10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2023

After Jason recently asked ChatGPT for birding advice, the management consultant in me – constantly thriving for efficiency improvements – immediately thought of the next step. The Seasonal Spectacles: Shanghai’s birding scene comes alive during the spring and autumn migration seasons.

China 163

China Endangered Species Sanctuary Protection 163

10,000 Birds

APRIL 17, 2013

Bird feeding is a major industry. We have citizen science projects like Project Feeder Watch headed by Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Owls are cool looking birds that appeal to a mass audience, even people who are not birders. It angered a lot bird birders. We attract birds in all sorts of ways. Is it ok with gulls?

Owls 212

Owls Birds United States Tennessee 212

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2019

It’s a matter of personal preference: neither does every reader like, say, science fiction, or the writing of Henry James, or romance novels. The wealth and depth of information about birds and birding, and the intertwining of birds into each plot, makes them irresistible. There’s no accounting for taste.

Humane 131

Humane 2018 Laws Science 131

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2022

Hannah Buschert was first exposed to birds and birding during a required ornithology course at Oregon State University and she quickly caught the birding bug. This is Hannah’s first contribution to 10,000 Birds. Hannah and Erik ready to see some birds! I love to go on cruises.

South Africa 263

South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 263

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 16, 2011

The task of wrestling this topic down into something that the human mind can manage, without losing sight of the big picture because it’s snowing in Buffalo, is likely to be the task of a lifetime for many science communicators. Few issues of our day are as huge, in scope or in implication, as climate change.

Netherlands 158

Netherlands Birds Buffalo Science 158

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2016

I want to alert you to a recent study (from April) that looks at the plight of bird populations under conditions of climate change in Europe and North America. The study looked at common birds, and used data divided by either state (in the US) or country (in Europe). Stephens et al. Stephens, Philip, et al. 352:6281(84-87).

North America 115

North America Europe America United States 115

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 20, 2011

When climate changes, causing habitats to move, birds can get up and fly away to a new habitat, so really, they’ll be fine. I’ve been working on climate change lately (not causing it, but reading and writing about it) and birds have come up in a few places. because the Holocene had little rapid climate change.

Penguins 197

Penguins Birds Cooking Fish 197

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.

Birds 176

Birds Florida Groups Breeding 176

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 3, 2012

What if, in turn, the discovery that the species was not truly extinct held the key to saving humanity from another, even more devestating flu outbreak? Well, I love speculative fiction and I love extinct birds and I love extinct birds that turn out not to be extinct the most. Unfortunately, Woodley lost me right away.

Science 160

Science Humane Breeding Rights 160

10,000 Birds

APRIL 16, 2013

Years ago it was pointed out by somebody, probably Tinbergen or Lack or Wynn-Edwards or one of the other great bird-savvy ethologists of the day, that young Pelicans would blackmail their parents by biting their own wings, a very self defeating activity for a bird with a huge and powerful beak.

South Africa 183

South Africa Fowl Africa China 183

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 17, 2014

But the tenets of the North American Model were developed in the 19th century, when wildlife ethics and science were a mere glimmer of what we understand today. This standing and the rights associated with it must be enforceable against the government so that the public can hold it accountable.

Wildlife 237

Wildlife Coyotes Hunters Wolves 237

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2024

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. Based in Denmark and the U.K,

Birds 225

Birds Denmark Europe Pythons 225

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 145

Science Minnesota Monkeys Groups 145

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2014

There were the neocons, which despite their association with the authoritarian right wing government of George W Bush were wide eyed idealists who believed that you could make the world a better place, and there were the realists, who thought the world was essentially bricked and the best you could hope for was some stability.

Rhinos 168

Rhinos Hunting New Zealand Science 168

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 220

New Jersey North Carolina Sparrows Connecticut 220

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2013

Especially happily that the meeting was held at the Palmer House Hilton, right near my office, so that I was able to spend my morning volunteering and still put in a full day at work.). Exhibitors ranged from book publishers to purveyors of telemetry equipment to local bird and wildlife groups. Oh, if I didn’t have a day job!).

San Diego 174

San Diego Ostriches Chicago Colorado 174

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 12, 2011

[Editor's Note: This is a bonus post from Jochen about a topic not usually covered on 10,000 Birds. Most of all, it can be a good opportunity for directly observing the sun without the need of filters or the dire consequence of having to do your birding by ear, and ear only, for a very long time ( serious warning at the bottom of this post !

Germany 164

Germany Science Protection Humane 164

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2018

Not sure that I impressed them, I chose to bluff them and looked left and right for a suitable tree branch to pick. Those bears live in the wild and are not used to humans. Finally, the list of birds mentioned in the examples include: Acorn woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus. Tit, blue, Parus caeruleus. Tit, great, Parus major.

Animal 115

Animal Bears Stray Dog Blackbirds 115

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 22, 2013

Hello my birding sons and daughters. Not since the advent of the field guide (thanks Roger) have we seen such rapid change in the world of birding. 1) Rare bird reporting has come a long way. I saw the bird the next day, where it was reported to other birders via text messages, cellular phone calls, and more listserv messages.

San Diego 169

San Diego California Condor California Bald Eagle 169

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2011

You’d think, then, that applying science to philosophy by studying the evolutionary underpinnings of thought and behavior across species would be right up my alley. Right away, we have a definition problem — those who hold to any kind of mind-body dualism are unlikely to be swayed by the ideas in this book.

