10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2017

I was looking for a new project to write about on Wikipedia, something unusual, and this species appealed for reasons I can’t quite define. eBird has a range of data exploration tools that, to my mind, exist help birders bird. It was both mysterious and plain. . It then occurred to me that I could use eBird data to check.

Science 107

Science Argentina South America Uruguay 107

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2011

Crows, no matter the exact species being talked about, are typically recognized as being among the most intelligent of birds. They are trickster gods and crop-plundering pests, harbingers of war and users of tools. Crows are crafty, keen, clever. Crows fascinate people because of their plumage, their behavior, their play.

Fish 157

Fish Family Birds Species 157

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2011

Most of these birds are small, finch-like species with thick, conical bills for cracking seeds or eating insects. He goes on to describe how early classifications of the nine-primaried oscines relied on bill shape to determine family boundaries. A new perspective on tanagers Much of the core of the tanager family remains intact.

2003 210

2003 Sparrows Family South America 210

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2021

The guide has been expertly, even lovingly revised, expanded and updated (as the authors’ names indicate, this is largely a family affair). This second edition covers 685 species found in the continental U.S. and Canada, including some species as far north as Alaska, an increase over the 500 species covered in the first edition.

North America 255

North America America Species 2018 255

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 12, 2015

Conservation is concerned about protecting populations, species, habitats, ecosystems. That conservation uses the death of the species it is trying to save is both paradoxical and not. If tourists are too dim to tell Sierra Leone from Botswana or Tanzania, do we really want to rely on them to save Africa’s species?

Lions 206

Lions Hunting Sierra Leone Buffalo 206

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

Artists rendition of Inkayacu paracasensis There are 17 living species of penguins, which make up their own Linnean family (Spheniscidae), which is the only family in the order Sphenisciformes. Penguins are flightless, but some species locomote over long distances on antarctic ice to travel between breeding grounds and the sea.

Penguins 191

Penguins Seals Peru Science 191

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 3, 2014

I actually have many targets, in a way, a I want to see lots and lots, but there is one species that the reason that the trip is even happening, the animal that has been pretty much the top of my animal bucket list for well over a decade. It’s a species that has bedeviled and bewitched me over the years. The African Wild Dog.

Sharks 172

Sharks Leopards Whales Whaling 172

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 174

Brunei Birds Asia China 174

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2014

So when we were contacted by Mitchell Waite, the creator and owner of the iBird family of apps, offering a promotional code for the new version of iBird Ultimate in return for a review I thought, why not? You can easily scroll through the 940 species of bird included, which covers the United States (including Hawaii) and Canada.

New York 174

New York Battery Hawaii United States 174

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. An array of tools ranging from geolocators to satellite trackers to depth measurers to miniature cameras have been employed by ornithologists and biologists over the past twenty years, yielding scads of information.

Albatross 114

Albatross Penguins Research Breeding 114

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 30, 2017

1,712 species, 12% of which are endemics. News flash–I just received the trip report from Carlos, and the tally is 419 species recorded, of which 16 were heard only; plus Ian and I saw an additional species before the tour started, courtesy of Paulo Boute. Oh my gosh! I shouldn’t have been surprised.

Brazil 148

Brazil Birds Los Angeles Tigers 148

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 26, 2013

Private property holders with prairie/agricultural land can potentially make a big difference in maintaining and recovering populations of many of these charismatic species. Mountain Plover and many other grassland birds have populations in steep decline. Rich in life, rich in birds, yes…but a birder billionaire I am not.

United States 157

United States Protection Endangered Species North America 157

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 194

Trinidad Birds South America Research 194

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

For example, on finding gulls: Close study of gulls is not for everyone, and birders shouldn’t feel obligated to get deep into it if you prefer colorful, less-confusing, families of birds. Most of these photos are by photographers associated with the USFWS and Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources and by Nate.

Birds 263

Birds North Carolina North America Owls 263

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2016

where and when the species is likely to be seen on the east coast, flight style, size and structure as compared to similar species. Of the 426 species on the official state checklist, this guide covers 252. Attention is also paid to when and where each species is likely to be seen in the state.

Pennsylvania 165

Pennsylvania Texas Whales Whaling 165

10,000 Birds

MARCH 26, 2011

Designed by leading field guide authors in their respective styles, it would provide an incredible tool for birders. Future field guides have much room to grow in guides focuses on families of birds. Also many of these books use photos which, although they’re great to look at, don’t always help the birder clinch an ID.

Sparrows 163

Sparrows Birds America North America 163

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2019

So, for example, Essay #15, “Individual Variation,” uses Herring Gulls to introduce the concept that one species, even one species at a specific age, can vary widely in appearance. The Checklist is more than a taxonomic listing of species and chapter number and title; it also contains useful notes on each bird family.

Birds 115

Birds North America Breeding America 115

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2012

The following section on Habitats serves to provide the larger picture, frameworks in which to root the hundreds of individual species to follow. As the above plates on Various Wading Birds show, care is taken to balance text and graphics, with color doubling as both design and educational tool. I do have one nitpick to present.

Massachusetts 207

Massachusetts North America Rhode Island Ohio 207

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 28, 2011

This opening section of the book is excellent in and of itself but this is a field guide so I must, obviously, speak to the book’s merits as a tool for identifying birds. Having never been to Brazil I can’t possibly speak as an expert in terms of what birds are covered or how well species that I have never seen are depicted.

Brazil 200

Brazil Wildlife 2011 Birds 200

4 The Love Of Animals

MARCH 17, 2011

Chimpanzees and elephants grieve the loss of family and friends, and gorillas hold wakes for the dead. Paul’s family noticed that whenever he was about to have an attack, Tinker would get agitated. Crows from the remote Pacific island of New Caledonia show incredibly high-level skills when they make and use tools.

