This site uses cookies to improve your experience. To help us insure we adhere to various privacy regulations, please select your country/region of residence. If you do not select a country, we will assume you are from the United States. Select your Cookie Settings or view our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Used for the proper function of the website
Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Strictly Necessary: Used for the proper function of the website
Performance/Analytics: Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Doug Futuyma believes in science and in the scientific basis of evolution. How Birds Evolve: What Science Reveals about Their Origin, Lives, and Diversity by Douglas J. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s just a very different kind of book than popular books about bird behavior, which rely on story as much as science.
My feelings about shorebirds came back to me a few days later, as I observed a mixed group of peeps and Dowitchers at Mecox Inlet, eastern Long Island, not far from where Peter Matthiessen once observed the shorebirds of Sagaponack, the stars of the first pages of his classic The Shorebirds of North America (1967). Pete Dunne and Kevin T.
Proving that cruelty knows no bounds, some (language unsuitable for a family blog) in Virginia Beach is shooting blow darts at birds. Birding in Israel? Report your sightings to help build an eBird-like database of the country’s avifauna. Meanwhile, an Oregon farmer caught a beating from a neighbor irritated by his loud “bird cannons.” (Who
And now we have the third iteration in Audubon’s guide book history: National Audubon Society Birds of North America. The National Audubon Society Birds of North America covers all species seen in mainland United States, Canada and Baja California. I didn’t.). This is a fairly large book: 907 pages; 7.38 GUIDE COVERAGE.
How to choose bird feeders; how to make nutritious bird food; how to create a backyard environment that will attract birds; how to survey your feeder birds for citizen science projects; how to prevent squirrels from gobbling up all your black oil sunflower seed (sorry, none of that works). million people in the U.S. in 2011*) came about.
The magnificent history and diversity of birds on Earth came into sharper focus this month with the publication of 28 new scientific papers in Science and other journals. ’s bird family tree in a new tab and follow along as you read. American Flamingo photo by Dick Culbert). In 2008, Nick Sly published a review of Hackett et al.
Here are some things I’ve learned from the Peterson Reference Guide to Owls of North America and the Caribbean by Scott Weidensaul: The Burrowing Owl is the only North American owl species where the male is larger than the female, albeit, only slightly larger. And the term is ‘non-reversed size dimorphism.’).
Fortunately for you, though, when I got home I found a review copy of National Geographic Backyard Guide to the Birds of North America by Jonathan Alderfer and Paul Hess ready and waiting to be dissected for your delectation. The target audience of this book is not the jet-setting hardcore birder, or even the dedicated local lister.
The White-naped Xenopsaris is a member of the Tityra family (Tityridae), a newish family of mostly South American birds carved from various oddball birds formerly lumped with the manakins, the tyrant-flycatchers and the cotingas. It was both mysterious and plain. . Juvenile White-naped Xenopsaris by Hector Bottai (Creative Commons).
And now we enter into a family of birds more or less unknown to non-birders. And truth told, over the years they’ve been something of a square peg for ornithologists too, not fitting precisely into any of the known families of birds. I would never have believed it, but if the science says so who am I to argue otherwise?
These bark-burrowing beetles, which apparently hitched a ride in cargo shipments from their native Asia, have been starving the ash trees of eastern and midwestern North America to death for a dozen years now. With all due respect to Maria von Trapp, combating the greatest infestation that U.S. Enter the woodpecker.
It also summarizes the vagrancy status of every bird family in the whole wide world, which makes it fun to read as well as superbly educational. The Family Accounts are the fun part of the book. It reminds me a lot of Rare Birds of North America , the 2014 book by Steve N. It’s not always easy reading. Don’t worry.
Guiding aside, Howell is a research associate at the California Academy of Sciences and the author of many books, including Petrels, Albatrosses, and Storm-Petrels of North America (Princeton). Birds of Chile – A Photo Guide has 240 pages and more than 1,000 photos accompanied by a brief text to make bird ID easy.
