One blog I talked about bird scarers- the human ones. Obviously a boring and tedious job that probably paid minimum wage. So farmers devised a human substitute, the scarecrow. Why it’s not a “scarebird” or “scarestaring”, I don’t know, but the Egyptians were apparently the first to utilize one about 3000 years ago. The Greeks and …
I often get asked, “what’s your favorite bird?” I don’t have one. They are all fascinating, from the common European Starling to the rare Kagu. Some have striking coloration, others display complex or bizarre behaviors, and some are just impressive for their size. Some are ugly. But they are all cool. Another question, though, is …
Hopefully you have paid a bit more attention to birds since I suggested that you try to spy them during your daily activities. Humans have paid attention to them for hundreds of thousands of years and incorporated their images into various symbols and art forms. Now look around your environment and see what bird-related objects you see. …
In the late 1800’s bird feathers, and especially plumes, were literally worth more than gold. The feather trade was active, supplying plumes and even whole birds as hat decorations. Egret colonies were decimated, the adults stripped of plumes while the nestlings starved. “When the Audubon Society first formed in 1886, plume hunters were decimating North American bird …
This is the time of year when birds begin their reproductive cycle in the northern hemisphere. People find eggs, nests, and baby birds and try to help them. Generally, that is not a good idea. Only 10-20% of songbird eggs ever result in an adult bird. The eggs might be infertile, die during incubation due …
I’m looking up information on the internet today and found the Lifestyle Lounge that boldly states that ducks don’t have nerves or blood vessels in their legs and that’s why they can swim in cold water. No, the reason they can swim in cold water has to do with something called “countercurrent exchange” between the blood …
OK, you have read all my blogs for a year, right? So how much do you know about birds? Try this quiz. Don’t Google the answers – try to do it off the top of your head first. How many avian species are there in the world? How many species are flightless? What’s your state …
Ornithological Quiz – what do you know about birds? Read More »
Returning from a short visit to the east coast, I had a lot of time on planes and in the airport to read. In some newspaper, a full page ad touted Hyaluronic acid, made from rooster combs, injected into the knee for osteoarthritis. According to the National Institutes of Health which I trust for health …
As you walk around the city or countryside, you might occasionally spot a dead mouse, rat, or squirrel. Driving down the highway, you regularly see road-killed raccoons, opossums, or some other mammal. But how many dead birds have you seen? Maybe an occasional road kill, but that’s all. Why is that? Birds are light in …
According to the New York Times, the oldest known wild bird in the United States, is an albatross. “Wisdom, a Laysan albatross who lives in the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in the Pacific northwest of the main Hawaiian island, is 60 years old. Among birds in the wild, albatrosses are believed to be the species that …