Emotional 100

Emotional Animal Whales Whaling 100

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

More importantly however, there used to be a time when identification guides were published that focussed entirely on the British Isles, leaving out many species of “continental” Europe, and these were labelled “of Britain and Europe” to promote sales outside the UK and Ireland. Next are the tracks of birds.

Europe 165

Europe Mammals Animal Birds 165

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 22, 2015

She is an excellent mother, managing not only to feed her four large cubs, but their visiting father One-eyed who comes by every now and then (he has two more families and being the good father he is, visits them all regularly, usually around lunch time). Conservation endangered species India Mammals tiger' Very dusty Swarovski CLs.

Tigers 243

Tigers India Killing 2012 243

10,000 Birds

MAY 16, 2022

As this African Green Pigeon shows, the color should offer good camouflage for species living on trees. In case you do not know that brimstone is sulfur, the Brimstone Canary brings the point home by having the Latin species name sulphurata. Different bird families, I know. A plausible explanation can be found here.

South Africa 198

South Africa Africa Saint Lucia Birds 198

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 22, 2013

Instant/easy review of digital photos can greatly speed up the process of difficult identifications…many birders now find a camera to be an indispensable tool. Taxonomic tweakings and reshufflings of birds on the Family and Genus levels are too many to count. but it’s safe to say many birders are very optimistic about it.

San Diego 170

San Diego California Condor California Bald Eagle 170

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2014

The second edition of the National Geographic Complete Birds of North America, 2nd Edition has one of the longest book names in bird bookdom: National Geographic Complete Birds of North America, 2nd Edition: Now Covering More Than 1,000 Species With the Most-Detailed Information Found in a Single Volume. This volume is no exception.

North America 177

North America America Birds Family 177

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2018

The hope and claim is that transferring this process to gull identification works more easily and just as accurately (at least for species) as an examination of plumage and molt patterns. Species Accounts. Gulls Simplified covers 25 species. From the Laughing Gull species account. These vary according to species.

North America 199

North America America El Salvador Nicaragua 199

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

The Peterson Reference Guide to Seawatching offers two types of information: Species Accounts–descriptions of 112 birds within 15 families as they appear over and on the water, and Where to Watch, brief descriptions of 47 sites on the North American eastern coast and interior recommended for seawatching. No rails or gallinules.

Ducks 231

Ducks Groups Species North America 231

Reddit Animals

DECEMBER 15, 2023

This species is found on the African continent, in Angola, as well as central, eastern, and southern Africa. Many tarantula species have a special kind of setae, known as urticating hairs , that serve as a defensive weapon. The chimpanzee and the bonobo are the only species in the genus Pan.

Africa 40

Africa Buffalo Ostriches Animal 40

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2011

The Green Heron ( Butorides virescens ) is a spectacular species familiar to anyone who pays attention to the places where water meets land. One could dwell on how convoluted its family tree is… the Butorides complex, as it’s called, is surprisingly complex. And wouldn’t you know it, I was right.

Jamaica 254

Jamaica Fish Adoptable Ducks 254

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2012

I also know the field guides I use very well, and I know where to find which bird species in the book. You see, the species in my field guides, as in the vast majority of field guides everywhere, are in taxonomic order. I knew nothing about the vast majority of bird families occurring in the region.

Indonesia 235

Indonesia Family Asia Species 235

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2020

I should add that the Big Owls taking over NYC social and even hard print media, dominating conversations with my nonbirder friends and family, are not the only owls in the five boroughs, but like a musical, the closer you are to Broadway, the closer you are to fame and fortune (and maybe even a higher quality rodent for dinner, who knows?).

New York City 185

New York City Birds Owls Fox 185

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2012

Of course, evolution* demands that a tool not only do its job, but do it efficiently. Of course, evolution* demands that a tool not only do its job, but do it efficiently. Here, an author and editor are less effective than millenia of natural selection. In short, what we have here is a minor, eccentric, but unique work.

Denver 166

Denver Birds 2000 Collecting 166

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2018

In some cases, he took all adult males of the species or subspecies held by the museum. The skins were invaluable tools for ornithological, ecological, environmental research. The Flame Bowerbird, for example. Or, to keep the priceless feathers hidden away in drawers, protected in small plastic bags, prized in secret.

Collecting 103

Collecting Iraq Ostriches Science 103

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2013

I haven’t done any surveys, but I would bet my binoculars that images and stories of hawks attract more attention and adoration from birders and the average person on the street than any other bird family. Families do not hike up mountains to sit all day on pointy rocks to watch woodpeckers. Those cameras are aimed at hawks.

North America 210

North America Bald Eagle Falcons Owls 210

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2015

Nate introduces the tools, skills, and knowledge base of birding with friendly encouragement, combining text with activities that range from field sketching to using eBird. Brit birder Goodie didn’t do an ordinary big year; he decided he would see every Pitta species in the world (32 at the time) in one year. Press, 2012).

Papua New Guinea 181

Papua New Guinea 2014 Penguins Birds 181

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2021

Decades later, Richard Pough’s Audubon Bird Guide, Eastern Land Birds (I happily own the 1948 edition) included nest and egg descriptions for each species as well. And photographs of feathers in the species accounts, which surprised me. Text retrieved from the Hathitrust Digital Library. The first is accomplished well.

Eggs 228

Eggs Birds United States Sparrows 228

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 5, 2021

Dragonflies and Damselflies of Costa Rica: A Field Guide covers 113 damselfly species and 170 dragonfly species, a total of 283 species. Wait–that adds up to 290 species, but the book only covers 283. .* Wait–that adds up to 290 species, but the book only covers 283. Paulson, William A. INTRODUCTION.

Costa Rica 260

Costa Rica North America Family America 260