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I was happy to read that the wood stork ( Mycteria Americana ), a bird near and dear to me, was down-sited from the status of endangered to threatened species. Fish and Wildlife Service is down-listing the wood stork from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). As a biologist working for the U.S. Photo: U.S.
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.
And so, these goats ate the flora of the island: unique species of Indian paintbrush and woodland star, bushmallow and wirelettuce and morning glory. Also, they were infested by a species of ear mite unknown to science. And so, the goats grew small and nimble, shy and drought-tolerant, through natural selection.
He was very alert now, scanning the right bank with his eagle eyes. Before my first trip to the tropics many years ago I always wondered how is it even possible that new bird species are discovered with all the deforestation and general habitat obliteration going on all over the world. But still new species are found.
Before my trip to Washington the only species of puffin I had ever seen in the wild was the puffin of the Atlantic Ocean, the appropriately named Atlantic Puffin. The first obstacle was getting to the general range of the species, which is the west coast from northern California to Alaska and across to Russia.* I love puffins.
The local Bald Eagles are getting busy, I suspect there is an egg in the nest. The birds were too far away to identify, and I know more than one species does this, but if I had to guess they were starlings. There is a bit of science news. But if half of the species of goatsuckers go extinct, you’ve got a lot less left.
Europe lost the Buttonquail (but abundant in Africa) but the Griffon, Cinereous Vulture (José Leal’s picture below) and several eagles are making a spectacular comeback. The science-based approach that recognises the dilemmas and identifies the hard choices isn’t election material, I suppose. Time to look for that UFO myself.
Additional back of the book material includes a Glossary, Biographical Details, a Select Bibliography, Notes, Credits, an Index to Species and a General Index. Cocker writes about the species within each family with a literary specificity softened by a tone of conversational patience. Eagles are national symbols of the U.S.,
On the other extreme you have outrageous stories like the supposed Thunderbird photograph of the America West, ambiguous winged creatures like Mothman and the Jersey Devil, and the impossible but incredibly persistent belief that (modern, extant) eagles can and will carry off small children. Come on — obviously Photoshopped!
During the decade, I submitted 1,219 checklists and observed 555 bird species, all in the U.S. After an initial period when all species are new, the lifers begin to follow a pattern. Thus, I can pinpoint my first pelagic trip, as it added 13 new species. For example, I’ve seen Bald Eagles in 15 states. and Canada.
It is a good place for South African birders, as several species are found here and nowhere else in South Africa, and it holds a small number of endemics that it shares with the Mozambique lowlands. The park did have a pack of African Wild Dogs, or Painted Wolves, the species I had gone to Africa to see. Terrestrial Brownbul.
He enjoys combining his passion for birds with computer science background to model nocturnal bird migration. Personally, I love exploring new hotspots and discovering new or unusual species when visiting a country. This phase is to familiarize with the species that can be seen. Search for my target species (i.e.
He even takes us into the future and the naming implications of the increasing fuzziness around the edges of the species concept. In doing so Moss not only elucidates the names themselves, but the evolution of a certain way of looking at and talking about the natural world.
Not only is it a very impressive citizen science project that manages to marshal the legions of birders around Canada and the U.S., Time will tell how much good science can be wrung from the data (due to observer bias, misidentifications, the vastly differing skillsets of contributing observers, under-birded areas, etc.),
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. processed the entire genomes of 48 bird species and compared nearly 42 million base pairs of DNA (Hackett et al. American Flamingo photo by Dick Culbert).
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.
The days for me to add to my Little Big Years species count are getting fewer and fewer, and with it, my budget. A pair Bald Eagles were doing fly-bys over our heads , and there were Belted Kingfishers, Canada Geese , A pair of Mallards, and three Great Blue Herons. Little Big Year species count: 834. US species count: 139.
The new edition adds 11 species, birds such as Zone-tailed Hawk, Short-tailed Hawk, and California Condor that are only seen in specific areas of North America. Individual species accounts follow, featuring a description of the hawk’s range, a little of its history in North America, sections on Identification and In Flight.
Somehow, Steller’s Sea Eagle manages to look both fierce and slightly cartoonish. The species is listed as Vulnerable – the estimated number of individuals is 4600-5100 (HBW), of which about 2000 winter on Hokkaido. Back to the eagle. They also estimate between 2115 and 2645 individuals traveled to see the eagle.
Many are familiar with dissecting owl pellets, but several birds will caste a pellet including hawks, eagles, gulls, herons and heck, I once witnessed a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher hack up a small one. For example, since eagles and hawks tend to rip their prey apart and have stronger digestive acids, their pellets look like wads of fur.
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.
Even in the tropics there are few birds that excel some of our own in elegance and beauty of plumage and we have an unusually large number of species considering the smallness of the area they inhabit. ” (Woodward brothers, “Natal Birds”, 1899) The mighty Drakensberg Mountains run along the western boundary of KwaZulu-Natal province.
