10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 24, 2019

When did birding become so intimately intertwined with technology? Obviously, those who seek the best views often aspire to the best optics, which we can all agree are modern miracles of science. But beyond space age gear and technical fabrics, birding also seems to demand a strong, unbroken connection to the internet.

2019 191

2019 Uganda Science Birds 191

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 26, 2024

According to his Wikipedia entry, he was a strong but unsuccessful supporter of women attending the university, so he is one of the better people to name a bird species after. As I saw both of them at the same spot in Tengchong, I wonder whether the bird below is a result of a pairing of the two morphs. A bad one, admittedly.

Nepal 208

Nepal Birds Owls Nigeria 208

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

Birding for the Curious: The Easiest Way for Anyone to Explore the Incredible World of Birds by Nate Swick brings birding back to its roots—a simple, joyous way to enjoy nature using our eyes, ears, hands (for sketching), and brain. There are now no excuses except a lack of curiosity. And, nobody wants to admit that.

North Carolina 263

North Carolina Birds North America Owls 263

10,000 Birds

JULY 15, 2024

Unfortunately, this makes it sound a bit more interesting for birding than it turned out for me – though admittedly, I spent less than a day there. And the area was recommended to me, so most likely my limited birding skills are to blame, rather than the birds themselves. ” That seems a bit unfair to me.

Eggs 246

Eggs Birds Japan Myanmar 246

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Birding tends to be an extremely freeform activity, demanding only we pursue our bliss to the best of our means and ability. This, the weekend of the Great Backyard Bird Count , is one of those times: tell us how you contributed to citizen science. What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

2013 176

2013 Science Ducks Birds 176

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2013

To all you hardy naturalists who have already logged Christmas Bird Count hours in service to citizen science, I salute you! Those of you willing to eschew creature comforts to tally birds across your ice-rimed count circles are my heroes. What was your best bird of the weekend? Birding best bird weekend'

2013 180

2013 Shelters Science Birds 180

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2023

But then, birdwatching is boring most of the time, too – all the periods when there are no birds … As by now usual for me, the trip was done with Alpinebirding , which helped reduce the time spent not seeing any birds. Humans are not always bad for birds, only about 95% of the time.

Birds 217

Birds Science Humane Species 217

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2014

Many readers of 10,000 Birds are more than the casual birdwatcher…they are hopeless bird junkies. Truly depraved birding addicts. The question for the addict is, how does one keep birding fresh? Tired of birding the same polluted parks? Tired of birding the same polluted parks?

Birds 241

Birds Portland Oregon Wildlife 241

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2015

Birds are a subset of dinosaurs (See: Honey, I Shrunk the Dinosaurs. Prior to the extinction of all of the other dinosaurs, resulting from a cosmic impact event about 65 million years ago, the ancestors of modern birds were different from modern birds in many ways, but also similar in many ways. So how did beaks evolve?

Alligators 252

Alligators Chickens Reptiles Birds 252

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

My life experience allows for a generally calm and balanced demeanor. I know for a fact that science is correct in stating that they don’t suck the milk of goats. Then again, science is definitely wrong in stating that goatsuckers have legs. You will clearly see a nice bird, but you will see no legs whatsoever.

Goats 230

Goats Indonesia Science Experiments 230

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2015

There is GISS and there is Birding by Impression and they are not the same. GISS—general impression, size, shape—is intuitive, the result of an unconscious cognitive process derived from experience in the field. Experienced birders can identify birds using GISS; all birders can identify birds if they adopt the BBI approach.

New Jersey 185

New Jersey Birds Science New York City 185

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2015

Science is fairly well established that yawning can spread like wildfire among groups of humans, as well as a few other mammals. New research suggests that the phenomenon of contagious yawning can also be seen in birds. In the other study, the birds—which seem to be great mimics of videos—were shown footage of budgies yawning.

Mammals 157

Mammals New York Science Birds 157

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.

North America 279

North America Birds Research America 279

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2017

Birders derive “value” from birding. But does the value of a particular trip come from the number of birds seen, viewing a particular species, seeing an endangered species, catching a glimpse of a rarity, adding a lifer, or something else? How much do birders value a birding experience?

Oregon 202

Oregon Washington Chad Birds 202

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 29, 2024

I truly do hope I am not tiring 10,000 Birds’ readers too much with my obsession with Michoacán’s ongoing drought, the disappearance of Lake Cuitzeo (Mexico’s 2nd largest lake, in normal years), and our own micro-endemic Black-polled Yellowthroat. But obsessed I am. Had I thrown a rock, I would undoubtedly have hit one.

Mexico 246

Mexico Investigation Science Experiments 246

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2012

How to Be a Better Birder is a very different kind of birding book, and, once you think about it, the perfect book to be written at this particular moment in the birding universe. But, think about it: how much has been written about the process of birding, the skills required to find birds and to learn about birds in the field?

New Jersey 262

New Jersey Science United States 2012 262

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

It feels good to start a post with some truly attractive birds – such as two species of broadbills. If you like cute birds, you will probably like the Black-and-yellow Broadbill. Homework assignment: Is the bird in this video a male or a female? Maybe the birds I saw were not real. You can see why here.

Sri Lanka 245

Sri Lanka Taiwan Birds Cats 245

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2014

Erika is a first year graduate student studying Ecosystem Science and Conservation at Duke. In her free time she travels near and far to find birds to continue building her life list, though many of her favorites can still be found right in her own backyard. Dry Tortugas National Park: Bird Banding Sooty Terns. Brown Noddy.

Florida 210

Florida Birds Groups North Carolina 210

10,000 Birds

JULY 30, 2014

I bring this up not to boast (well, not much) but because I think that this approach to wildlife travel is somewhat neglected in birding circles. Read most accounts of how birders see birds outside their patch and one way or another, they’re tourists. Volunteering provides a very different experience to tourism though.

