Hi, I am looking for a book to ID birds of European birds, but the most complete, most information dense possible.

Preferably one that really explains the differences between ages and between subspecies.

I feel like the apps and common field guides are good but they don't really have that much information.

I can understand a blind bird being unreleasable, but humans with only one functioning eye are not equivalent to a human who is blind in both eyes.

I’ve got a small bird box with camera up in the San Francisco Bay Area California.

After more than a year, a Bewick’s Wren has been visiting overnight.

Since I have motion detection, one thing I have noticed is that the bird is on an exact schedule with respect to dawn and dusk, following the extending day like clockwork.

The temperature here is generally fairly stable, but on colder days the bird leaves later and returns earlier.

This then also made me wonder if it’s the light or the temperature, or both? What happens if it’s cloudy? What about raining?

I assume there’s been studies about the habitual schedules of birds?

When did you guys start getting birds to actually eat from your feeder? Are they usually scared of the big looking ones with the camera since that’s what I have? I know that it’s winter and in the Carolina’s where I’m located you really only see northern mockingbirds around this time, but I’d still love to see some action since I’m obsessed with birds!

If anyone has a time frame that they remember about their feeder or advice on how to get some more traction, maybe what foods to buy, it would be so helpful!

I've got a pecan tree in my yard that may need to be taken down soon as it may be unhealthy and it is too close to mine and my neighbor's homes to risk it falling. I'm having an arborist come take a look to see if that is necessary. My only real issue with this is that I'm fairly certain a Red-Bellied Woodpecker lives in the tree. If not, he's at least been a very frequent visitor for the last 8 years. I also have Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers on my property but this bird leaves horizontal lines of holes all over the tree which my, very little, research says the Downy and Hairy woodpecker don't do. My question is should I be concerned with trying to create another nesting area for this woodpecker if the tree has to go or would they easily find a new tree that is suitable. I have two very large water oaks. I'm in a suburban area but there are a few lots with larger trees like mine withing a mile or so radius.

TLDR: woodpecker lives in my pecan tree. Tree may have to go. If so, is there anything I should do to provide a home for the woodpecker?

This was a while ago at a nature reserve. Is it a female?

I am a casual birder (and also a scientist, but certainly not in this field). I understand that what defines a species is not as clear cut as laypeople would assume; the boundaries of species are always in flux; and scientists themselves would no doubt disagree on the definitions. That being said, the question of chickadees and juncos has been puzzling me for a while... so here I am, hoping that the experts have an answer!

The black-capped chickadee and Carolina chickadee are considered distinct species, even though they can interbreed in areas where their ranges overlap. Meanwhile, the different subspecies of the dark-eyed junco, like the slate-colored and oregon juncos, are classified as part of the same species, despite having distinct geographic ranges and physical differences.

My curiosity was sparked by my move from the chickadee hybridization zone to NorCal last year. I read that the various junco subspecies were considered separate species a few decades ago, and then I thought "well defining what a species is complicated business" and tried not to think too much of it.

Then I did some more research today and formed a working hypothesis based on the information that I read. Based on evolutionary history, did juncos diverge fairly recently and chickadees much earlier? Looking at their DNA, would the differences between juncos be negligible but the differences between chickadees stark? Maybe the juncos freely interbreed while the chickadee hybrids are rare?

Chickadee speciation history: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hybrid-chickadees-reveal-how-species-boundaries-can-shift-and-blur/

Chickadee speciation history: https://www.audubon.org/magazine/dark-eyed-juncos-backyard-gems-come-dazzling-array-colors

tl;dr is this a question of "objective" phylogenetic answers, or a question of the subjectiveness of species boundaries?

This lone Robin stops by every day, several times a day and drinks lots of water. Ever since he's found my water source I have to fill it a lot more. Is that typical? I have several crows that drink and a few squirrels, but the Robin appears to out drink them all!

He’s come back a couple of times already and today, I spotted him on the hummingbird feeder ❤️

Do owls and other nocturnal birds go off specifically the sun or more of a time, for example I am in sweden where the time the sun is up varies wildly depending on season?

EDIT: To be more clear does an animal go out a certain amount of time after the sunsets or usually around 9pm for an example of what I'm trying to ask

Hi! I am looking for PhD programs, labs or institutions to pursue a PhD. I am ideally interested in working with raptors and I would prefer it to be in Europe. I have already experience with it working in my masters.