The Ochraceous Bulbul looks similar to the Puff-throated Bulbul, with which it shares a genus – the similarity made one of my travel companions doubt the whole framework of species distinctions. Paul Conrad (1836-1885), a German naturalist in the East Indies, after which the species is named ( Pycnonotus conradi ).
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. In the marshes of the estancia , he discovers what he comes to believe is a new species of rail – one of the “accidentals” of the title.
And so, I learn from this page that each bird’s scientific name is unique, a combination of its genus and species names. In the earlier chapters, the maps illustrate bird species distribution. We are a BirdLife Species Champion!)
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.
The scientific species name of the Golden-throated Barbet is franklinii , commemorating Capt. The HBW section on this species’ behavior mostly repeats the phrase “more information needed” Though of course scientists, hungry for grants and topics, say that all the time. Ok, I made that up. Then, on to nuthatches.
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.
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. His field guides are known for images that simultaneously portray notable field marks and also the ‘personality’ of a bird species.
Hunting sandhill cranes in Kentucky is a bad idea from a public relations standpoint, considering the growing cadre of birders and nature enthusiasts for whom cranes are a touchstone species. Initiating a hunting season on a large, charismatic species like a crane is no way to resuscitate hunting. It’s free!
As the national bird of Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, the African Fish Eagle is usually very busy whenever it stays in these countries, giving speeches, opening shopping centers, etc. The Latin species name vermiculatus (worm-like) refers to the markings on the upperparts. Of course, the second explanation makes a lot more sense.
Whatever it was, Corey was found at his keyboard 2 hours later, covered in blood and snot and sporting a cut lip, having announced that he and Mike would rescue the failing list by taking personal responsibility for adding 300 species. Short-toed Snake-Eagle – Circaetus gallicus. Martial Eagle – Polemaetus bellicosus.
For example, a researcher and presumed ornithologist set out with two hypotheses related to the Ashy Drongo (and another drongo species) and wrote a paper about it. For them, God probably was the one instructing the drongos to mob one species but not the other. Why show photos of species as boring as this Ashy-throated Warbler ?
During October, 7 countries (Costa Rica, Australia, USA, India, Hong Kong, UK, Serbia) were birded by 11 beats who shared 135 checklists and noted 697 species. Black Eagle – Ictinaetus malaiensis. Blyth’s Hawk-Eagle – Nisaetus alboniger. Crested Serpent-Eagle – Spilornis cheela. 16 Jun 2018.
They noted 598 species as a team, bringing the year total to 2118 and pushing the life list to 3555. Black Eagle – Ictinaetus malaiensis. Blyth’s Hawk-Eagle – Nisaetus alboniger. Crested Serpent-Eagle – Spilornis cheela. Ayres’s Hawk-Eagle – Hieraaetus ayresii. 16 Jun 2018.
Phenology is a vital science. There’s some excitement in putting up feeders and in discovering which species are gracing us with big invasions this year (2011, Montana: Snowy Owls ) but much of the time its a slog. A pair of Bald Eagles scopes out the Clark Fork for likely snags. But good phenology is hard.
10 countries were birded by 9 beats and 892 species were noted from 144 checklists. Mark Hatfield Marine Science Center and Estuary Trail. Mark Hatfield Marine Science Center and Estuary Trail. Mark Hatfield Marine Science Center and Estuary Trail. Crested Serpent-Eagle – Spilornis cheela. 23 May 2018.
They found 673 species and advanced the yearly total to 1019. Mark Hatfield Marine Science Center and Estuary Trail. Mark Hatfield Marine Science Center and Estuary Trail. Mark Hatfield Marine Science Center and Estuary Trail. Black Hawk-Eagle – Spizaetus tyrannus. Ornate Hawk-Eagle – Spizaetus ornatus.
In reverse order, the medals were awarded for “most species seen in a country”, to Australia with 420, USA got the silver, scoring 556 while the runaway winner was Costa Rica with 646 species. Mark Hatfield Marine Science Center and Estuary Trail. Mark Hatfield Marine Science Center and Estuary Trail.
8 beats shared 126 checklists accounting for 704 species. Mark Hatfield Marine Science Center and Estuary Trail. Mark Hatfield Marine Science Center and Estuary Trail. Mark Hatfield Marine Science Center and Estuary Trail. Mark Hatfield Marine Science Center and Estuary Trail. 07 Jan 2018. 06 Jan 2018. 09 Jan 2018.
The HBW allows itself a rare moment of dry humor when discussing the sounds of the species: “Most vocalizations of this species are harsh and unmusical. ” The Latin species name caudatus does not really mean much – just that it has a tail. Thanks for pointing that out. Feel free to submit your vote.
Their 185 checklists contained 951 species during April! Mark Hatfield Marine Science Center and Estuary Trail. Mark Hatfield Marine Science Center and Estuary Trail. Mark Hatfield Marine Science Center and Estuary Trail. Black Hawk-Eagle – Spizaetus tyrannus. Ornate Hawk-Eagle – Spizaetus ornatus.
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