10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2021

Some other members of the shrike family were a bit less testosterone-driven at Nanhui – like this Bull-headed Shrike … … this rather attractive-looking Tiger Shrike … … or one of the many Brown Shrikes passing through Nanhui on migration. Then, I was not sure whether this was the right thing to do.

Birds 217

Birds LACS France Japan 217

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

They may be about bird eggs ( The Most Perfect Thing: The Inside (and Outside) of a Bird’s Egg , 2016), or a 17th-century ornithologist ( Virtuoso by Nature: The Scientific Worlds of Francis Willughby, 2016), or How Bullfinches learn songs from humans ( The Wisdom of Birds: An Illustrated History of Ornithology.

Dissection 208

Dissection Birds Research Europe 208

10,000 Birds

MAY 25, 2023

Note to other species: better do not rely on mature primary forests, as this may lead to extinction. This says more about my inability to differentiate between warbler species than about the rarity of the bird – but the bird was kindly singing. Also, do not smoke as it is not good for your health.

Birds 130

Birds Raised Cattle Mammals 130

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2018

The Juniper Titmouse ( Baeolophus ridgwayi ) is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. One of my favorite bird species living by my house is the Juniper Titmouse. Although the Juniper Titmouse is not officially a threatened species, its numbers have been declining due to loss of habitat. Others had more luck.

2017 146

2017 New Mexico Groups Abandon 146

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2019

I like observing them, reading about them, grappling with species and subspecies identification, and even—on a good day—talking about sparrow taxonomy. Peterson Reference Guide to Sparrows of North America covers 61 species of the New World sparrow family Passerellidae that breed in Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico.

North America 141

North America Sparrows America United States 141

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2022

I saw two Pitta species at Hongbenghe, both among the slightly less glamourous among the pitta family: The Blue-naped Pitta … … and the closely related Rusty-naped Pitta. It seems that this is another species for which the standard phrase of scientists anywhere, “more research needed”, applies.

Birds 147

Birds Myanmar China Chicago 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2018

I have observed this species many times (my eBird says 28 times this year alone) and never had one landing near me. Should I add, in this green oasis 152 bird species were recorded in the last three and a half years and that the two local White-tailed Eagle pairs are still loyal to their nesting territories.

2016 165

2016 Eagles Birds Otters 165

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2012

Or, Pygmy leaf-folding frogs, Afrixalus brachycnemis, from Tanzania, tiny climbing frogs who lay their eggs in leaves and then fold the leaves over them for protection, sealing the nest with secretions. There is a large family of frogs, Bufonidae, that includes most of the warty, hoppy creatures we think of as toads.

Reptiles 181

Reptiles Madagascar Family New York City 181

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2014

Did I dare dip my toe into this catalog of tantalizing species? Not a great place for a family vacation, though I think Duncan will disagree. The Indexes show images of the most common birds of the area against a painted background, with page references to species accounts. Now, I’m not so sure. Back to the field guide!

Brunei 172

Brunei Birds Asia China 172

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

First published in 1973 in association with the Asa Wright Center, the book focuses on species descriptions, with illustrations grouped together in plates positioned in the center of the book. It is organized taxonomically, with families identified by first scientific and then popular name. The AOU has not accepted that split.

Trinidad 188

Trinidad Birds South America Research 188

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

ForestPuffin was targeting this species as it is very habitat dependent and, unbeknownst to me, such habitat exists within a big stone’s throw of my house. Second they are reliant on Horseshoe Vetch on which they lay their eggs and on which the caterpillars feed. The male is on the left.

Rabbits 155

Rabbits Ireland 2002 Sheep 155

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2018

It’s not often that we have the opportunity to glimpse the home life of albatrosses, nor of any seabird species. Where does the female Emperor Penguin go after she has produced that one egg and handed it over to the male for incubation? Technology to the rescue! What about incubation shifts?

Albatross 114

Albatross Penguins Research Breeding 114

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2022

At the very least appreciated for their hard-shell adaptation, the way they quietly survive in ponds, rivers, oceans, islands, forests, even, for a few species, deserts, and, if you are of a certain age, their cultural depiction as ninja warriors. Or that tortoises and terrapins are considered part of the turtle family.

