Some estimates give 150,000 to 1.5 million as the number of bird species that have ever lived. Most went extinct as the environment changed and evolution created new forms that were better fit for the new circumstances. Evolution occurs via the accumulation of genetic changes. When the changes are sufficient, new species may arise. Typically […]
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The family Turdidae contains the true thrushes of the world, although there are birds in other families some of which are called thrushes. Turdidae derives from the Latin word turdus, meaning thrush. The familiar American Robin is Turdus migratorius, the wandering thrush. The 88 species of true thrushes, Genus Turdus, have a cosmopolitan distribution across
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Bluebirds, family Turdidae, belong to the genus Sialia, from the Greek meaning “a kind of bird.” Not a very helpful description. The three Sialia species, all North American, are the Eastern Bluebird, Western Bluebird, and Mountain Bluebird, semi-descriptive but not very imaginative names. At 7 inches long with a 13 -inch wingspread, they are small
I earlier blogged about Oology, the study of eggs, actually their shells. In the 19th and early 20th century it was a hobby, like stamp and coin collecting. Eggs were collected from wild birds’ nests, holes made in both ends, and the material inside blown out. They were displayed, sold, and traded, like many collectors’ items today.
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