Uganda 169

Uganda Sharks New Zealand Africa 169

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2012

Knowledge is more likely to be shared via shared experience than the exchange of data, though both happen. But early in the process of learning about the Efe I made a foray into the literature available in the 1980s of orientation and navigation, and this included the literature on birds. Le-Qing Wu and J.

Compassion 246

Compassion Research Cooking Transported 246

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2021

In 2018, I read an article in Birding magazine by Jeff R. It was later re-published on the All About Birds website.) Manker’s thesis is that ornithology is an excellent gateway to students becoming science majors in college and, more broadly and longer-term, conservation-minded citizens. Think about it for a minute.

2018 264

2018 Agenda Science Massachusetts 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

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. One of the central papers, Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds (Jarvis et al. Open Jarvis et al.’s

Family 279

Family Parrots Birds 2014 279

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2012

Last week a mystery bird from New Jersey rightly caused a fair bit of confusion among birders of the Garden State and beyond. The bird was a sparrow, that much was clear, but it didn’t seem to fit any of the easily boxes the other North American sparrows can be fairly easily sorted into. New Jersey mystery sparrow.

New Jersey 253

New Jersey North Carolina Sparrows Connecticut 253

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2024

The chapter titles of Feather Trails: A Journey of Discovery Among Endangered Birds represent both ends of the spectrum: “A World Full of Poisons,” “Malaria,” “Forest Intruders,” “Lead Shock,” “Shot.” Conservation. It’s not easy.

California Condor 175

California Condor Falcons California Coyotes 175

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2014

Other bloggers were writing about birds and nature back in 2003, some even before then, and many of us found a communal spirit sparked by comments and crosslinks that carried into the world we wrote about. Remember the blog carnival craze? The great struggle then, as now, was reaching new readers and cultivating an engaged audience.

2003 264

2003 Reptiles 2000 2008 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2024

Bird Day is a lovely, little jewel of a book. The idea is to portray one bird for each hour of the day in words and art, presenting the diversity, beauty, and wonder of avian life. Angell’s black-and-white illustrations bring sparks of energy and visual clarity to the fascinating bird behaviors described by Huber.

Barn Owls 230

Barn Owls Chicago Penguins New Zealand 230

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2015

There are many charismatic endangered birds that capture people’s hearts and imaginations: the colossal California Condor , the evocative Red-crowned Crane , and the adorable Spoon-billed Sandpiper come to mind. This is a short series that brings attention to these incredible birds, and my various adventures to try and see them.

California Condor 236

California Condor Ecuador Blackbirds Parrots 236

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 21, 2012

It is thought that the gray morph mimics a bird eating hawk. And, thus, they can learn that the Cuckoo is not really a bird-eating raptor. She has an advantage once the intended host birds are on to the other morph. Science 3 August 2012: 578–580 a. And thus, the second female morph has emerged in these Cuckoos.

Hungary 182

Hungary 2012 Science Eggs 182

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2020

They looked out their windows and across their patios and up from their apartment terraces and saw–birds. 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.

2020 264

2020 Birds North America Sparrows 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 19, 2011

It has been almost six months since we introduced the Beat Writer concept to 10,000 Birds. Since then there have been some major changes here at the ol’ blog and we thought it was time to update everyone as to where we are at with this grand experiment in group bird blogging. Greg’s beat is Bird Evolutionary Biology.

Science 160

Science Minnesota Monkeys Humane 160

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 17, 2017

With only a few weeks left before we turn the page on 2017, birders around the world have been burning their proverbial candles at both ends to observe as many birds as possible. Did you partake in any Christmas Bird Count excitement this weekend? Sign me up for a Memorial Day Bird Count any year! How about you?

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2017 Science Birds Experience 124

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2016

New Year’s resolutions from birding friends are starting to trickle in as I write this review. It is the last day of 2015, time to select the bird of the year past and set goals for the bright open future, when everything is new again. The process is called “Wide-angle birding: Be the bird, see the bird.”.

Birds 190

Birds Groups 2015 North America 190

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2018

Zamorano University may be regarded as one of the crown jewels of Latin American higher education, particularly in the areas of agriculture, environmental management, and food science, but this idyllic campus excels for more reasons than simply academics. Add bins and coffee, shake well, and you have the recipe for bird watching nirvana!

Honduras 170

Honduras Birds Kentucky Owls 170

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2021

Louisiana is a magical place to bird. At the same time I was ogling Scissor-tailed Flycatchers and Upland Sandpipers, Marybeth Lima was also birding Louisiana. Chapter Two is a potpourri of stories about nemesis birds, birding by ear, birding for science, under the rubric of birding ‘for the love of it.’

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Louisiana Species Mississippi Alabama 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2014

Few people can imagine (or even take seriously) the life of a birding guide at a lodge in the tropics, so I thought it would be a nice exercise to outline what an average day for me was like at Cristalino Lodge. While setting up my scope, I immediately start to call out birds. “ Scarlet Macaws to the left about 300 feet out.”

Otters 160

Otters Parrots Birds Brazil 160

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2021

They also remind me why I love birding in Michoacán. I would love to know how the order spread across these regions, since that spread must have involved either crossing oceans or the frigid regions that these birds avoid. Both are large, stocky birds, with a large head and long, squared-off tail. Those are good numbers.

Mexico 231

Mexico Indonesia Arizona North America 231

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2020

Sure, they’re always a dependable, can’t-miss tick whenever you need them to be there, whether it’s the first day of the year, or the first few minutes of a Big Day or Christmas Bird Count. But there’s no getting around the fact that the starling is likely the most detested bird on the continent – as far as birders are concerned, anyway.

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Farming New York Unwanted Breeding 235