Please let me know if anyone is aware of any good programs or labs based in europe. Thank you!

P.S. I am not sure if this is the best sub for this topic but I couldn't find any other subs.

I’ve been a little shaken up after an incident that occurred yesterday afternoon. Apologies if this is off topic.

I was in a tour van recently.

The van collided (glass windshield) with a kestrel that jumped out of the margin of the road. The van was headed at 60mph and braking, Kestrel was flushing perpendicular to the vehicle, likely 5mph.

The vans windshield sent the bird flying over the car or back from the direction it flushed from.

I was unable to get the van to stop. I’m depressed because I wanted to check and see if it would be viable to take to a rehabber 4 hours away. I’m heartbroken for killing/fatally injuring such a unique bird. I’m so upset this happened in a situation I was unable to usher the bird to a hospital or rehabber. I was just reading the importance of safety for birds on the road. I’m just so disappointed.

The Question: I know kestrels (raptors in general) have survived car collisions. I’m obviously praying that this bird wasn’t left helpless or painfully dying. But I want to be realistic. Does this sound like a survivable incident? Would the bird have likely died on impact? Do birds of this size survive car accidents at slower speeds? It’s a world i’m not familiar with and I know rehabbers know so much more. I’m terribly disappointed I didn’t get the opportunity to evaluate and bring in - even if it was 4 hours away.

Additional information (warning: more death): this area was hellish. Multiple hawks and a barred owl clearly killed within a recent time period. Clearly people are littering a ton. Terrible and sickening.

We have 3 tree swallow nest boxes. I just cleaned them. All had fully developed nests. Two looked used but no sign of eggs. The other had five eggs: one with a hole and the other four not damaged. My guess is that none were successful but the birds tried. I am looking for suggestions on what might have happened and anything I can do to increase the likelihood of a successful nest this year? Any ideas welcome.

Ok please, please can someone help explain what seems to me such a bizarre daily occurrence with birds? It’s either Ravens or Crows and I’m embarrassed to not know the difference, forgive me!

My house is located in San Diego, CA and we’re about 5-10 miles away from the coast in a mixed residential/business type neighborhood. The house is two stories if that makes a difference.

So essentially every day around 6:30/7 AM, we hear the birds cawing and what seems like loud pecking? It always comes from the same area of the roof/house. It lasts for maybe 15 minutes.

That in itself isn’t really the concern, but (coincidentally??) there is a mysterious constant supply of empty peanut shells on the ground directly below where the bird sounds comes from!

We moved here recently and thought the peanut shells were remnants of the last owner, but we deep cleaned and every day there are more peanut shells!

I, honestly, have not seen fully shelled peanuts in ages (except for the time I decided to try Five Guys and regrettably paid $20+ for a burger when In n Out was down the street… but hey, at least I got free shelled peanuts while I waited.. sigh)

Anyway - so do Ravens/Crows eat shelled peanuts? It has to be them right? And where are they getting them from? And why do they eat them at the same location and the same time every day?

The mystery of where the endless supply of shelled peanuts are procured may forever remain unsolved (any San Diegans here aware of a local shelled peanut distributor? Maybe it’s a town tradition, idk, I’m new here), but I’m hoping one of you can help me understand the bird behavior!

Many thanks and deep apologies if I’m as lost asking on this sub as I am attempting to understand this phenomenon.

Hello!

To give some background, I have been feeding the birds in my yard for about 2.5 years so I know who’s here when pretty well. Anyways, I live in the North East US in CT. The starlings typically hang around in the fall in large flocks. But this morning I saw one. No flock in sight, just one. I couldn’t get a super close look at them but it appears as if they have no ailments, no odd behaviors, they seem healthy. The only odd thing is that they’re alone. Is this normal for one to break off to start their own flock or is this a case of someone getting a little lost over winter? Or is it something else?

Thanks!

I live in a city in Germany with two large rivers and there’s quite a number of seagulls around. A couple of weeks earlier I came across a huge flock of them swimming in circles at the same place in one of the rivers. It was at night, so I couldn’t get a picture or anything for reference. They were very close to another and kept swimming in the same circle for over ten minutes.

Can anyone tell me why or what they were doing?