Turtles 188

Turtles Tortoises Family Terrapins 188

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

” Writing about owls means writing about roughly 250 species (I counted 245 on the 2022 Clements spreadsheet, but I might have missed a few, and we all know that each classification system is different). These are behaviors that are most likely to vary across species and topics that make for compelling stories.

Owls 199

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 199

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2013

The story of the cahow, a “Lazurus species” that was thought to be extinct for over 300 years and then discovered to be breeding on a tiny remote island in Bermuda, is part of modern birding legend. It is hypothesized, for example, that nocturnal seabirds like the Bermuda Petrel eat bioluminescent prey. She uses both sources well.

Birds 164

Birds Rats Breeding 2012 164

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2012

The boys knew what Owls looked like, they saw Screech Owls (and Barred and Great Horned Owls) at a local wildlife park, and we photographed Burrowing Owl families every year at Brian Piccolo Park. Seuss’s Horton Hatches An Egg precedes Eastman’s book by twenty years. So, they knew that these were Real Owls. In Are You My Mother?

Birds 204

Birds Owls Switzerland Lions 204

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

Even the Latin species name soror (“sister”) indicates the similarity to another pitta species (blue-naped). The eBird description of the Small Niltava starts with the surprisingly dull statement that “size distinguishes this species from other niltavas” Who would have thought.

China 216

China Birds Pythons Eagles 216

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

I’ve been fortunate to see two Penguin species in the wild (African and Galapagos) and have dreamed of seeing more–maybe even all!–especially The goal of Around the World For Penguins is simple: Describe the 18 species of penguin and their breeding grounds “from the perspective of a traveller.”

Penguins 277

Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 277

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 29, 2023

It depicted a Common Loon ( Gavia immer ) sitting on eggs on a seemingly crude nest. Until recently, it was considered to be the same species as the Eurasian three-toed Woodpecker (P. John Livingston’s fresh and informative text makes the perfect complement to Lansdowne’s drawings.” It caught my full attention and entranced me.

Birds 205

Birds Woodpeckers Canada Collecting 205

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2022

It’s a unique bird, even its scientific name is wonderful, so it’s not surprising that Gerard Gorman, Woodpecker Expert Supreme, has written a book all about the species. But they are woodpeckers: the genus Jynx of the subfamily Jynginae of the Picidae family. They are beautiful, but in a different way.

Woodpeckers 223

Woodpeckers Hungary Thailand 2014 223

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2022

I guess I would therefore usually not include them in this post were it not for the information below. According to an article in the Guardian , “nearly a quarter of black swan families are parented by homosexual couples, the males sometimes mating with a female simply to have a chick. I thought I needed to mention this.

Birds 196

Birds China Pythons Breeding 196

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2016

And one that is easy to use, because, let’s face it, you want to spend most of your time looking at wildlife, not searching for information. Tall grass, grass in burnt areas, leaves stems, small mammals, large mammals, invertebrates, birds, bird eggs, even hyena feces (that’s the Leopard Tortoise). Such a great variety of food!

Rhinos 232

Rhinos Mammals Animal White Rhinos 232

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2017

The guide covers 747 breeding residents or regular migrants, 29 introduced species, and 160 vagrants, a total of 936 species. The authors emphasize in the Introduction the great degree to which the text and illustrations are based on current scientific information. 210-531), indicated by brown page tabs.

Australia 105

Australia Birds Penguins 2015 105

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2012

A displaying Sunbittern close to Selva Verde Lodge, Costa Rica Secondly, Sunbitterns belong to a monotypic family, Eurypygidae. Already a shy bird, the Sunbittern takes secrecy to the next level when it comes to its family life. Few nests of this species have been located, with the majority in overgrown and inaccessible locations.

Costa Rica 249

Costa Rica Suriname Eggs Hunting 249

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 16, 2015

Each year Hog Island offers programs, taught by a stellar staff of naturalists and artists, to groups of all kinds (teenagers, adults, families). The process took eight years and has since been duplicated all over the world with a variety of species, explained one of our guides … the genial and informative Dr. Kress himself.

