10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2024

They don’t nest until they are at least four or five years old, when they finally acquire full adult plumage, with the female laying just a single egg that takes 44 days to hatch. There were typically four teams of Climmers at Bempton, with each team taking 300-400 eggs a day. The Guillemots pack on to the ledges, shoulder to shoulder.

Puffins 229

Puffins Eggs Fish Culling 229

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2013

The birdlife in the Cape is nothing short of spectacular, with a healthy dose of charismatic endemic species. Over 40 species of South African endemics can be found in the Cape – Cape Sugarbirds, Cape Rockjumpers, Orange-breasted Sunbirds to name but a few. White Sharks, especially young ones, will prey on African Penguins.

Penguins 245

Penguins South Africa Leopards Sharks 245

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2023

So, in order to show a few more photos of the bird than the usual two or three had I included this bird in a post of birds seen around Wolongshan, Sichuan), here is one dedicated to the species. The Latin species name is semitorques , which means something like “half-twisted” – but I have no idea why.

Vegan 223

Vegan Cats Animal Friendly Eggs 223

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 24, 2022

It is a relatively small hornbill, and not very shy – some photos below were taken on the campgrounds of Kruger Park, which more or less seem to be the species’ natural habitat by now. Also, it is the largest species of hornbill worldwide and frankly, it still is a bit miffed that it is not called Giant Hornbill.

South Africa 243

South Africa Africa Seals China 243

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2015

Egg harvesting to sell as food was intensive then, with thousands taken annually from the breeding colonies in Chile. Egg collection for local consumption still continues at lower scale. The Andean Flamingo is now protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Photo: Marcio Cabral de Mora – Flickr).

Chile 156

Chile Endangered Species Eggs Argentina 156

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2024

There are 154 species of cuckoos in the world, and they’re all a fascinating bunch. It’s not a species you are likely to overlook, either, as it is extremely noisy, its cackling call carrying great distances. Give it a few more years and there’s a good chance that it will be split into a full species, just like the Cyprus Scops Owl.

Cyprus 245

Cyprus Africa Europe Asia 245

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 25, 2013

BirdLife International believes that this might be maximum population the species can reach, as it seems to completely saturate its range. Occasionally the Tristan Thrush Nesocichla eremita will prey upon chicks from the two-egg nest of the Inaccessible Island Rail but this not enough in any way to threaten the species.

Science 235

Science Transported Shelters South Africa 235

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

It feels good to start a post with some truly attractive birds – such as two species of broadbills. Strangely, there do not seem to be many papers on this species. In one paper , you can find fascinating sentences such as “The new species is most similar to D. My cats refuse to even try Fiery Minivets.

Sri Lanka 244

Sri Lanka Taiwan Birds Cats 244

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

They may be about bird eggs ( The Most Perfect Thing: The Inside (and Outside) of a Bird’s Egg , 2016), or a 17th-century ornithologist ( Virtuoso by Nature: The Scientific Worlds of Francis Willughby, 2016), or How Bullfinches learn songs from humans ( The Wisdom of Birds: An Illustrated History of Ornithology.

Dissection 258

Dissection Birds Europe Eggs 258

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 21, 2015

Isla Rasa was declared a sanctuary in 1964, and egg-collecting and disturbance during the breeding season are discouraged. With the breeding colony concentrated on one small island this species is vulnerable to a catastrophic weather event. You know what one of my favorite things is about bird blogging?

San Francisco 161

San Francisco North America Seals Sanctuary 161

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 25, 2024

We saw dozens of small, brown birds hopping in and out of the vegetation like Sickle-winged Chat , Mountain Pipit , various lark species, a Southern Bald Ibis that only a mother could love, and fewer raptors like Bearded Vultures and Cape Griffon.

Lesotho 246

Lesotho Sheep Groundhogs South Africa 246

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

Even the Latin species name soror (“sister”) indicates the similarity to another pitta species (blue-naped). The eBird description of the Small Niltava starts with the surprisingly dull statement that “size distinguishes this species from other niltavas” Who would have thought.

