Hello birders,
In the March 23rd issue of "The Economist", an article in the Science and
Technology section cites, quote "over 1 million species of insect, compared
with only 6,000 mammals and 18,000 birds."
I recognize those first two figures, but definitely not the "18,000". I think
this must be a typo. Does anyone know of a source for a number in the 18,000
range?
In most publications I've read in recent years, the number of bird species
around the world is thought to be somewhere between 10,000 and 11,000. Even
Wikipedia roughly confirms this as "approximately ten thousand living species".
I have looked recently at worldwide lists by the (American) AOU, the IOU, and
the Australian national organization. Those lists all show a species total
below 11,000 - although they do list many more thousands of sub-species.
Steve Johnson
Fairfax, Virginia
-- not 100% extra-limital, because at least 1/20 or more of those occur in
Virginia!! --