Morals 109

Morals Animal Humane Research 109

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2013

This was the local name meaning “ugly” used for these primates by the people of the Gonder area in northern Ethiopia when the German naturalist Rüppell “discovered” this species for science in the 1830’s. they are the most terrestrial primate after humans. Foraging Geladas in their typical crouched feeding position.

Ethiopia 160

Ethiopia Primates Mammals Fur 160

Animal Person

JUNE 8, 2009

For those who didn't read the five-part Slate series " Pepper, the stolen dog who changed American science " by Daniel Engber , I recommend it for the history, but also for the misconceptions and assumptions that you might want to discuss on the Facebook discussion about the series. It "guarantees humane treatment?" Maybe on paper.

Animal Welfare 100

Animal Welfare Monkeys Animal Welfare Act Vivisection 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

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. These threats are further exacerbated by the naturally low reproductive rates of these cavity-nesting birds.

Peru 254

Peru Parrots 2011 South America 254

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2023

Christian Cooper comes on screen about two-and-a-half minutes into The Central Park Effect , appreciating a Prothonotary Warbler at ‘the Point’ while telephoning a friend with the news (this is pre-text group), a nice hint of the collegial networks that underlie Central Park birding. Memoirs are rare in the birding world.

Emotional 222

Emotional Birds Minneapolis Nepal 222

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2023

In June 2023, I again went to Balangshan, a mountain about 3 hour’s drive from Sichuan’s capital Chengdu – and again with Alpinebirding , fortunately no longer for them to partly deal with confusing covid restrictions but only to help me find birds that I am too incompetent a birder to find on my own. ” Full iteration!

Birds 130

Birds China Science Research 130

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 263

2020 Birds Groups North America 263

Animal Ethics

JANUARY 7, 2010

And here we see the inevitable logic of Vegetarianism, if our belief in the Rights of Animals is ever to quit the stage of theory and enter the stage of fact; for just as there can be no human rights where there is slavery, so there can be no animal rights where there is eating of flesh. "To

Vegetarian 40

Vegetarian Butcher Cruelty Science 40

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 15, 2013

The single greatest challenge facing any book of science writing is balance. Otherwise, there would be no science writing, everyone would just go straight to the journals. Nothing keeps a human reader more engaged than a genuine character, and the birds here are exactly that. Pinyon Jay by Dave Menke of the US FWS.

Humane 142

Humane Emotional Stray Dog Science 142

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2022

Well, they mainly feed on birds, which may explain their low popularity. For the White-throated Rock Thrush , Wikipedia gives the slightly puzzling statement “The bird’s population is unknown, but is not increasing or declining.” Even if they look as charming as this Northern Boobook. Unfortunately, it is true though.

Birds 195

Birds China Eggs Owls 195

Animal Ethics

JANUARY 20, 2007

Here are three paragraphs from a recent essay by Roger Scruton : As I suggested, science provides authority for this weird morality only when clothed in moral doctrine. The sleight of hand that gave us the “selfish” gene gives us the rights of baboons. It is not that they do no wrong, but that “right” and “wrong” here make no sense.

Animal 40

Animal Morals Apes Emotional 40

Animal Ethics

NOVEMBER 24, 2009

Farm animals also benefit from the humane farming movement, even if the animal welfare changes it effects are not all that we should hope and work for. Go vegan, go vegetarian, go humane or just eat less meat. If we all decide to consider animals as precious as humans, the only logical place for us is back in the jungle.

New York Times 40

New York Times New York Vegan Vegetarian 40

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2011

A profound and deep understanding of birds is hard to complain about. Despite the vacant look in the eye of a Rock Pigeon , birds are not stupid…they cannot afford to be, or else they wouldn’t be here now. And the ultimate question, the one we may never know the answer to… what is a bird thinking ?

Emotional 203

Emotional Science Birds Mammals 203

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 14, 2015

If you want to know why most scientists support collecting this piece in Science explains it better than I can. I can understand why some people are conflicted, but the value to science of the collections is immense. This collection isn’t some ghastly memorial or symbol of human stupidity. Box after box of egg. Bush Wrens.

Collecting 219

Collecting Solomon Islands New Zealand Fiji 219

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2018

A bit of background: Pink Pigeons are medium-sized, pink/gray/ brown birds found on the island of Mauritius, Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar. Mauritius may sound familiar, it was also the home of one of our most famous extinct birds—the Dodo. Don’t these birds care about propagating their species?

Mauritius 101

Mauritius Stud Zoos Eggs 101

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2012

There are plenty of famous courtship performances in the bird world; those of the lyrebirds, the birds-of-paradise, the manakins. To find love and spectacle in the bird world you’ll need to go for a bird that takes it slow and makes sure it has found everything it wants in a partner. Years in fact.

Albatross 206

Albatross Raised Breeding Rights 206

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

This is in addition to the many articles and exhibits and even film devoted to the bird, one of the few species whose death was witnessed and noted down to the exact day, Tuesday, September 1, 1914 (though there is some question about the exact time). We have a lot of source material. It’s an effective introduction.

2014 160

2014 Killing Michigan Kentucky 160

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2012

Although extinction is a natural phenomenon, experts have determined that the current rate of bird extinction is somewhere between 1,000 and 10,000 times the background rate. Globally, 1,313 bird species of a total of count of 10,064 are threatened, a frightening 13% of the total.

Endangered Species 188

Endangered Species Species South Africa Morocco 188