10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2015

GISS—general impression, size, shape—is intuitive, the result of an unconscious cognitive process derived from experience in the field. It is not a handbook, though it approaches species from a collective viewpoint. Experienced birders can identify birds using GISS; all birders can identify birds if they adopt the BBI approach.

New Jersey 168

New Jersey Birds Science New York City 168

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 21, 2018

Major extinction events that are geologically instantaneous have been followed by periods of time with reduction of species or unstable habitats that last for hundreds of thousands or millions of years. There are about 10,000 species of them, after all, which is a lot for a vertebrate. More recently, Kelly J. Iknayan and Steven R.

2018 100

2018 Science Humane Species 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2021

There was a time when I thought each bird species had its own individual song. Then I found out that there was this vocalization called a ‘call,’ so I thought each bird species had its own individual song (but just the males) and individual call. Bird communication is a complex and evolving science. How do they know?

North America 278

North America Research Birds America 278

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2018

Howell and Sullivan have taken apart the identification process and turned it around, placing macro aspects first in importance (location, habitat, season), followed by situational factors (lighting, distance), behavior of the bird (what it is doing and how it sounds), and, finally, what the bird looks like (structure, plumage, variation).

North America 133

North America Birds 2012 America 133

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

Birding is discussed as a process that involves finding birds, viewing and hearing birds, taking notes and sketching birds, thinking about habitat and migration, and then, identifying birds. It is process that can be as simple or as complex as you wish, and I think this is where Birding for the Curious is unique.

North Carolina 262

North Carolina Birds North America Owls 262

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2017

But not everyone sees things through such an avian-positive lens, and hence science often has to make the case for birds’ intrinsic worth. Joseph Tobias of Imperial College London, “The trees of a forest may look healthy, but if the animal species required for pollination or seed dispersal are gone, then looks are deceiving.

Science 100

Science Birds Research Humane 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2021

Pough “with illustrations in color of every species” by Don Eckelberry, Doubleday, 1946. The National Audubon Society Birds of North America covers all species seen in mainland United States, Canada and Baja California. The press material says it covers over 800 species, so you know I had to do a count.

North America 278

North America America California Condor Birds 278

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

Their release process began with inspecting and banding the birds. If you spot one of these blue banded birds, you can help by reporting it and contribute to this important citizen science project helping the conservation of this amazing species. The pelicans heads are covered to help keep them calm while working on them.

Bird Rescue 188

Bird Rescue Pelicans Rescue California 188

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2015

The feature distinguishes birds from other species; All birds have them, no other species do. Beaks vary across different kinds of birds, and this great diversity in beaks is part of the great diversity of the 10,000+ species of birds that exist today; Beaks thus facilitated the diversification of birds.

Alligators 205

Alligators Chickens Research Reptiles 205

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 17, 2014

Developed in the post-frontier era, the NAMWC helped put a stop to wanton wildlife destruction in an era where many species were being hunted and trapped ruthlessly to the brink of extinction. Wilderness Act, Endangered Species Act, Clean Air and Water Acts, and similar acts in Canada.

Wildlife 229

Wildlife Coyotes Wolves Hunters 229

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

Jennifer Ackerman points out in the introduction to What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds , that we don’t know much, but that very soon we may know a lot more. What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds is a joyous, fascinating read.

Owls 197

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 197

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2013

In light of spring’s recent arrival, do you ever find yourself wondering how some species are able to withstand freezing, wintery days and yet still thrive in summer’s heat? This kind of detailed genetic and developmental work has traditionally relied on model species in the lab (aka chickens). Thanks for your support! Maria’s Project.

Panama 199

Panama Chickens Investigation Research 199

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2020

The book is divided into three parts: “Introduction,” “Avifaunal Overview,” and “Species Accounts.” Most birders will go straight to the “Species Accounts.” It’s important to note that the 301 species selected for this section are those of historical and current importance to the core study area, the northwest Bronx.

New York City 144

New York City New York Birds Breeding 144

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2014

These all had their own sub population of one or more species of large land bird, and these populations, in turn, give us the large lane birds we have today, except on Madagascar where the Elephant Bird went extinct (recently). It turns out this is partly wrong.

Madagascar 195

Madagascar Ostriches Elephants New Zealand 195

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2016

From the Abstract and summary: Changes in climate can cause populations of species to decline, to increase, or to remain steady. looked across species of common birds in Europe and the United States. The process of analysis was complex, but the result is fairly simple. Reminder: This study looked at the more common species.

North America 112

North America Europe America United States 112

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. Cactus finch, Geospiza species. Galapagos cactus finch, Geospiza species.

Animal 114

Animal Bears Stray Dog Blackbirds 114

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2013

Asides that in science fiction might be called info-dumps nevertheless abound with interesting facts about a huge variety of bird species, as well as some loving descriptions of both birds and landscapes. Author Roger Real Druin understands and embraces the mind of the nature geek.

Florida 198

Florida Science Woodpeckers Protection 198

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2016

It’s the process of using knowledge of natural history, habitat, distribution, behavior, and, yes, taxonomy, combined with specifics of adult and juvenile plumage and vocalization to identify a bird, often to the subspecies. The process is called “Wide-angle birding: Be the bird, see the bird.”. It is an intriguing choice of species.

Birds 189

Birds Groups 2015 North America 189

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 2, 2019

It’s often said that the native wild grape varieties of the New World– of the species Vitis riparia , Vitis labrusca , Vitis aestivalis , and Vitis rupestris – are ill-suited to winemaking in the European tradition. In fact, that claim may have even been repeated here on this page just last week.

Ohio 127

Ohio Philadelphia Fox Blackbirds 127

10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2012

Britain might have had new species to add to it’s list, then again maybe it didn’t. The modern birder has to be a photographer , versed in the ways of f-stops, ISO, light-metering; a thorough grasp of post-processing techniques and a sound knowledge of the baffling ways of the near cult-religion of Adobe Photoshop.

