10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2020

One of these days, Jeopardy will feature a category called “Field Guides” and the first clue will be: “This landlocked South American country finally got its own bird field guide in 2016, but it wasn’t available in the United State until 2019.”

Bolivia 187

Bolivia Birds Brazil Switzerland 187

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2016

Britain’s Birds is organized in a very loose taxonomic order, with priority given to grouping together birds that are perceived as similar. Browsing is facilitated by section titles at the top of each left-hand page and smaller group titles on the upper right-hand page. plus a chapter on “Vagrant landbirds from North America.”

Ireland 155

Ireland Birds Groups Falcons 155

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2016

A fourth Appendix chapter, “Future Splits and Taxonomic Changes” explains which 2016 American Ornithologists Union taxonomic order changes the authors were able to incorporate, and not incorporate into the guide, which was on its way to publication. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, November 2016, 448 pages, 4.5

El Salvador 235

El Salvador America Costa Rica Honduras 235

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2017

Many sad and unfortunate things occurred in 2016, but the birding was good. I think this might be my best bird of 2016. 5) White-winged Duck. White-winged Duck is an ugly duck, maybe the ugliest bird I’ve ever encountered. It was a good birding year. The year list total is 709 countable and 2 non-countable birds.

2016 116

2016 India Ducks Birds 116

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2016

Or, a Tufted Duck or Cackling Goose. Ducks, swans, and geese may initially appear easy to identify. Plate 29, Mallard and Mexican Duck. This is the first bird guide I’ve reviewed that has utilized and credited a Flickr group, the Bird Hybirds Flickr Forum. Plate 37, Eurasian, Green-winged, and Baikal Teal.

North America 167

North America Asia Europe America 167

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 18, 2016

The different main groups of living birds differentiated from one another prior to the extinction of the dinosaurs, ca. 66 million years ago, and one of those groups gave rise to the ducks and geese. One of the few reasonably well studied really early true birds is a member of this group, the genus Vegavis.

Groups 171

Groups Collecting Primates Bats 171

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2017

Species Accounts are arranged taxonomically, grouped by family. The caption notes that it is a male display sound, given frequently February to May, “with a backward toss of the head,” longer than similar sounds by other Aythya ducks. The Index lists all sounds displayed in the Species Accounts, grouping similar sounds together.

North America 182

North America America Birds New York 182

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2017

Since the election in 2016, Merriam-Webster has experienced something of a cultural resurgence. Although birders know a duck or swan or goose when they see one, the definitions are interesting, as they are concise and precise, written by professional word-definers. That’s not all: bird words abound in the dictionary.

Albatross 107

Albatross Bears Ducks Bald Eagle 107

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2018

Other papers are locked behind paywalls.) That research ultimately led to an article about the conservation efforts regarding the Laysan Duck in the June 2017 issue of Birding. Biological Conservation 199 (2016): 146-156. Data is needed to make estimates for the optimal size of the translocated group. and Antony W.

Transported 113

Transported 2011 Research 2012 113

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2017

Previous years had given us some idea of what to expect: in 2014, our inaugural year, we netted 72 species ; in 2015, we topped that with 76 species ; but in 2016 we had horrific weather and were washed out before the day was halfway done and only had 35 species. (It American Black Ducks , finally, made seventy-two.

Birds 114

Birds Dolphins Canada Sparrows 114

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016

It’s a small group of 10 to 12 researchers and crew members, and Fox is the sole person responsible for the bird surveys. Ahead on the water, I see roughly 200 tired snow geese settled together in a single, densely packed group. Rocky Mountain Books, July 2016. Black-footed Albatross, image courtesy of Jared Towers.

Fox 100

Fox Albatross Geese Bald Eagle 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2021

It turns out that duck nests tend to be so similar that you need to identify the feathers lining the nest, usually the breast feathers of the parent, to identify the user. Each family section begins with a Group Account, an overall section giving the number of species in the family and nesting commonalities and differences.

Eggs 250

Eggs Birds United States Sparrows 250

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 2, 2017

Plumed Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna eytoni. White-faced Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna viduata. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna autumnalis. West Indian Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna arborea. West Indian Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna arborea. Wood Duck – Aix sponsa.

2017 100

2017 Australia Sanctuary Woodpeckers 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2017

“Ducks, Geese, and Swans” in the front, “Blackbirds” in the back; “Caracaras and Falcons” next to “Old World Parrots,” “Loons” about one-third of the way down the list, after “Tropicbirds” and before “Albatrosses.”

North America 188

North America America 2017 Birds 188

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2017

146 shared checklists (an increase on last year’s 97, well done chaps) noted 664 species (ooooh, down on 826 from last February) and brought the yearly total to 1063 (1303 at this time in 2016, ouch!). Plumed Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna eytoni. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna autumnalis. 13 Jan 2017.

2017 100

2017 Australia Sanctuary Woodpeckers 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2017

The Crossley ID Guide: Waterfowl covers every residential, migrating, vagrant, exotic, and introduced swan, goose, dabbling and diving duck in North America (Canada and the United States): 62 Species Accounts on four swan species and one vagrant subspecies; 15 goose species; 46 duck species; plus accounts for hybrid geese, ducks and exotics.

Ducks 128

Ducks North America Geese Hunters 128