Years ago, I went on an afternoon trip on a
scientific boat on Long Beach Harbor where we dragged a net to see what
biological specimens we could find. Mostly we found tennis shoes, old clothes,
rusty wire, and a lot of plastic items. A new report from the online journal
Marine Pollution Bulletin …

There is no difference between the terms beak and bill, although
beak is more often used when referring to hooked bills. But for a few
exceptions like parrots, the beak is the only tool a bird has and is used in
finding and capturing and manipulating animal prey or plant food, preening,
courtship, defense, …

            I
blogged earlier about the responses of birds to forest fires, and said, like
the Phoenix, birds and forests arise anew from the ashes as forest fires are
natural phenomena and bird species have evolved to survive the effect of the flames.
But things are changing.

          The overwhelming scientific …

My wife and I are writing another book on
birds. This one is a bit more challenging. It’s called “Latin for
Birdwatchers.” Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum …
 Like every scientific discipline and related
endeavors, there are many words derived from the Latin that form the official
language of the discipline and its …

As a kid I became interested in tropical fish and all
through high school I raised fish and traded them to pet shops for fish food
and supplies. I was pretty good at keeping and breeding all sorts of freshwater
fish and thought I would become an ichythyologist. Instead I became an
ornithologist. What …