Other Animals

A palm cockatoo pair perches near a tree-cavity nest. Photo courtesy of courtesy of Christina N. Zdenek Birds and their mating rituals! Some dance, others preen, and still others perform intricate movements to attract the eyes of a favored beauty. For wild palm cockatoos, it is a creative display of personalized drumsticks that gets the

The afternoon heat draped across Murthy Kantimahanti as he entered Baruva, a village in the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. He gently pushed through the murmuring crowd gathered at the corral, revealing the body of a goat killed the previous night. Baruva and several other villages had been plagued by livestock predation for nearly

This summer, I wrote about the boom experienced by the puffin colony on the island of Skellig Michael in Ireland. Conservation efforts targeting Skellig Michael seem to have been the cause of this boom, which was an exciting event despite the fact that it was far from enough to put a stop to the general

If you’ve ever tried stargazing in a city, you might have an idea of how powerful light pollution is. In densely populated areas, even the brightest stars can be difficult to spot at night, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. It has been estimated that over 80% of humanity, and more than

Webinar: Translating Parrot: Choosing, Adopting & Bringing Home An Older Parrot Date: Friday, October 20, 2023 Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter) Join us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine. Our special guest, Pamela

Birdwatching comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. There are birders whose passion and purpose is bird photography. They may sit in the same position for hours, waiting to snap the perfect shot. Some birders are life list junkies. They travel the globe hoping to experience a rare and highly anticipated encounter with a

Webinar: The Grey Way—The Older Grey NEW Date: Friday, October 13, 2023 Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter) Join us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine. Our special guest, Lisa Bono, CPBC, owner and

Hummingbirds may look delicate and beautiful, but beneath that jewel-colored exterior these tiny nectar-sippers are territorial brawlers. Ask any seasoned birdwatcher and they’ll tell you: when two male hummers show up at one feeder there is bound to be a fight. And it isn’t just males. Hummingbirds have to consume enormous amounts of nectar to

Webinar: Avian Vet Insider: Geriatrics – Is My Parrot a Senior & What Should I Do? Date: Friday, October 6, 2023 Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter) Join us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA

Even James Audubon had his nemesis bird, the chestnut-sided warbler!Mdf, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Birdwatching is a dedicated passion for many people. They track, travel, and otherwise set their own stage when it comes to the pursuit of birds to view. These people are their own breed. They can determine the locality of

The relationship between pest management and birds of prey has always been delicate. In some instances, birds of prey are though of as an essential line of defense against pest animals. It isn’t always an adversarial relationship. For an example, just look to the hawks that many coastal cities are currently employing to chase away

Go to our sponsor https://betterhelp.com/clintsreptiles for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help. The blue insularis pit viper (Trimeresurus insularis), also known as the Komodo Island pit viper, or the white lipped pit viper has to be one of the most beautiful

Hurricane Idalia struck Florida on August 30th, 2023. I was a powerful storm that was classified as a category four hurricane. As it climbed further north and dumped heavy rain across huge swathes of the East Coast, the violent winds began to weaken until the hurricane was weak enough to be classified as a tropical

Jean-Gaël “JG” Collomb, CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Network, appeared on KQED’s Forum today alongside Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, and Jeneria Lekilelei, Ewaso Lions’ Community Conservation Director, to discuss conservation and the importance of inspiring hope as we protect our planet’s wildlife. Dr. Goodall reflected on her incredible career as a trailblazer in great ape

A few months ago, we reported on the humorous viral story of the Blackpool Zoo’s human seagull deterrents. The zoo’s job posting made waves around the world with its request for outgoing, friendly, and visitor focused applicants who would be comfortable wearing a giant bird costume. You read that right. The Blackpool Zoo advertised its

Hawaiin Crow U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Nature and catastrophic events often go hand in hand. We have heard tales of hurricanes and efforts to protect aviaries and bird centers that were in the middle of them. We’ve witnessed the tragic event of the Australian bushfires that decimated many species

