10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 13, 2011

Their taxonomic affinities have caused great confusion and debate amongst ornithologists; they were originally assigned to the thrush family, then Old World warblers before being shifted to babblers (the last mentioned a common dumping-ground for any aberrant passerines).

South Africa 258

South Africa Lesotho Swaziland Africa 258

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

Artists rendition of Inkayacu paracasensis There are 17 living species of penguins, which make up their own Linnean family (Spheniscidae), which is the only family in the order Sphenisciformes. Fossil Evidence for Evolution of the Shape and Color of Penguin Feathers Science, 330 (6006), 954-957 DOI: 10.1126/science.1193604

Penguins 251

Penguins Seals Peru Sharks 251

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2014

It’s relatively easy to classify birds into family groups based on physical characteristics. We view them as our enemies when they eat our crops and as an extension of our family when we see them at our feeders. Remarkably, there are 59 bird families that have very little cultural significance; these are listed in Appendix III.

Egypt 244

Egypt Birds Albania Eagles 244

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2012

For example, I was going to add “no tail” to the list of features above, what all frogs share, when I remembered that there are indeed a small family of Tailed frogs, four species in New Zealand and two in North America (though, the tails are quite tiny). If you don’t live near a science museum, then read this chapter.

Reptiles 244

Reptiles Madagascar Family New York City 244

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

For example, on finding gulls: Close study of gulls is not for everyone, and birders shouldn’t feel obligated to get deep into it if you prefer colorful, less-confusing, families of birds. In every chapter, Nate makes clear that you can go further and deeper, but you don’t have to. And you will still be a birder.

North Carolina 263

North Carolina Birds North America Owls 263

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2015

If only you could make fine adjustments to the expression of existing DNA you could hatch a dinosaur, starting with, for example, a turkey. The second thing they did was to interfere with the genetic pathways in some chickens, which produced a chicken with beaky bits that were more like snouty bits found in, for example, a Alligator.

Alligators 267

Alligators Chickens Birds Reptiles 267

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2022

But that is science in hierarchical institutions). Confusingly, while there are more than 50 species in the fantail family, the Yellow-bellied Fantail is not one of them. Instead, it is a member of the family of fairy-flycatchers, which sounds vaguely homophobic but probably is not.

Litter 264

Litter China Abandon Abandoning 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 22, 2013

For example, take the Mississippi Kite (above), photographed at the Dairy Mart Ponds in Tijuana River Valley, between San Diego and the Mexican border. Not only is it a very impressive citizen science project that manages to marshal the legions of birders around Canada and the U.S., Let’s get to it then.

San Diego 227

San Diego California Condor California Bald Eagle 227

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

A few families have a small number of eggs in the clutches, like gulls or cormorants. The species readily takes to nesting in small artificial boxes, and the scientists of PRBO Conservation Science have over 450 such boxes scattered across the island to monitor the species.

Eggs 210

Eggs Puffins Breeding Albatross 210

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2018

In a little less than two weeks my family and I will be enjoying a long weekend on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. But rather than just use field guides for visual field marks and xeno-canto for sounds I have discovered a fun way to help me prepare that also contributes to citizen science in a small but noticeable way.

Belize 157

Belize Mexico Honduras Science 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2020

This is more than eBird reports–a checklist generated from the citizen science database lists only 1,413 species. The song of the Amazonian Antshrike, for example, is “an even pitched, fast (9-11 noes/sec), slightly accelerating series of hollow, popping notes that get louder; occ. slightly rising-falling in pitch and pace.

Bolivia 250

Bolivia Birds Brazil Switzerland 250

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

As you can easily judge from the dullness of this information, it is not something I made up but rather an appalling example of nepotism in the naming of birds. If you have always wondered what the minimum anesthetic concentration for isoflurane and sevoflurane for the Crested Serpent-eagle is, science has an answer.

China 264

China Birds Pythons Eagles 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2015

Thankfully, English names are listed by whole name; for example, Stygian Owl is listed as “Stygian Owl”, under S. With so many book indexes listing species under family name, I am thankful that the decision was made NOT to list all 39 owl species under the heading “Owl.”

North America 255

North America Owls America Dominican Republic 255

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

Birkhead, the experienced storyteller who is also Emeritus Professor at the School of Biosciences, The University of Sheffield, author of multiple scientific articles as well as books of popular science, knows how to make it readable and fun. Colonialism and appropriation of knowledge is discussed in Chapter 6, The New World of Science.

Dissection 264

Dissection Birds Europe Eggs 264

Critter News

NOVEMBER 16, 2010

Change Of Heart provides science-based answers to many questions that are hotly debated among animal activists. For example, why is it so hard for our family members and co-workers – many of whom have companion animals that they love – to cut cruelty from their diets and go vegan? In the author's words.

Advocacy 100

Advocacy Factory Farm Factory Farming Farm Sanctuary 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2016

They used Great T**s from non-urban and urban areas, and mixed them up through breeding, to rule out any possible family history of telomere length. In this study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a group of juvenile zebra finches was allowed to interact with an adult. Here’s the problem.

Zebras 167

Zebras Mammals Primates Birds 167

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2021

Bird communication is a complex and evolving science. Ballantine and Hyman explore how birds communicate and summarize studies on how that communication functions in diverse bird families all over the world. Bird communication is much broader than just vocalization, something I tend to forget.

North America 279

North America Birds Research America 279

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 28, 2017

The World’s biggest citizen science wildlife count takes place this weekend. It is marketed as a family activity and limited to one hour to allow for young attention spans. Greenfinch populations have plummeted as Goldfinch numbers have soared for example. How easy is that?

