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 […]
The Turdidae, True Thrushes Read More »
I led a bird walk a couple of weeks ago and one of the participants pointed out a bird on a power line quite a distance away and said it was yellow. I put my binocs on it just as the Mourning Dove flew off. Learning to identify birds is a fairly easy task if
Identifying Birds with GISS or JIZZ Read More »
Just returned from a week in New York City. Of course, the only birds I saw in Manhattan were the usual suspects: Eurasian Starlings, Rock Pigeons, and House Sparrows, all well adapted to urban life. Why is it they are so good at surviving the crowded urban jungle? Yes, a number of other species are
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There’s a birdwatcher in Central Park in New York City who calls himself Birding Bob. He leads bird walks in the park for the nominal sum of $10. But according to the New York Times, Bob ruffles the feathers of some birdwatchers. What he does is play bird calls, which some birdwatchers consider unethical because
I’ve noted before the occasional conflicts between birdwatchers and photographers and I’ve received stories from readers regarding experiences with rude picture-takers. There’s the one about the professional photographer who aggressively pursued a rare Kirtland’s Warbler in front of a group of birdwatchers. He chased to bird out of its hiding place in a bush and
Photobugs and Birds Read More »
Over the last few years there have been sightings of rare birds in Central Park in New York City. Birders were obviously excited to see the Mandarin Duck, Barred Owl, and recently, a Snowy Owl. Of course, the word gets out and avid birders of all types show up to look for these rarities. Perhaps
The Word Spreads Fast Read More »
The British naturalist James Fisher wrote that the first person recorded as feeding wild birds was the 6th-century monk Saint Serf of Fife who tamed a pigeon by feeding it, but the first indication of bird feeding in United States came from Henry David Thoreau who fed birds on Walden Pond in 1845. The first
Diseases at Bird Feeders Read More »
The reasons birds sing is to declare or defend a territory and to attract a mate as part of courtship. They don’t sing because they are happy, although some philosopher and nature guru types might disaagree. Singing attracts attention, which is fine if you want to declare that you are the owner of a particular
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In 2016 there was a study in New Ideas in Psychology entitled On the Nature of Creepiness. An online survey of 1341 individuals asked what appearances and behaviors by others made them feel creepy. Perhaps not surprisingly, the top three occupations listed as creepy are clown, taxidermist, and sex shop owner. The least creepy was
Creepy Birdwatchers? Read More »
An ancient civilization cooking on a mound of sand discovered glass around 3500 BC but it wasn’t until the 16th century that glass was shaped into the first telescope in an arrangement of glass lenses that magnified objects up to 30 times. Later, double telescopes were created – the first binoculars – but awkward and
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