The fact that the little owl is useful to peasants in ridding their grain fields of mice, which often bring famines by a sudden vast increase numbers, only confirmed the owl as a symbol of the Immortal Maid. These little screech-owls may have protected other crops from mice beside grain, the olive for instance, which […]

[text by Steve Boyes, National Geographic Newswatch] Up until this year, an estimated 120,000 – 140,000 Amur falcons (Falco amurensis) were being slaughtered in a remote part of north-eastern India at this exact time each year. In 2012, Shashank Dalvi and Ramki Sreenivasan documented this shocking massacre as tens of thousands of migrating falcons congregate […]

Poster made of the drawings of John Gerhard Keulemans. A Belgian native working for the British Natural Museum. He became one of the defining nature artists of th 19th century.

Some birds are thought to possess supernatural powers. The sorokocho’, or Masked Tityra (Tityra semifasciata), is said to have specific healing abilities. For example, to cure warts somewhere on one’s body, that person must find a group of these Masked Tityra singing in a tree. By dancing enthusiastically along with the displaying birds, this will […]

It was not often that the tortoise and the eagle met, for the one spent his days in the clouds and the other in the under a bush. However, when the eagle heard what a warm-hearted little fellow the tortoise was, he went to pay a call on him. The tortoise family showed such pleasure […]

Tawaru-wari was a Carib Indian who one day caught a young eagle, which he took home with him. It became quite tame, and Tawaru-wari had to go out regularly and shoot baboons to feed it with. But the baboons did not like this, so they held a meeting among themselves and agreed that if the […]

From 1902: This well-known species is distributed over the entire Paltearctic Region, although of very rare occurrence in the extreme eastern portion. In Western Europe it is migratory to a very great extent, although in some countries a resident species. When on the ground, and in the attitude of observation, it droops its wings a […]

At PoB we support efforts to protect the avian wildlife vigoriously. This post is dedicated to all participating in the EPIC program. This program resulted in the first breeding altas of the Lesser Antilles. On the website [http://www.epicislands.org/] all information about this major effort is compiled. Visit the site and, if nothing else, state your […]

During a animal park visit I shot this photo of a whitish female House Sparrow. The one in the back is a normal colored female. They are free flying birds living of the food spoils in the zoo. Question is, is it a normal Sparrow with abnormal feather coloring or it is a hybrid. The […]