Falconry—the art and practice of hunting wild quarry with trained birds of prey—is one of humanity’s oldest and most refined partnerships with the natural world. Its origins stretch back at least 4,000 years, with early evidence from Mesopotamia and Central Asia. Over time, it spread across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, becoming both a […]
For centuries ornithologists relied on binoculars, mist nets, banding stations, and direct observation to determine which bird species occupied a particular habitat. Today, however, an extraordinary new tool is transforming the field: environmental DNA, commonly called eDNA. This technique allows scientists to detect birds not by seeing or hearing them, but by identifying tiny fragments
War has shaped avian populations in ways that are both devastating and, at times, paradoxically beneficial. The immediate and most obvious effects are direct mortality and habitat destruction. Modern warfare brings aerial bombardment, artillery, and chemical contamination, all of which can kill birds outright or destroy nesting and foraging habitats. Wetlands are drained or polluted,
The Red-tailed Hawk (along with the Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned Hawks) was once called a “Chicken Hawk,” and the Red-shouldered Hawk was known as the “Hen Hawk.” Undoubtedly, they took a few chickens—but only rarely. Like most stories of wild predators attacking domestic animals, their impact was greatly exaggerated. There’s one story about a farmer who
Now that it is almost Christmas, you will hear the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” created in about 16th century England. This song has more birds in it than any other holiday song. You know, “On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me a partridge in a pear tree.” The
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Woodpeckers are successful creatures and well-known to everyone. Perhaps the most famous woodpecker is Woody, the cartoon woodpecker, but the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, very likely extinct since 1948, is the most well-known real one. There are many kinds of woodpeckers in the world, around 250 species. Propped against the side of a tree trunk, they rapidly
Why do Woodpeckers Peck? Read More »
This is the time of year you see flocks of birds heading south. If they are geese, they typically fly in a skein or V formation. Ducks fly in looser skeins, and smaller birds like shorebirds and songbirds fly basically in a bunch. Pelicans and cormorants fly in a line. And many blackbirds and starlings
Flocks Heading South for the Winter Read More »
I receive all kinds of questions from around the world, and I have been contacted by newspapers, magazines, radio and TV shows, Hollywood producers, authors, artists, scientists, architects, and even a fighter pilot in Iraq, asking about some aspect of birds. Mostly they are straightforward questions about identification, bird houses, feeding, behavior, diseases, etc., but
Do Ducks’ Quacks Echo? And Other Bird Myths [Updated] Read More »
Birds have been around for over 200 million years. Of perhaps 125,000 avian species that existed during that time, over 11,000 still populate every habitat on Earth except the center of Antarctica and the depths of the oceans. Hominids have been around for maybe six million years, and modern humans only around 200,000 years. But
Birds in Modern Life Read More »
In the northern hemisphere spring and summer are the times of the year birds are breeding – singing, courting, nesting, egg-laying, incubating, and feeding young. For most songbirds, incubation will last about 7-10 days and the young remain in the nest after hatching while the parents feed them. As the young grow, the nest eventually
