10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2013

My novice birding skills and the heat of midsummer meant that I missed a bunch of likely birds and didn’t really appreciate the awesomeness that is birding southern California in breeding season. But I have always wanted to test my hypothesis that hummingbird poop tastes like Skittles. It is sitting on a fence. It is in the west.

California 141

California 2006 Butcher Breeding 141

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2017

” But, of course, I am. There is satisfaction in seeing well-loved migrants again, familiar birds in unfamiliar places, and, of course, Life Birds, each beautiful or exceptional in its own way. This is a male bird, of course. I like to add, “But I’m not a lister!” 3) Greater Adjutant. 6) Garganey.

2016 109

2016 India Ducks Costa Rica 109

10,000 Birds

JULY 26, 2015

Of course the separation of the forms by field characters is a bit more advanced than my little joke there suggested, and while things still apear a bit dodgy with modesta , the separation of the American egretta from at least the Eurasian form alba seems to be resolved quite well. Very funny, I know. Not at all, that’s how.

North America 170

North America Europe America Asia 170

10,000 Birds

MAY 14, 2016

If you live in the northern hemisphere, of course there isn’t! How can we say that magic is a farce when the May blossoms are backdropping bright, breeding plumaged Canadas , Magnolias , Chestnut-sideds , chocolate Bay-breasteds , and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks ? This Yellow Warbler was looking fresh before it left Costa Rica.

Costa Rica 100

Costa Rica 2001 2016 Battery 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2018

Even more than warbler, shorebird, and sparrow identification, this is a field that tests our endurance (gull watching is too often done in bitter cold, windy conditions), patience (even getting one good photo can take hours as you try to separate the ‘interesting gull’ from the flock), observational skills (so many plumages!)

North America 198

North America El Salvador America Nicaragua 198

4 The Love Of Animals

NOVEMBER 24, 2009

It’s no coincidence that the two species that pass Hare’s pointing test also share a profound cross-species bond. But scientists had carried out few studies to test those beliefs–until now. Kaminski put Rico to a rigorous test and confirmed that the dog could learn names for more than 200 toys, balls and other items.

Wolves 100

Wolves Fox Dogs Apes 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 24, 2014

That kicked off our One-Eyed Project – we fly and test all one-eyed raptors, and it continues to this day.”. “I’ve Of course there are some that have been so miserable in captivity that I couldn’t wait for them to be gone.”. Last year he came back to our area with a female. They stayed all winter, then left again.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 219

Wildlife Rehabilitation Ohio Tulsa West Virginia 219

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2011

The male Bar-tailed Godwit are the first to show us breeding plumage and then the Red Knot and Curlew Sandpipers have two beautiful reds-red wine rather than cranberry juice! Here is a little test-there are 6 species of shorebird in the photo-can you identify them? Breeding colour becomes rather obvious!

2011 150

2011 Australia Deer China 150

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2013

Of course, this raptor pattern baldness exists for a good reason, which is another of the distasteful aspects of vulturine biology. In the 70s, with the survival of the species in jeopardy, the entire wild population was captured and brought into a captive breeding program in southern California. Vultures famously feed on carrion.

California Condor 179

California Condor Turkey North America Jordan 179

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2014

to the ongoing conservation of breeding Lesser Flamingos at Kimberley’s Kamfers Dam to the Albatross Task Force, which works with fishermen to find solutions to seabird bycatch (birds caught in fishermen’s nets). It was the first of six bustard species I would see over the course of both trips. I am a birder, after all.

South Africa 252

South Africa Africa Leopards Penguins 252

Animal Person

NOVEMBER 1, 2009

Of course, as a result, "ethical meat" becomes an option unless one realizes that killing when you don't need to is killing when you don't need to, no matter if it occurs in a slaughterhouse or in a mobile slaughter operation or in a backyard. You are choosing domination and enslavement and forced breeding and unnecessary slaughter.

Vegan 100

Vegan Factory Farm Factory Farming Slaughter 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 26, 2022

Azure-winged Magpies fail to pass the mirror test, a test commonly used to determine self-recognition. While the source does not say so directly, it hints that this means the species is not as intelligent as Eurasian Magpies (which pass the test). Surprisingly, they only stay on the breeding grounds for about 5 weeks.

Finland 147

Finland Birds McDonalds Israel 147

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2011

Some of the first solid research pointing to a magnetic sense of some sort in birds was being produced at that time, and there were even people testing humans for a similar ability. A fascinating exception to this, of course, are penguins. Some of the research being done then (the 1980s) was pretty naive and sometimes downright silly.

Compassion 190

Compassion Humane Research Egypt 190

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. There are variations on that theme, of course. They looked at fairy-wrens and cuckoos.

Breeders 198

Breeders Breeding Science Raised 198

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2023

The best female strategy seems to be to mate with as many of the males as possible, as this means more help in feeding the chicks by all the potential fathers (I guess the fathers do not have easy access to paternity tests). The Tibetan Snowcock at first glance looks a bit like Obelix to me – I guess it is the stripes.

China 130

China Science Birds Mongolia 130

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2018

Of course, reading field guides breeds jealousy. There was also a certain appeal to bravado in testing one’s mettle by downing the latest “hop bomb”. As the marketing for one iconic Southern California IPA put it “You’re not worthy”– and they probably meant it, too.

Pelicans 113

Pelicans India Vermont San Diego 113

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

There is much to enjoy and appreciate here and I only wish I could have tested out some of these species accounts in pelagic waters before writing about them (sadly, the 10,000 Birds pelagic to Antarctica was canceled this year). Seabirds: The New Identification Guide covers these, of course, and also more familiar species.

Albatross 279

Albatross Penguins Family Groups 279

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2024

I need to write a whole post so better start throwing in more details, maybe even a bird or two… Before the “ever after” there’d be a wedding, of course. A gentleman-birder kindly pointed out the Spotted Redshank , the Ruff in full breeding plumage and a host of other waders and in return I nearly did not tell him about the Blackwinged Stilt.

Sweden 130

Sweden Geese Portugal Minnesota 130

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

By you, of course, I mean me. Black-capped Chickadees , Song Sparrows , and Dark-eyed Juncos start testing their breeding songs as well, though they have a longer wait before things get serious. And by him, I mean Muir: One of the first exciting findings of this new collaboration is that “winter” is an illusion.

Bald Eagle 156

Bald Eagle Montana Owls Geese 156

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2021

Of the dozen gifts mentioned in the Christmas carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” seven are birds: the seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, and – of course – a partridge in a pear tree. Donna). ==. Donna). ==. But craziness is not a requisite.

Colombia 241

Colombia Birds Bald Eagle Guyana 241

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2022

One of the established ways to evaluate self-cognition in animals (including humans) is the mirror test. In the classic test, an animal is anesthetized and then marked on an area of the body the animal cannot normally see. There was a breeding pair at Binjiang Forest Park this June. Not going for the obvious either.

Birds 183

Birds Sparrows Mountain Goats Protection 183