10,000 Birds

AUGUST 29, 2022

.'” Tim Low (in “How Song Began”) gives a colorful description of Long-billed Corellas , stating that they “have drooping bills like witches’ noses” and explaining that “Their ‘noses’ are long because, like many mammals, they grub up juicy roots – or used to.” My fault, I know. So typical.

Australia 147

Australia Birds Sheep Zebras 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2014

They took dogs to Australia, chickens across the Pacific, rabbits to England, horses to the New World, and then brought potatoes back. There were no mammals, little game, and not many birds either. Rabbits are still an agricultural pest. In many ways, that is exactly what happened.

New Zealand 161

New Zealand Possums Rabbits Ferrets 161

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2011

This relatively new technique has been used to study relationships among and within several groups of mammals, including lagamorphs (rabbits and hares), rodents, and cetaceans (whales and dolphins), but I couldn’t find many references to its application in avian systematics yet. Ringer Suh et al.

Parrots 188

Parrots Falcons Indonesia Rodents 188

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2012

Africa is famous for its large, charismatic mammals, and the Big Five epitomize the most sought-after of these fantastic beasts. As visitors’ and the public’s interests expanded from the Big Five, and an appreciation for lesser mammals, birds and smaller wildlife has became more widespread, the term Little Five was coined.

Buffalo 197

Buffalo Rhinoceros Leopards Elephants 197