Community engagement is vital to conservation success—it allows conservationists to involve local people in the management and protection of the wildlife they live alongside, while also improving their livelihoods and granting them access to exciting new opportunities. Members of local communities also bring their own immense knowledge and talents to conservation, as seen in the

If your mental image of a bird’s nest resembles mine, then it is probably something like this: a cup of twigs and grass, woven together with random odds and ends. Some spiderwebs here, a length of twine there; all shaped by a pair of birds to shelter a clutch of delicate eggs. The reality of

Griffin (left) and Athena (right) arriving at the B&B; eating snacks at the B&B. Images courtesy of Dr. Irene Pepperberg Not too long ago, the apartment in which the parrots were residing needed some repairs— repairs extensive enough that we really didn’t want the birds fully present for the duration. None of my research associates

The melting of the ice caps has long been a major talking point for conversations about global warming, climate change, and humanity’s role in earth’s changing ecology. The wildlife of the cold Antarctic regions are often at the forefront of these conversations, as are changes in sea levels and the ripples of these changes that

A grim phenomenon took place in Antarctica’s Bellingshausen Sea in spring of 2022. Researchers recently determined that, due to climate change causing sea ice in the region to vanish, unprecedented breeding failure has occurred for emperor penguins. Of the five colonies found there, the chicks in four of them did not survive to fledge. Without

Elephants are amazing, intelligent, enormous, charismatic animals that are loved by people all over the world, but their relatives are REALLY WEIRD! How weird? I’d be happy to explain because the Afrotheria (elephants and their closest relatives) has got to be one of the strangest and most diverse groups of mammals on the planet! #clintsreptiles

Ospreys are large and instantly recognizable birds of prey. Their unique shape and markings help them stand out from their fellow raptors, as does their incredible tendency to perform aerial dives to snatch live fish out of the water to eat. Fittingly, nicknames for Ospreys include the “sea hawk,” “river hawk,” and “fish hawk.” What’s

According to Buddhist legend, the young Siddhartha Gautama, the prince who would one day become the Buddha, rescued a Sarus Crane. In some versions of the story, Prince Siddhartha and his cousin were practicing archery when his cousin struck the bird with an arrow. When his cousin stepped forward to claim his prize, Siddhartha intervened

What looks like a Muppet and sounds like a machine gun? Why it’s the Shoebill Stork, of course! These tall wading birds are instantly recognized for their unique appearance. Long elegant legs allow the Shoebill Stork to reach up to five feet tall. The most distinctive feature of the Shoebill Stork is its namesake bill.

Webinar: Translating Parrot: The Best Life – Tips & Essential Practices for Parrots of All Sizes Date: Friday, September 22, 2023 Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter) Join us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA

If you have never heard of a Secretary Bird, you’re in for a treat. Although these largely terrestrial birds of prey are related to falcons, one look at the Secretary Bird should tell you why they belong to their very own family. Long legs, a crest of elegant black feathers and a matching long tail,

The threat of extinction looms large over many species. We’re all uncomfortably aware that there are more than a few species of parrots near the extinction threshold, a line that we would rather not cross. Causality outlooks for many species range from disturbed habitats, climate disruption, invasive predators, and poachers who have helped deplete the

Butterflies are crustaceans, but that is far from the worst piece of information that I have to share with you today. It gets SO MUCH WORSE! So what is a crustacean? Why are butterflies part of the group? And how could it get worse? Let’s find out! #clintsreptiles #phylogeny #crustacean ==== Attribution: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aq6IqU8uJv5QopNEscBvLAp_OzzTsBID479HnWNv1H8/edit?usp=sharing ==== Clint

Image by JOMON JOSEPH from Pixabay With the abundance of hydro flask choices flooding the store aisles and various types of filtered water pitchers to fill them, there’s no excuse for us humans not to drink our daily dose of clean, chilled-to-our-liking water. But, for our feathered friends, getting enough clean water takes more effort