracle Babies: Baby Pandas. The giant panda is one of the world’s most iconic species, but its population numbers are critically low. It is extremely difficult for female pandas to reproduce in captivity, but the city of Chengdu in central China has become the worldwide epicenter for panda reproduction. A wonderful new series on Nat Geo WILD this Tuesday, September 13th and Wednesday, September 14. MORE

Some guy in China thought the panda looked so cute , he jumped a fence to give it a hug. The panda was having none of it, and bit him on the arms and legs. Pity he didn't get an artery to make this fool a Darwin Award winner MORE

Yes, rhinos, red pandas, chamois, and other charismatic creatures also deserve help, but this is a birding site so you know which way we’re voting! Maybe the proposition isn’t that simple, but you can vote to allocate $40,000 from National Geographic Germany to Fundación ProAves to support conservation of the practically extinct Fuertes’s Parrot. MORE

Supposedly, environmentalists and animal rights activists have "unfairly made the polar bear into 'the panda bear of North America.'" Now that the species is listed in the US as "threatened," hunters can't import the dead body parts (aka hunting "trophies") in from Canada. Waaaaaaa! insert crying baby picture here.) Here's the article from the Globe and Mail. MORE

The first stop was Wolongshan, a place known more for its giant pandas than its birds. I do not mind pandas much as long as they do not stand in front of interesting birds, blocking my view, so this was not really an obstacle. MORE

Most likely the cutest thing you will see today, pandas playing on a slide! Be sure to watch all the way to the end for a seriously adorable flip. cute of the day cute video MORE

Examples include panda bears, wolves, elephants, tigers, etc. We hear about the problem with charismatic land species. It's those species that either have a powerful personality or a cute face that endear people to them and garner news attention. It's easier to motivate people to save them as opposed to other species that are vital, but either boring or ugly. It's the same problem with marine life. People want to save the dolphins and the sea otters, but what about the bluefin tuna? MORE

Two giant pandas made their way from China to ZooParc de Beauval in France today. FedEx Express donated services to transport the giant pandas in a special plane named the “FedEx Panda Express”! The pandas, three year old female Huan Huan and three year old male panda Yuan Zi, will be the first giant pandas in more than 10 years to be in France. Currently, conservationists estimate that only 1,600 pandas remain in the wild. MORE

It’s either that or the Hindus are right, that our existence is a continuing chain of lives through re-birth, a system of action and reward, and Corey Finger’s former life was that of a panda bear whose biggest mischief was eating bamboo, while I was Pol Pot. Boy, do I have news for you. It has come to my attention recently, through the analysis of a chain of peculiar events, that Corey Finger is not a real person. MORE

The average woman or man will tell you that they have seen a penguin, or an armadillo, or a panda. Regular readers to the blog may have noticed Redgannet’s post on some delightful finchbills he saw in China. In the post he agonised about whether they should be included on his life list due to their “doubtful provenance” I started to formulate a reply, and it got rather big, so rather that leave this on his own post, unread, I decided to post it here instead. MORE

Do you love pandas? This year’s theme is “PandaQuest” which shifts the focus from panda breeding and rehabilitation in captivity to re-introduction in the wild. Pambassador finalists will participate in the current panda release plan, designed to re-introduce captive bears into the wild. Be sure to enter for the chance to see pandas and help spread the word about these loveable, endangered animals. MORE