Birds 100

Birds Wildlife Science Protection 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2019

Clearly, author Phyllis Limbacher Tildes, the author of 24, soon to be 25, children’s books, is also a birder (and a little research brings up a presentation she gave at Ogeechee Audubon, Georgia with the biographical information and she and her family “love watching birds and wildlife seen near their lagoon on Skidaway Island.”

New York City 201

New York City Pelicans Penguins New York 201

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2019

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.

North America 138

North America Birds Prairie Dogs Barn Owls 138

Sales and Marketing Management

DECEMBER 3, 2018

Second, many of these performers were married and the idea of travel, even incentive travel, meant their families would be on their own for a few days. In the previous example, the company’s leaders assumed their high performers would be as engaged in the company’s operational effectiveness as were they.

Family 70

Family Research Groups Science 70

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

Doug Futuyma believes in science and in the scientific basis of evolution. How Birds Evolve: What Science Reveals about Their Origin, Lives, and Diversity by Douglas J. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s just a very different kind of book than popular books about bird behavior, which rely on story as much as science.

Science 246

Science Albatross Owls Costa Rica 246

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2022

I happen to be particularly fond of turtles because my family has taken care of a small box turtle for 30 years (beware–turtles are extremely low-maintenance pets but will outlast your child’s youth and probably your life). Or that tortoises and terrapins are considered part of the turtle family. Lovich and Whit Gibbons.

Turtles 262

Turtles Tortoises Family Terrapins 262

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2024

Birds & Flowers: An Intimate 50 Million Year Relationship is to highlight other bird families that pollinate. This is not, it should be noted, the sort of book in which a journeyman nature writer distills the ins and outs of some discrete marvel of natural or physical science to a lay readership. Based in Denmark and the U.K,

Denmark 264

Denmark Pythons Europe Birds 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 5, 2021

For example, while we’re used to ‘seasonality,’ observing damselflies and dragonflies in warmer months, rainfall is “the most significant variable” in the tropics (p. Species are arranged by family and genus along taxonomic lines, but not always in accordance with the very latest molecular DNA research.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica North America Family America 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2011

And if you look into it enough, it presents a classic case where science can fail us. I believe in science. Science is based on logic and evidence, which I think is a very respectable way to look at the world. But what many people fail to realize, and too often scientists themselves, is that science is elastic.

Emotional 252

Emotional Science Mammals Alaska 252

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2011

This has happened before, Archaeopteryx and the bird family tree have had an often tenuous relationship. But it is utterly bewildering to me to see news reports about this recent science that read “… An icon knocked from its perch&# or “Archaeopteryx no longer first bird.&# Flight is an example.

Mammals 267

Mammals Europe Groups Family 267

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2020

In addition, many of the numbers and examples given for NYC areas beyond the Bronx represent species observed in Central Park in Manhattan and Prospect Park in Brooklyn. This is a project that clearly spanned decades. The authors say they want to “place Van Cortlandt Park’s avifauna in a New York City park perspective” (p.34).

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New York City New York Birds Breeding 227

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2020

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. They portray the nesting cycles of Mallard, Red-tailed Hawk, and American Robin, illustrating the various ways in which birds create families.

2020 264

2020 Birds North America Sparrows 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2021

These run the range from birds like Barnacle Goose and Little Egret, which are rare but do show up in North America every few years (actually, lately it’s been every year) to birds whose sightings in North America are so few that they’re legendary–Western Reef-Heron and Corn Crake are two examples. This is not unusual.

North America 279

North America America California Condor Birds 279

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2012

The famous Verreaux family who made several expeditions into the province through the 1820’s and 1830’s procuring specimens for rich collectors. Gurney’s Sugarbird was discovered by the Verreaux family and named after wealthy English banker and amateur naturalist John Gurney from Norwich. Image by Hugh Chittenden.

Mozambique 245

Mozambique South Africa Africa Collecting 245

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2011

Itcher birds, migratory members of the tern family. But in the vast in between where most birds exist there are all sorts of contradictory examples. Little tiny birds with their little tiny wings and high daily energetic demands fly zillions of miles, while larger birds migrate shorter distances, for example. Image source.

Compassion 249

Compassion Humane Research Egypt 249

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2021

Marybeth learns as she birds, embraces listing goals as a means of engaging with community, unabashedly enjoys a little competition, struggles to balance her absolute joy in birding with unexpected, life-and-death family obligations. The book focuses on two listing events: her 2012 Louisiana Big Year and her 2016 Louisiana 300 Year.

Louisiana 264

Louisiana Species Mississippi Alabama 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

The thousands of hours of observations that have been added up over the years would not have been possible without the help of the many volunteers and assistants who have offered their time and energy in the cause of science and conservation. Volunteers are one of the most important aspects to the project.

Peru 255

Peru Parrots 2011 Deer 255

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

Of the Central Flyway states, Nebraska alone holds out in protecting the cranes, having proven by its longstanding Festival of the Cranes in Kearney that a crane is worth infinitely more alive and purring in the sky with its family than thudding, broken and bleeding, into a cornfield. Tennessee found that out in January.

2011 263

2011 Kentucky Tennessee Hunting 263

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2019

That fallacious family name seems to have encouraged all manner of knaves, dunderheads, and miscreants when time came to label species. Consider some examples: NAMED FOR OTHER BIRDS. For example, the legendary ornithologist Alexander Wilson happened upon in his broad travels a warbler previously undescribed by science.

Rights 113

Rights Connecticut Tennessee Nashville 113

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2018

This is also where Johnson starts talking about the cost of the theft to the Museum and to science. The Flame Bowerbird, for example. He says he is motivated by what he has learned from the curators about the skins importance to science, but he is also clearly irritated by the fact that Rist has gotten off so lightly.

Collecting 145

Collecting Iraq Ostriches Science 145