China 261

China Birds Pythons Eagles 261

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2013

En route they will be “birding in nearly every country in mainland North and South America,” and, as they say on their excellent blog , “Our journey is about collecting valuable data on bird species, their status and distribution, current conservation issues, and more along the way.

South America 213

South America San Diego Mexico America 213

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2022

However, the lockdown forces me to go deeper and deeper into my photo collection, if I want to write anything at all. So, the basic idea is to show 15 species of Australian birds in each post and give you the usual trivia about them. The parrot is multicolored, providing a simple explanation for the Latin species name of varius.

Australia 230

Australia Koalas Parrots Birds 230

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2012

As a Northeast birder I am familiar with the alarming decrease in the number of Red Knots along Atlantic shores and have signed petitions and written e-mails calling for legislation and rules that will limit the overharvesting of the horseshoe crab, whose eggs Red Knots depend on. million in the late 1990’s. Should the gulls be controlled?

Delaware 198

Delaware New Jersey Eggs Research 198

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 11, 2019

It was actually feared to be extinct until 2000, when four pairs of breeding pairs were discovered.

2000 147

2000 Eggs Collecting Breeding 147

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

Do not buy these books, unless you are collecting old bird books. First published in 1973 in association with the Asa Wright Center, the book focuses on species descriptions, with illustrations grouped together in plates positioned in the center of the book. The AOU has not accepted that split. And, they are beautiful.

Trinidad 230

Trinidad South America Birds 2011 230

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2016

After collecting nearly 70K bird photos, he felt that it was time to share them, so he now has his bird blog in order to do just that! La Paz, the capital city of Baja California Sur, the southern half of the Mexican Baja, has been a real joy, with both the desired weather, and a much expanded variety of bird species. Mom on nest.

San Diego 189

San Diego Seattle Eggs California 189

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2012

Ridgway himself had 23 species, 10 subspecies, and two genera of birds named for him, including Ridgway’s Hawk.) The team explored Nevada and Utah, with Ridgway collecting thousands of bird specimen, plus nests and eggs for the Smithsonian. That’s a photo of Ridgway’s office on the right, fifth floor of the South Tower.

Illinois 171

Illinois Collecting Alaska United States 171

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

There is a lot of extreme behavior here (and a lot of that behavior takes place in Australia), but this is not simply a collection of the world’s most fantastic bird tales. It’s fascinating stuff. Most of the chapters in The Bird Way focus on one or two scientists who has done extensive research on ‘outlier behavior.’

Science 260

Science Birds Costa Rica Research 260

10,000 Birds

APRIL 17, 2012

Oil begins to wash up on the beaches throughout May and June of 2010 May 6, 2010 Oil washes ashore on the Chandeleur Islands off the Louisiana coast, an important nesting and breeding area for many bird species. The babies that hatched from these eggs were released on Florida’s east coast.

2010 264

2010 Louisiana 2012 2011 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2017

If there’s one common theme to this week’s bird news items, it’s their collective bizarreness: The eagle has landed—on the drone, as France trains birds to take out drones that stray into restricted airspace. Scientists ponder the feasibility of genetically engineering chickens to lay the eggs of endangered bird species.

Penguins 100

Penguins Argentina France Stray 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2018

There are important details within that dictum that we will ignore here, but this has to do with knowing when a characteristic doesn’t really tell you about the relative position of species on a “tree of life” vs when the characteristic works for that purpose. Rather, cladistics is a way of looking at the process of evolution of species.

Monkeys 167

Monkeys Gorillas Whaling Whales 167

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2011

The most common species we see are the Stoke’s Sea Snake Astrotia stokesii , Dubois’ Sea Snake Aipysurus duboisii and the Olive Sea Snake Aipysurus laevis. Speaking of pregnant snakes, do sea snakes lay their eggs ashore like sea turtles or do they keep them internally until the young are ready to hatch/ be born, like some sharks?

