I received an email the other day from someone who destroyed the nest of a bird which was built in a patio cover next to the house. She thought it was a health hazard. That is highly unlikely. Birds, however, do carry a variety of diseases, some of which can be transmitted to humans but …
I have taken photos of birds in the field, primarily for research purposes. Mostly they were terrible. A friend of mine who sees himself as a great bird photographer has made albums of his photos, framed blowups, and entered art shows. They were not much better than mine, unless you consider blurry shots a form …
Madagascar, the fourth largest island in the world, is an unusual environment and as a result, 90 percent of its plant and animal species are endemic. It has 23 species of raptors, 17 diurnal and 6 nocturnal. Of these, 13 are endemic to the island. The Madagascar Serpent Eagle (Eutriorchis astur) is one of the …
If you Google “life list”, you come up with various definitions such as goals for your life, bucket list wishes, or any other list of things you want to possess or achieve. Some people want to visit every major league ballpark or every state capitol building or own all the versions of Beanie Babies. But …
Bustards, the largest flying birds, are ground-dwelling birds found in Africa, Europe, and Asia. There are 26 species in the family Otitidae, ranging in size from 16 to 60 inches. The Great Bustard (left) can weigh as much as 40 pounds while the smallest species, the Little Brown Bustard, weighs around 1.6 pounds. Bustards are omnivorous, …
Birds are a pretty homogeneous group. They all have feathers, lay eggs, and lack teeth, for instance. It’s easy to generalize, but there are nearly 11,000 species and each is unique. So once in a while I want to write about one particular species. Today, the European Goldfinch. The European Goldfinch is an iconic bird, …
Orville Wright hit a bird with the Wright Flyer while flying over an Ohio cornfield in 1905. On October 4, 1960, Eastern Air Lines Flight 375 struck a flock of European starlings during take-off. All four engines were damaged and the aircraft crashed in the Boston harbor with 62 fatalities. Bird collision with aircraft is …
Every once in a while, I like to step back from my usual patter about the interesting things in the bird world and just talk about one bird in particular. This is about one I have seen many times but they always surpise me with their unusual appearance. Widespread across much of the Old World, …
Old Chinese Proverb: “Wisdom begins with putting the right name on a thing” There are a number of species of birds with widespread distributions such as the Peregrine Falcon, Mallard, and European Starling. Each has a scientific name and all of the nearly 11,000 species of birds have an official common English name as well, …
Last blog I wrote about Pesky Birds. There are legitimate situations where birds need to be chased away or eliminated and lots of methods for doing so. What I mean by legitimate are situations like birds destroying crops, posing a health hazard, or interfering with air traffic. I don’t consider birds pecking at your window, …