Morocco 185

Morocco Birds Science Tagged 185

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2016

Every time a gene is replicated, or really, a chromosome (during cell division), a bit of the end of a gene may be lost, owing to the way this process happens. This is part of the process of aging. City Great Tit ( Parus major ) telomeres shortened. Telomeres are repetitive sequences of genetic material sitting at the ends of genes.

Zebras 107

Zebras Mammals Primates Birds 107

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2012

Ridgway himself had 23 species, 10 subspecies, and two genera of birds named for him, including Ridgway’s Hawk.) This is probably one of the reasons Daniel Lewis,the author,turned from writing a popular biography to a history of ornithology as a science and the ornithologist as a profession.

Illinois 144

Illinois Collecting United States Alaska 144

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

Artists rendition of Inkayacu paracasensis There are 17 living species of penguins, which make up their own Linnean family (Spheniscidae), which is the only family in the order Sphenisciformes. Penguins are flightless, but some species locomote over long distances on antarctic ice to travel between breeding grounds and the sea.

Penguins 187

Penguins Seals Peru Sharks 187

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2020

That’s pretty amazing–Bolivia has more bird species than India! The source of this ranking, BirdLife International, lists Bolivia as currently having 1,439 bird species, including 18 breeding endemics. The guide covers 1,433 species, the number of birds documented at the end of 2014, the cutoff point for the book.

Bolivia 167

Bolivia Birds Brazil Switzerland 167

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2014

White-bellied Parrot was one of many target species at either of the canopy towers. ” At first light, many of the larger canopy species commute and call from the canopy: parrots, cotingas, guans, and toucans. Time for conversation, discussion about culture, cuisine, science, or politics, and the sightings of that morning.

Otters 160

Otters Parrots Birds Brazil 160

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2012

Or, one of the 145 species of Glass frogs living in the Cental and South American rainforests, I could look through the transparent skin on their undersides and see their internal organs. All species of frogs and toads share the fact that they are amphibian creatures, they have two types of skin gland, four legs, and, well, they jump.

Reptiles 181

Reptiles Madagascar Family New York City 181

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2012

The new edition adds 11 species, birds such as Zone-tailed Hawk, Short-tailed Hawk, and California Condor that are only seen in specific areas of North America. Individual species accounts follow, featuring a description of the hawk’s range, a little of its history in North America, sections on Identification and In Flight.

North America 213

North America Bald Eagle Eagles Tail Banding 213

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 22, 2013

Not only is it a very impressive citizen science project that manages to marshal the legions of birders around Canada and the U.S., Time will tell how much good science can be wrung from the data (due to observer bias, misidentifications, the vastly differing skillsets of contributing observers, under-birded areas, etc.),

San Diego 167

San Diego California Condor California Bald Eagle 167

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2018

More than 50 years ago, the Hawaiian Goose (Nene) was one of the first birds listed under the Endangered Species Act, part of the inaugural “ Class of 1967 ”. Under the Endangered Species Act, any listing, uplisting, downlisting, or removal from a list requires a formal “rulemaking” process.

Endangered Species 101

Endangered Species Species Hawaii 2018 101

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2012

Even in the tropics there are few birds that excel some of our own in elegance and beauty of plumage and we have an unusually large number of species considering the smallness of the area they inhabit. ” (Woodward brothers, “Natal Birds”, 1899) The mighty Drakensberg Mountains run along the western boundary of KwaZulu-Natal province.

Mozambique 181

Mozambique South Africa Africa Collecting 181

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2015

So these complex ecological interactions and systems must emerge as a result of individual behaviors, which also means to some extent, at levels within (below) the species we see interacting. One of the species that soon becomes abundant in fire disturbed habitats is the bluebird. Science 347(6224):875-877.

Species 200

Species Eggs Science Research 200

10,000 Birds

APRIL 9, 2011

And while they are easily identified to genus level, species identification - where necessary - is all I have mentioned in the intro to this post above, and then some. “Outside North America&# and “where necessary&# ? have asked themselves for ages: Is the Brown Creeper more than one species ? I’ll explain.

North America 145

North America Europe Asia America 145

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2024

Kooyman (co-author with Jim Mastro) spent decades studying Emperor Penguins and can be considered the world’s foremost expert on the species. Empire Penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) are the largest living penguin species, almost four feet tall (taller when they stretch), and the least likely to be seen on birding or nature trips.

Penguins 150

Penguins Seals Leopards Mammals 150

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2023

Being lazy, a bunch of researchers used camera traps to investigate the species rather than following the birds directly (which would have had some health benefits). They found that the species is diurnal (well, using cameras, would they even have seen nightly activities?), ” Full iteration! ” Full iteration!

China 130

China Science Birds Mongolia 130

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2023

That’s 18 species in one book. This is more than a collection of species accounts. There are also two pages illustrating the “Holistic Approach,” silhouettes of each species (Western birds on the left, Eastern birds on the right), that allow for comparison of structure, size, and shape.

Los Angeles 198

Los Angeles North America America Mexico 198

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 24, 2022

Birders care about bird science and conservation, but also about access to birding sites and facilities as those locations, etc. Avian science and conservation are well covered by large and well-financed national non-profits. Secondly, the ABA should increase and formalize its advocacy for birders.

Advocacy 198

Advocacy Portland Science Wildlife 198

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 18, 2014

The vast majority of the 10,000+ living species of birds are passerines, and the vast majority of those have a similar system of breeding: Mom and dad bird make a nest and share parental responsibilities roughly equally, if not identically. Our field data suggest that a two-way process underpins this relationship.

Breeders 193

Breeders Breeding Science Raised 193