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 while birds have adapted to the changing environments of the world over 200 million years, humans have changed the environment in a far shorter time. A century ago, when Americans could expect to live to their mid-50s, the human population was 1.8 billion; today, the ..read more

It is considered the height of arrogance, and now against the rules of nomenclature, for the discoverer of a species to name the organism after his or herself, but many species have been named in honor of others, such as Baird’s Sandpiper, Queen Anne’s Lace, and Bouganvilla. Spencer Fullerton Baird (1823 -1887) was an American naturalist, ornithologist, ichthyologist, herpetologist, and museum curator; Queen Anne (165-1714) was Queen of England; Bouganvilla, discovered by the French botanist Philibert Commerson in Brazil in the 1760s, was named after his friend Lo ..read more

There are a number of species of birds with widespread distributions such as the Peregrine Falcon, Mallard, and European Starling. Each has a designated scientific name, but all of the nearly 11,000 species of birds have an official common English name as well, as established by the International Ornithological Committee. So for every English-speaking country or individual, a common English name is established for each particular bird, eliminating any confusion among species.  Not everyone speaks English, however, so there are still a variety of common names for one particular bird speci ..read more

Museums did not come about as we know them, places for education, study, and research, until the late 19th century. Before museums, wealthy individuals made their own collections, sometimes in the form of “cabinets of curiosities,” which came about in the sixteenth century. They were not actually cabinets but rooms with a plethora of natural objects gathered by explorers around the world.  In the 1600’s there were no telephones, TVs, radios, or computers. So how would you entertain your guests after a lavish dinner? Perhaps with a live musical performance or play but the aristocrat often ..read more

On April 8, 2024, there was an eclipse. On average, there are total eclipses of the sun every 18 months, so every two or three years. In this century, there will be 224 eclipses, 68 of them in total. Some people are so fascinated by the phenomenon that they travel the world to see each one. I was once on a special cruise to the South Seas – in the areas of Fiji and New Caledonia- to see a total eclipse. My first. Some passengers had seen as many as 19 total eclipses.  There’s a lot of speculation about how eclipses affect birds. Some say birds quit singing or flying or somehow interrupt ..read more

Wendy Valencia via www.eurekalert.org There are lots of examples of birds looking like other things in order to avoid or frighten away predators. Many nightjars (Order Caprimulgiformes) look like leaf litter, bark or leaves. The Brown Creeper blends in with the tree trunks it climbs. The winter plumage Willow Ptarmigan is all white to blend into their snowy landscape. The Sunbittern, when frightened, spreads its wings to display its eye-like markings as if it were a fierce giant. The indigo birds and whydahs of Africa are nest parasites; their young imitate the gape pattern of the young of the ..read more

Swarovski Optik There’s a new development in AI and this one pertains to birds. Swarovski is coming out with Optik Ax Visio smart binoculars – the world’s first AI-supported binoculars that claim to help you identify 9000 species of birds as well as other animals. I haven’t used them so I can’t speak from personal experience and at the price approaching $5000, it’s not likely I will get a pair soon. Hopefully the price will come down. You can read more about how they work on Swarovski’s Ax Visio website. I have used a few “smart” applications to identify plants – take a picture with Picture Th ..read more

The strange title is simply a euphemism for “birds eating poop.” You are familiar with bird poop as that white stuff deposited on car side view mirrors, pool decks, and window ledges, but new research reported in the National Library of Medicine provides a different way to look at it. Just as in our gut, the digestive system of birds contains a multitude of microbial flora and fauna that help in extracting energy from food and generally keep the digestive system healthy. The early bird may get the worm, but eating feces may be more important. Over 40 percent of the world’s birds are migratory ..read more

Throughout my biological education and career, identification “keys” were very handy. Called “dichotomous” keys because they typically branch in two, they look like an upside-down tree with many branches. Identifying bird specimens in the hand with a key is pretty simple. The first choice might ask whether the bill is straight or curved. If it is straight you choose that branch, eliminating all the birds with curved bills. Then the second choice might be long vs. short legs. Choose long and all the short-legged birds are eliminated. And so on down the key until you eliminate every other bird a ..read more

In North America about half of all the migrating birds on the continent average 860 miles on their southward journey. The other half averages 1960 miles. Sort of illogical, given that migration is a dangerous activity, the birds that travel 1960 miles have a 23% death rate over the winter while those traveling the shorter 860 miles have a greater death rate at 35%. This is a vast oversimplification as we’re lumping lots of birds into only two categories. But it actually makes sense. Although travelling farther has its risks, spending the winter in colder climes farther north is more hazardous ..read more