Although we love our birds, they can and do become pests at times. The imported birds such as Rock Pigeons, House Sparrows, and European Starlings are good examples, but native blackbirds, crows, and even swallows are given that designation at times. A pest is simply an unwanted plant or animal, such as weeds in our herb garden …
I’m not going to provide another review of binoculars as there are lots of those on the WWW. Frankly, I think the best thing is to try binoculars in person and if they work for you, that’s what you want. You can get a cheap pair that work well, although the more expensive ones tend …
Beaks and bills are the same structure, although beak was once used when referring to hooked bills. The beak is the only tool a bird has, used in finding and capturing and manipulating animal or plant food, preening, courtship, defense, building nests, communicating, and feeding young. So the beak really defines a lot of the …
According to National Today, Jan 5, 2023 is National Bird Day. But according to Wikipedia, “Bird Day was established in 1894….. It was the first holiday in the United States dedicated to the celebration of birds. Babcock intended it to advance bird conservation as a moral value.” Wikipedia continues with “International Migratory Bird Day, a conservation initiative that brings awareness on conserving …
I get regular inquiries from high school and college students, and even older folks looking for a new career, wanting to know how to get into the field of ornithology. Without reiterating everything I have already posted in detail on Ornithology.com about careers, let me make some general points. Most everyone who aspires to be an …
A couple of months ago, someone asked me if birds could predict the weather. Well, sort of. Watching my bird feeder, I notice the activity becoming almost frantic just before rain and wind start. When the sun comes out, fewer birds are feeding, and less often. There’s science behind this. In one study, captive White-throated …
The other day my local newspaper ran a letter from a realtor who is supporting a proposed housing development of 1400 acres. He dismissed the effect on wildlife due to the destruction of habitat that will ensue by saying that the animals will just move. “The hawks will just move elsewhere to find food.” This …
Recently Slow Birding, a book all about enjoying the birds in your backyard, was published. The author, Joan Strassmann, an accomplished scientist in the field of evolution and microbes writes about her hobby of birdwatching and offers some good advice. Rather than traveling far and wide to see and list birds in new locales, the …
The name of the dance called the Cha Cha is derived from the shuffling sound of the dancers’ feet when they dance two consecutive quick steps. It is an onomatopoeia, meaning that the name comes from a sound. Originally from Cuba, it was first called the Cha Cha Cha as the footwork goes one, two, cha cha …
The uropygial gland, also called the preen gland or oil gland, is a bilobed structure on the dorsal base of a bird’s tail between the fourth caudal vertebra and the pygostyle, the structure formed by the fusion of the final caudal vertebrae. The pygostyle is surrounded by flesh, the fleshy structure commonly called the “pope’s …
