Dr. Roger Lederer

Bird Mites

August 13, 2019August 13, 2019 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

Bird Mite From the Middle English meaning very small or Middle Dutch meaning small copper coin, we get the term mite. Mites are small arthropods (joint-legged animals like insects, crayfish, and spiders) belonging to the class Arachnida (spiders and allies). Most mites are tiny, less than 1 mm in length, and have a simple, unsegmented body…

Big Bird

August 7, 2019August 7, 2019 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

Elephant Bird Even though Big Bird was 8 feet two inches tall, he wasn't the biggest bird we know about. The biggest bird that ever lived was the Elephant Bird of Madagascar that stood nearly 10 feet tall and weighed about 1700 pounds. Its egg weighed 22 pounds. Extinct since…

Birding Namibia

July 30, 2019July 30, 2019 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

Ruff Namibia, with the second least dense human population (after Mongolia), sits on the southwest side of Africa, just above South Africa. I have been fortunate enough to visit this country twice in the last 14 months and of course took some time to birdwatch. Nambia is not particularly known…

Beware, Seagulls

July 23, 2019July 25, 2019 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

Just today I received an email from a reported at a British newspaper in Yorkshire, England, asking if I knew anything about babies (human babies) being attacked by seagulls. No, I hadn't, so I looked it up. Couldn't find any information on baby attacks, but I read about others. One…

Birdman of Las Vegas

July 16, 2019July 25, 2019 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

This is an old blog from 2011 you might not have seen but I think it’s one of the funniest, so here it is. The real Birdman of Las Vegas A while back, I listened to a radio show (Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me) and heard Wayne Newton being interviewed…

Singing for Fun

July 13, 2019 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

[caption id="attachment_9301" align="alignleft" width="300"] European Starling in Breeding Plumage[/caption] In 1889 a religious book emphasized the spur provided by the possession of a song. This notion matched the quotation under examination: A bird sings because it has a song and must sing it. In 1902 a column in “The Brooklyn…

The White-crowned Sparrow Can Teach Us

July 1, 2019August 20, 2019 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

A common winter visitor is the White-crowned Sparrow. This bird nests all over northern North America and the western mountains, wintering in most of the lower 48 states and Mexico. It’s a common bird at bird feeders and in grassy and shrubby areas. The black and white striped head is…

The Mysteries of Eggs

June 25, 2019 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

[caption id="attachment_8494" align="alignleft" width="300"] A Variety of Bird Eggs[/caption] I’ve always known that birds’ eggs are pretty amazing structures. Encased in a shell with everything it needs to produce a new bird, an egg does so in 10 to 60 days, depending on the species. You can get an overview…

Migratory Bird Treaty Act Defiled

June 18, 2019 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

From NPR: The new Secretary of the Interior, responsible for the protection of our natural resources, is a former gas and oil lobbyist. Bernhardt says that responsible energy development on public lands is good for both American taxpayers and towns dependent on oil, gas or coal. The Department of the…

The Brown-headed Cowbird

June 11, 2019 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

[caption id="attachment_10925" align="alignleft" width="259"] Brown-headed Cowbird Male[/caption] We think of a parasite as an organism that lives on or in another organism and derives its food from its host. That’s the common definition, but in use it’s generally broader. Your brother-in-law who constantly borrows money and doesn’t pay it back…

« Previous 1 2 3 4 … 22 Next »