10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2021

The eggs hatched out around 20th June after 28 days of incubation and the Pied Oystercatcher family were soon on the move. The strategy of this pair of Pied Oystercatchers is to lay their eggs in a dune area which is amongst the busiest area for vehicles on the beach. Last Saturday, 26th of June, we walked north on Cable Beach.

Breeding 264

Breeding Feral Cats Eggs Feral 264

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

I’ve been fortunate to see two Penguin species in the wild (African and Galapagos) and have dreamed of seeing more–maybe even all!–especially The goal of Around the World For Penguins is simple: Describe the 18 species of penguin and their breeding grounds “from the perspective of a traveller.”

Penguins 279

Penguins Georgia Albatross New Zealand 279

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2021

A typical description of the family is that of “a tropical African and Asian songbird that typically has a melodious voice and drab plumage”, another is “small, dull-colored passerine birds of Asia and Africa”, yet another states that they are “often rather plain” Individual species get even harsher reviews.

South Africa 269

South Africa Malaysia Africa China 269

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

The species that manage to colonize these islands evolve in competition with relatively few other species, developing survival strategies based on interdependence, co-evolution, and mutualism rather than adapting to deal with a broad range of predators and competitors. A species, wiped off the earth, never to exist again.

Cuba 258

Cuba Parrots Columbus DC 258

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

One of the less well remembered awful things that happened in the Second World War (a six year period of history filled with an uncountable number of awful things) is that war’s direct role in the extinction of two species of rail. The loss of these two species was, in fact, no aberration, except in how late the extinctions were.

Hawaii 239

Hawaii Guam Mammals Fiji 239

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 15, 2015

You’d think that dressing in green to hide from predators inside a dense rainforest is as a strategy as plain as day, yet only a surprisingly limited number of bird species on Borneo have ventured down that evolutionary road. Interestingly, the females are more varied between the species and are far more readily identified.

Indonesia 196

Indonesia Asia Birds Groups 196

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 224

Vegan Cats Animal Friendly Eggs 224

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 6, 2012

SUPER STARLINGS Tanzania plays host to a wide variety of Starlings, over twenty species in fact. Singularly beautiful as individuals but glared at by many a birder for their stubborn survival streak which can play havoc with the delicate nesting strategies of pre-established locals. I could watch scenes like this all day.

Tanzania 201

Tanzania Chickens Blackbirds California 201

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2022

.): The Amazing Lives of Migratory Birds (“Author Scott Weidensaul talks about the millions of birds flying unseen over our heads in the night sky, how the bar-tailed godwit can fly more than a week over water without stopping, and how new tracking technology may help with strategies to keep them alive. Living on Earth ( PRX , 2020, 14 min.):

Zoos 254

Zoos 2020 Massachusetts 2015 254

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2014

I had taken the short drive to the park to search for a family of American Dippers sighted near the visitor center by a fellow birder a few days before. I didn’t know what species of woodpecker it was, but I knew it was just in the clearing on the other side of the road. It was July of 2012. It was a cool 48 degrees. Version 1.0.

Woodpeckers 185

Woodpeckers California South Dakota Chad 185

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2013

It is one of three species of ani ( Groove-billed and Greater Anis are the other two) and together form a unique branch in the cuckoo family. In addition to having a communal nesting strategy, anis also spend a significant amount of time allopreening, huddling together, and sunning themselves together on exposed branches.

Florida 226

Florida Virgin Islands Miami Breeders 226

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2013

Because when we look at the birds that make up the family Sulidae – not just the tropical boobies, but their burly temperate-zone cousins the gannets as well – we see a pretty incredible group of birds. And what is that foraging strategy? Nazca Booby, by Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela. Red-footed Booby, by Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela.

Birds 230

Birds Buffalo Pelicans 2012 230

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

The text goes far beyond just those two birds, however, as Doug works his way through the puzzles presented by the incredibly wide diversity of bird behavior, even within species, citing current research and new and old theories, reasoning out the most likely and unlikely answers. The six middle chapters are my favorite reading. ” (p.

Science 245

Science Albatross Owls Research 245

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2012

The Edwards’s Pheasant is a rather smart blue-black member of the pheasant family and it may be on the edge of extinction. It has recently been reclassified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List; this category is reserved for only the most threatened species in the world.

Vietnam 163

Vietnam 2000 Germany Asia 163

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2013

Well, they weren’t so much of a flock as they were a group of birds all following their own foraging strategy in the same area. Later in the season more species show up. Black-necked Stilt is one of those species that needs no explanation for their common name. No, make that two Lucy’s Warblers !

Las Vegas 238

Las Vegas Nevada Birds Blackbirds 238

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2014

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. Bicolored Antbird.

San Diego 219

San Diego South America Costa Rica America 219

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2021

Even so, he still knew many species and always yearned to learn about the wildlife he encountered. Groups them by family too and by their shape” His extra long arm extended and passed me that precious book. The remaining four species are the most grouse-like of the bunch. “Check it out!”

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Chickens Pennsylvania Litter 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

The Peterson Reference Guide to Seawatching offers two types of information: Species Accounts–descriptions of 112 birds within 15 families as they appear over and on the water, and Where to Watch, brief descriptions of 47 sites on the North American eastern coast and interior recommended for seawatching. No rails or gallinules.

Ducks 247

Ducks Groups North America North Dakota 247

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

Starvation and predators make it hard to grow up, and birds have evolved a lot of strategies to give (at least some of) their chicks the best chance in life. One strategy that varies among birds (and other animals) is the number of offspring. Seabirds are one group of birds that go for the latter strategy.

