10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2024

There are 154 species of cuckoos in the world, and they’re all a fascinating bunch. It’s not a species you are likely to overlook, either, as it is extremely noisy, its cackling call carrying great distances. I wonder whether birds that breed in Europe ever meet up with those nest in southern Africa?

Cyprus 230

Cyprus Africa Europe Asia 230

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2022

Tragically, I never saw any birds near the nest later on – I guess they abandoned it, decided to quit procreating, or just got eaten by some other bird or cat. The juvenile Chinese Blackbirds get older but still look kind of stupid. But the stars of the month were some breeding Eurasian Tree Sparrows. The male at work.

Birds 147

Birds Sparrows China Abandon 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2022

After writing this last sentence, I looked up the species in the HBW and found the sentence “Song poorly documented” in the appropriate section, while with regard to calls, the description is that “call is a two-note raspy nasal ‘ryeeh-reh’”. These birds have too much taste.

Singapore 147

Singapore Birds Mountain Goats Giraffes 147

10,000 Birds

APRIL 1, 2014

I’m going to start with a specific example: species accounts for Common Tern and Arctic Tern. How have these species accounts changed from The Sibley Guide to Birds , published in 2000 (heretofore called Sibley One) to The Sibley Guide to Birds, Second Edition , published in March 2014 (and heretofore called Sibley Two).

North America 247

North America Birds Species America 247

10,000 Birds

MARCH 10, 2011

I chanced to glance at a bird perched atop the Oak tree in my back yard, figuring it was one of the Blackbirds or Grackles that had recently returned to my neighborhood. The vast majority of Baltimore Orioles that breed in North America return to the tropics between Mexico and northern South America for the cold half of the year.

North Carolina 140

North Carolina 2011 St. Louis Baltimore 140