That Bird Blog – Bird Care and History for Pet Birds

Passionate birders are a breed apart – I know folks who think nothing of flying from NYC to Argentina at a moment’s notice in the hope of spotting a non-descript sandpiper that happened to show up unexpectedly.  Some such people, however, sometimes (rarely!) manage to talk non-birders into becoming their significant others, in which case such excesses might be frowned upon.  Then there are those who enjoy bird-watching, but would like to also swim, ski or visit museums on their vacations.  Fortunately, there are options that can accommodate all levels of bird-watching enthusiasm.

Birding Plus…

The Sierra Club, the USA’s oldest grassroots conservation organization, sponsors a number of Volunteer Vacations – trips that include birding and conservation-oriented activities while leaving time for other pursuits as well. Read More »

Many soccer fans have favorite methods of predicting game outcomes, but 2 bird-based “systems” that arose during the recent World Cup mania struck me as truly unique and, in one case, quite disturbing.  The species involved were Rose-Ringed Parakeets (Psittacula krameri) and Cape Vultures (Gryps coprotheres).

Singapore’s Fortune Teller

Mani the Rose-Ringed Parakeet had already built up quite a reputation as a soothsayer in Singapore’s “Little India” community before this year’s World Cup catapulted him into international fame.  Owned by an 80-year-old fortune teller, the bird had been offering gambling and marriage “advice” to local people for years.  Read More »

Who hasn’t marveled at the way bird flocks seem to move as a single organism? Groups ranging in size from a dozen Zebra Finches to millions of Budgerigars change direction with astonishing fluidity and speed, confusing predators and leaving observers to wonder just  how they mange to accomplish such feats.

Flexible Leadership

While birding in deserts, grasslands and other open habitats that allowed long, clear views of large flocks, I’ve tried, unsuccessfully, to determine if it was a single leader “calling the shots” or some sort of unobservable group dynamics at work.

Recently, researchers at Oxford and Eotvos Universities have provided part of the answer, at least where pigeons are concerned.  Research published in the April, 2010 edition of the journal Nature, establishes that pigeons use flexible hierarchy system to make group decisions (direction of travel, choice of feeding site, etc.).  Read More »

Spring brings with it a real treat for US birders – the return of the 13 species of Hummingbirds that nest here.  Growing up in NYC, I was able to see only 1, the Ruby Throated Hummingbird, but I did not lament that fact at all.  Like all of its relatives, this little gem never failed to put on an enthralling show when it stopped by. Read More »

Like most old zookeepers, I have a soft spot for old animals.  I’ve been fortunate in having had the chance to care for a number of birds that survived to record longevities – a Pell’s Fishing Owl and Smoky Eagle Owl of 50+ years, a tiny Egyptian Plover that lived into its 20’s, and any number of Parrots.  But it is a “50-something”-year-old Marabou Stork (Leptoptilos crumeniferus), known to his Bronx Zoo caretakers as “Jake”, who stands out most vividly in my mind. Read More »