10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

Read what you want about the origin of domestic cats; the genetic evidence is not properly sampled. And for rodents and reptiles as well. And for thousands of years the lizards, rodents, and birds of North America adapted to Fishers, Badgers, Wolverines, Ermines, etc. This means that they eat a lot of rodents and birds.

Feral Cats 257

Feral Cats North America Feral Cats 257

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2012

you’d get to see the much larger samples of prepared specimens in the drawers. Frogs and fish and insects and rodents yes, but not birds. If a long period of gradual evolution or stasis was punctuated a few years back by a species radiation of bird books, now we are seeing intense environmental change. Or get your own.

Birds 172

Birds Collecting Rodents Wounded 172

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

I’ve observed nesting owls, fledgling owlets, owls eating small rodents, owls coughing up their pellets, a Great Horned Owl silently flying over me, a Great Gray Owl sitting regally still on a post as a boy walks up to him, a pair of Barking Owls duetting in early evening hours outside my northern Australian hut as I brushed my teeth. .

Owls 231

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 231

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

Greater Rheas, a species the Germans call Nandu, are very popular in Germany and frequently kept in zoos as well as private enclosures. They might have a negative impact on local flora, invertebrates and small rodents, either directly or indirectly through competition for food. But again, there’s no data to back it up.

Germany 258

Germany Birds 2000 South America 258

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2011

For instance, I can lay my hands on data for primates and rodents (because I’ve collected those data for research) but I don’t have comparable data for bovids (just selected data) and zero data for birds (in spreadsheets on my computer). Note that there are a lot of mammals (about 40) that are bigger than any bird in this sample.

Mammals 182

Mammals Rodents Birds Reptiles 182

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2020

I should add that the Big Owls taking over NYC social and even hard print media, dominating conversations with my nonbirder friends and family, are not the only owls in the five boroughs, but like a musical, the closer you are to Broadway, the closer you are to fame and fortune (and maybe even a higher quality rodent for dinner, who knows?).

New York City 206

New York City Birds Owls Fox 206