Eggs 173

Eggs Puffins Breeding Albatross 173

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

This species are long living and so the population appears to be sustainable at this stage despite the predation. The Pied Oystercatchers are actually incredibly predictable when it comes to the dates that they lay eggs, the locations that they choose and the various strategies that each pair use in order to protect their young.

Breeding 161

Breeding Eggs Camels Shelters 161

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

In China, wherever there is one real tourist attraction (like the Great Wall), the local strategy seems to be to add some fake attractions – replicas of palaces or tombs, amusement parks, shopping centers – in order to maximize the income from tourists. But the starting point has to be a real attraction, not a fake one.

China 262

China Birds Pythons Eagles 262

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

Both the male and female of the species have a bright red crown. Most Acorn Woodpeckers are cooperative breeders and live in family groups of up to a dozen or more individuals. Acorn Woodpeckers are the only species to store individual nuts in holes drilled in granaries. Click on photos for full sized images.

Woodpeckers 194

Woodpeckers Breeders North America Groups 194

10,000 Birds

MAY 25, 2013

As bad as a cold, wet, and windy Memorial Day Weekend is for people it is even worse for birds, especially species that rely upon flying insects for sustenance. So while the rest of my family slept in I nipped out to the park this morning to see how the swallows were doing. Strong wind and lots of rain has only added to the misery.

Suffering 201

Suffering New York City United States New York 201

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 168

Monkeys Gorillas Whales Whaling 168

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2013

But, you know, job, family, and all the other responsibilities of being a social animal means that, at best, I get out onto the East Pond once a week to see what shorebirds are stopping over on their way to their wintering grounds. That said, I might have made an embarrassing call involving those species once or twice.

Jamaica 185

Jamaica Wildlife Falcons Family 185

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2022

As the tide drops the birds all move forward to bathe and feed and the Pied Oystercatcher family becomes more visible. Pied Oystercatcher family with two chicks. Thankfully the shorebirds soon returned to the same beach and the Pied Oystercatcher family were a lot less obvious. Pied Oystercatchers on the move.

Breeding 147

Breeding Family Hunting Eagles 147

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

It’s my fantasy and it’s yours: Quit the job, say good-bye to the family, and bird. And, to give his dream year a little more oomph, he created a grand once-in-a-lifetime goal: to track down and see every pitta species in the world in one year. Gooddie describes his quest in terms of a contest of wills and strategy.

Hunters 227

Hunters Sri Lanka Asia Solomon Islands 227

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 23, 2014

When you monitor a species of birds over many years you learn a lot from your observations and you soon become aware of the fact that some birds are just better at parenting than others. Each pair has a strategy and sometimes it is successful and sometimes it is not. Family of five-adult Pied Oystercatchers on the right.

Eggs 165

Eggs Raised Breeding Family 165

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2011

Nice. ((** all names have been changed to protect identities and have been substituted with (almost) randomly chosen substitutes suitable for a family of Alpine Accentors.)) small families putting less pressure on the adult members of the family). all Alpine Accetor photos digiscoped (c) Dale Forbes. Davies et al.

2011 234

2011 Breeders Deer Breeding 234

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2020

Chicago is a good place for birds: on eBird, Cook County, Illinois has nearly 400 species and more than 275,000 checklists. I hope that my work helps to show some of the nuance, but also helps point to some strategies. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using eBird data and how does it impact researchers using eBird?

Chicago 303

Chicago Illinois Michigan Research 303

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2022

A family motel and passion for responsible ecotourism brought her home to the Oregon Coast where she and her husband, Erik, adventure and record a podcast ( Hannah and Erik Go Birding ), created in an effort to inspire others to get out and bird. Marion has a fascinating history with invasive species. Just get rid of the mice.

South Africa 264

South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 264

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

The latter is half the size of the Grey, but with its stout beak and prominent eyes shows a distinct family likeness. Note the family likeness to the Grey Plover, with big head and large eyes Brancaster is always a reliable site for Black-tailed Godwits, but when I first arrived there were none to be seen. A Ringed Plover.

Geese 230

Geese Russia Unwanted Breeding 230

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017

Illustrated by Chandler’s mainly excellent photos, the book shows about 180 species, or some 80 % of the total. Basically, it is an overview of the world’s 226 shorebird (in Europe: wader) species (following the IOC checklist), proceeded by essays on their plumages and behavior. What is it, then? Have you ever heard of it?

Botswana 145

Botswana 2017 Groups Europe 145

10,000 Birds

JUNE 29, 2022

However, I rarely get to travel with family or friends who share my obsession. My recent brief trip to California made this strategy especially easy. I had planned to follow this strategy, while adding just one longer birding trip during our five-day stay. Anytime I travel, I do what it takes to get in some birding.

San Francisco 147

San Francisco Battery California Ducks 147

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

Ackerman surrounds each individual story with background facts and studies on other birds who mimic, play, parasitize nests, engage in complex cognitive routines, parent in unusual ways–presenting a complex mosaic of avian behaviors amongst bird families and the scientific histories of trying to understand them.

Science 260

Science Birds Costa Rica Research 260

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2012

That made me wonder why someone would put so much energy into a species that is regular in New York and not a lifer. As of Friday, 11 May, Anthony had already seen 283 species in New York State, a blistering and likely record-setting pace ( Richard Fried is the current record-holder with 352 species seen in 2011 ).

New York 198

New York Stray Vermont Marine Life 198

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2023

As mentioned in many other posts on this blog, the avifauna of Trinidad & Tobago consists of several species and family groups occurring very interestingly, in threes. Short-tailed Nighthawk (above and below) Overall, this species seems to be poorly known, which is understandable given its habits. Well, kind of.

Trinidad 130

Trinidad Bats Falcons Groups 130