The Trogon family (and order, since the order only includes one family) is quite widespread, being found in all the tropical (and some subtropical) regions of the world. So far, one third of my weekly outings have involved trogon sightings, with their distinctive calls being heard on a few other trips. Those are good numbers.
Their taxonomic affinities have caused great confusion and debate amongst ornithologists; they were originally assigned to the thrush family, then Old World warblers before being shifted to babblers (the last mentioned a common dumping-ground for any aberrant passerines).
For example, on finding gulls: Close study of gulls is not for everyone, and birders shouldn’t feel obligated to get deep into it if you prefer colorful, less-confusing, families of birds.
And, I started daydreaming about encountering something a little different, maybe a Horned Frog, Ceratophrys cornuta, a large, squat green and brown frog of South America, with a wide mouth large enough to eat other frogs as well as reptiles. If you don’t live near a science museum, then read this chapter. These are terms of usage.
This is a delightful book, large (8-1/2 by 11 inches), filled with Sibley’s distinctive artwork and an organized potpourri of research-based stories about the science behind bird’s lives. They portray the nesting cycles of Mallard, Red-tailed Hawk, and American Robin, illustrating the various ways in which birds create families.
And there’s a good chance that, while they’re at it, they’ll trot out that dubious bit of trivia about the starling being brought to America as a part of some scheme to introduce all the birds mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare to New York City’s Central Park.
Hugh Powell is a science editor at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. And I, like some dowager countess in a birding vest, am expected to know each one’s family at a glance and greet them by name. Birding bird race Birding Rally Peru South America' This is his first contribution to 10,000 Birds. Come to Peru, they said.
Marybeth learns as she birds, embraces listing goals as a means of engaging with community, unabashedly enjoys a little competition, struggles to balance her absolute joy in birding with unexpected, life-and-death family obligations. The book focuses on two listing events: her 2012 Louisiana Big Year and her 2016 Louisiana 300 Year.
Birkhead, the experienced storyteller who is also Emeritus Professor at the School of Biosciences, The University of Sheffield, author of multiple scientific articles as well as books of popular science, knows how to make it readable and fun. Colonialism and appropriation of knowledge is discussed in Chapter 6, The New World of Science.
Diversity of habitat means, of course, great biodiversity, and the Introduction boasts that Bolivia “is the richest landlocked nation on Earth for bird diversity, the sixth richest overall, and the fifth richest in the Americas” (p. This unfortunately happens with the large Tanager (Thraupidae) family here.
According to Reedman , murre is the old Cornish world for a Razorbill , and eventually became a vernacular term for alcids more broadly; murrelet, then, makes simple sense as a name for the smaller members of the family. Some murrelets are named for their styling. Except now there is no more Xantus’s Murrelet.
For birders especially in America, this landscape will soon provide doom, destruction, death, and decay. If you are mildly interested, proceed and read the caption. Despite being taken in Europe, this image exemplifies why forest birding in North America might soon be rated NC-17. American birders, brace to receive catastrophe.
Found throughout South America in ever-dwindling numbers these extremely beautiful birds – threatened by habitat destruction and collection for the wild bird trade – are often difficult to see and hard to find. Volunteers are one of the most important aspects to the project. Want to Go Bird Banding in Amazonian Peru?
That fallacious family name seems to have encouraged all manner of knaves, dunderheads, and miscreants when time came to label species. Somehow, the northernmost redstart in the Americas didn’t receive the same treatment. Appropriate appellations should respect the birds, not 19th century naturalists and their friends and family.
Written in a friendly, inclusive style quietly grounded in science, How to Know the Birds is an excellent addition to the growing list of birding essay books by talented birder/writers like Pete Dunne and Kenn Kaufman. John Schmitt, who illustrated Raptors of Mexico and Central America amongst many other books and magazine articles.