Puffins 246

Puffins Birds Groups West Virginia 246

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2021

This may have been partly a leftover from the Victorian fascination with egg collecting (the infamous passion known as oology), but probably more from people’s burgeoning interest in the nests and eggs found in their gardens and fields, gateway artifacts to a newer hobby called birdwatching. Harrison. (A Baicich and Colin J.

Eggs 218

Eggs Birds United States Sparrows 218

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2019

While growing up in western New York during the 70s and 80s, sure, we could have found some information, some illustrations of toucans at the local public library. Like crows and jays, they are social, vocal, intelligent, and omnivorous (including eating eggs and nestlings). Yes, this bird acts like a jay. Female Yellow-eared Toucanet.

Costa Rica 166

Costa Rica Panama Eating Eggs South America 166

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 18, 2014

The vast majority of the 10,000+ living species of birds are passerines, and the vast majority of those have a similar system of breeding: Mom and dad bird make a nest and share parental responsibilities roughly equally, if not identically. There are variations on that theme, of course. Even the non-passerines often follow this pattern.

Breeders 194

Breeders Breeding Birds Groups 194

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2012

Although designed as a field guide, it is a hefty book, 376 pages long, covering 336 species. Many species are dimorphic, with females looking different from males. Many species also differ with age. And, there are some odonate species that include andromorphs, females which look like the males. Yes, 675 photographs.

United States 224

United States Costa Rica Massachusetts North America 224

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2013

I couldn’t wait to give names to all my new species. I tried using the Internet, but found it frustrating for all the usual reasons; websites either didn’t include all species or were difficult to use for identification. Each species account is 2-pages long, one page of text and one page of photographs.

Ireland 168

Ireland France Breeding Eggs 168

10,000 Birds

JULY 2, 2019

And, I looked at my eBird list and realized I’ve seen nine species of Antpitta and one of Gnateater. Antpittas and Gnateaters covers 64 species in six genera and two families. (I The Species Accounts feature highly detailed text by Harold Greeley, distribution maps, and over 250 photographs by a number of photographers.

Research 135

Research Eggs South America Costa Rica 135

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 29, 2024

The species name athertoni is derived from Lt. Unfortunately, there is not much literature on the species except for the inevitable analysis of the mitochondrial genome. As usual in China, there are some anonymous Leaf Warbler species – but who cares, apart from Bella of Alpinebirding ?

Squirrels 136

Squirrels Birds China Bears 136

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2011

In southern Africa, there are two species. As I watched, it slowly moved into a patch of dried vegetation and I noticed that it was settling over a single egg. Two or three eggs may be laid and either bird may incubate. I too am fascinated by the name of this species. This comments thread is rather informative as well!

2011 160

2011 Deer Africa Peru 160

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2021

Colombia is one of those countries that Dragan’s dreams are made of: it has 1,965 bird species – more than any other country in the world. Among them are 94 endemics and 101 near-endemics, four introduced species and only 42 vagrants. No matter how big your avian-related library is, this would be a terrific addition to it.

Birds 238

Birds Colombia Collecting Bald Eagle 238

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 5, 2014

32, 1887) and Egg collection (no. But, the limited space also means that information is sometimes compressed and limited. It omits Audubon’s uneven business history, his bankruptcy, and the fact that Lucy, his wife, eventually had to support the family through teaching. There are many unexpected goodies here.

Mauritius 172

Mauritius Collecting Egypt Cyprus 172

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2015

Picidae, Woodpecker, is one of those charismatic bird families that everybody gets excited about. Woodpeckers of the World: A Photographic Guide is the first major guide to family Picidae in 20 years. The Species Accounts vary in length from one to three pages. The taxonomy is tricky, as Gorman notes in the introduction.

Woodpeckers 233

Woodpeckers 2002 Europe Research 233

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2017

Larger, denser with avian information than your typical field guide, a Crossley Guide bursts with bird images, photographic plates that verge on the surreal of birds in all plumages and poses against real-life habitats, informing, sometimes overwhelming us with visual and, if you can take your eyes off the images, textual information.

Ducks 114

Ducks North America Geese Hunters 114