Australia 160

Australia Sharks 2011 Deer 160

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). To remedy this, I visited the Animal Diversity Web site at the University of Michigan.

Mammals 194

Mammals Rodents Reptiles Birds 194

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2024

Osborn, a passionate field biologist who participates to the core of her being three re-introduction projects aimed at saving three very different, endangered species: Peregrine Falcon, Hawaiian Crow (‘Alala)*, and California Condor. Sophie Osborn’s stories are personal and inspiring, but this is more than a personal memoir.

California Condor 171

California Condor Falcons California Coyotes 171

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016

She doesn’t know the species till it emerges, almost dreamlike, from the heavy glare of the sun. The Achiever’s survey voyages took place from 2005 to 2008; the goal was to collect baseline data on sea mammals and marine birds. Fox encounters 69 species, some singly, some in huge feeding or migrating flocks.

Fox 100

Fox Albatross Geese Bald Eagle 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2015

And of eggs and nests and birds on nests. In the all too brief introduction to the book, they state, “This book aims to shed light on the family lives of birds, a topic that has captured our collective imagination and enriched our language despite being shrouded in mystery.”. Oops, the curmudgeon in me slipped.) Peregrine Falcon nests.

Eggs 263

Eggs 2006 Family New York 263

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2013

Data collection for the Second Breeding Bird Atlas Project of Pennsylvania took place from 2004 through 2009, roughly twenty years after the first official atlas project, 1983 through 1989. It was a gigantic, innovative project that collected and catalogued massive amounts of data about birds, habitat, and ecological change.

Pennsylvania 255

Pennsylvania Breeding Sparrows Birds 255

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2021

Pough “with illustrations in color of every species” by Don Eckelberry, Doubleday, 1946. The National Audubon Society Birds of North America covers all species seen in mainland United States, Canada and Baja California. The press material says it covers over 800 species, so you know I had to do a count.

North America 279

North America America California Condor Birds 279

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2019

beats have still managed to share 82 checklists and accounted for 737 species. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. 01 Jun 2019.

2019 131

2019 Jamaica Eggs Woodpeckers 131

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2014

The lack of people does not mean we have any less extinct or threatened bird species than other countries. Even the first explorers to Australia documented there was a risk of extinction of birds and animals into the future and subsequently decided to collect as many specimens as possible!

Species 183

Species Australia Birds Parrots 183

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2024

Interestingly, these juveniles look more similar to another species, the Pale-billed Parrotbill, than the adult babblers – and they sometimes are part of the same flock. If you want to see how this species builds its nest, see here.) These roads are much less of a hindrance for the Pin-striped Tit-babbler , a mid-story bird.

Burma 234

Burma Vietnam Birds Laos 234

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2013

Peripatetic ornithologist Nick Sly has long been a friend of the blog here and has contributed such classics as Green-rumped Parrotlets from Egg to Adult and Forpus passerinus and the Ornithologists of Masaguaral. This kind of detailed genetic and developmental work has traditionally relied on model species in the lab (aka chickens).

Panama 243

Panama Chickens Investigation Research 243

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 12, 2022

In most years, that wouldn’t be all that special — the lake is normally where I can see the most species in a single day, so I usually go there first. These photos exaggerate the size difference between the two species, which is actually so minimal as to be almost useless for ID purposes.). Was it practicing?

Falcons 225

Falcons Abandonment Abandoning Abandon 225

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2020

It didn’t occur to me till I started reading The Falcon Thief: A True Tale of Adventure, Treachery, and the Hunt for the Perfect Bird that there was also a possible threat to the eagle herself: poachers, who steal raptor eggs and chicks. McWilliam realizes he’s dealing someone special, a career falcon egg-thief.

Falcons 253

Falcons United Kingdom Zimbabwe Eggs 253

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2024

Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills of the World states that “disturbance by local people, tourists, and egg and zoo collectors has similarly reduced the colonies, and more protection is vital”. In 2018, there were 1,745 birds living in 92 different zoos and collections.

Morocco 246

Morocco Algeria Austria Germany 246