The sandhill crane has the lowest recruitment rate (average number of young birds joining a population each season) of any bird now hunted in North America. Sincerely, Julie Zickefoose Tags: cranes , sandhill crane hunting , sandhill cranes • Camping tents - Check out our pop up tents , family tents , and more! to a high of 11%.
This is also where Johnson starts talking about the cost of the theft to the Museum and to science. He says he is motivated by what he has learned from the curators about the skins importance to science, but he is also clearly irritated by the fact that Rist has gotten off so lightly. Simon Baron-Cohen, cousin to the comedian.
The Latin species name of the Common Greenshank , nebularia , sounds a bit like a science fiction novel to me – however, it means “misty” and apparently is derived from the birds’ misty, marshy habitat (HBW). Like this bird family b. Fortunately, they are quite common in Shanghai. Like bad jokes and c.
It is also familiar at inland sites in winter, especially reservoirs and refuse tips, and breeds in the relatively-Northerly regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. Dan is an active member of BirdLife Cyprus and goes birding whenever his career and family allow. SIGH Well, I guess I should apologize for hijacking your post.
I served on the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production, which released a report in 2008 that detailed exactly how much these “efficiencies” are costing America. How does the health of a farmer’s family and community figure in when they are making the decision to continue industrialized production methods?
I happen to be particularly fond of turtles because my family has taken care of a small box turtle for 30 years (beware–turtles are extremely low-maintenance pets but will outlast your child’s youth and probably your life). Or that tortoises and terrapins are considered part of the turtle family. Lovich and Whit Gibbons.
Dragonflies and Damselflies of Costa Rica: A Field Guide by Dennis Paulson and William Haber fills a large gap in the field guide coverage of Costa Rica and continues the high level of excellence set by Paulson’s previous guides to dragonflies and damselflies of eastern and western North America. First page (p. 131) and last page (p.
crossing the Carribean and winding up in South America? And if you look into it enough, it presents a classic case where science can fail us. I believe in science. Science is based on logic and evidence, which I think is a very respectable way to look at the world. Science, for many years, has done no better.
When we think of bird pollinators we – at least we in the Americas – think first of the hummingbirds: “They dominate the scientific literature, natural history documentaries, and our wider consciousness of what constitutes a ‘pollinating bird,’” as Jeff Ollerton rightly says.
It is also about Chris’s personal history: his boyhood in suburban Long Island, college years at Harvard and the struggle to come out, ‘nerdy’ passions beyond birding–namely science fiction books and films, career highs at Marvel Comics, travels to foreign countries, and his complicated relationships with his parents.
John Porter McCown, who shot the first recorded specimen of this species known to Euro-American science, was a Confederate general, a high-ranking officer in the insurrection led by the southern plantocracy to preserve and expand Slavery and the mode of white supremacy which it supported. Well, no more!
She lives part-time in Uruguay and is co-director of the Fiction Meets Science program at the University of Bremen, Germany, which seeks to bridge the “two cultures” of science and literature. Things get complicated – and then, completely out of hand — when Gabe’s new inamorata is introduced to his family.
My Best Bird of the Year isn’t that spectacular … just my lifer Violet-chinned Hummingbird at my husband’s family’s house in CO. At least she contributed to science… My Best Bird of the Year was a Snowy Plover , which I first spotted along the Florida Panhandle. I love participating in citizen science!
They occur in three biogeographic regions; the Neotropic, Afrotropic and Indo-Malaya ecozones, basically tropical South and Central America, Africa south of the Sahara and tropical Asia. Gray-throated Barbet is one of the plainer members of the African Barbet family. Note the strange nasal tufts at the base of the bill.
We organize all of the trending information in your field so you don't have to. Join 30+ users and stay up to date on the latest articles your peers are reading.
You know about us, now we want to get to know you!
Let's personalize your content
Let's get even more personalized
We recognize your account from another site in our network, please click 'Send Email' below to continue with verifying your account and setting a password.
Let's personalize your content