10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2021

Ranging in color from off-white to dingy black, with pastel to gelatinous shades of yellow, orange, purple, and brown in-between, found in moist crevasses, decaying trees, rain-soaked pastures, mushrooms lack the beauty of butterflies and wildflowers cannot equal the action of bats, or flying fish, and certainly lack the spiritual zest of birds.

North America 270

North America America Species 2018 270

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2016

Birds know habitat. They don’t read treaties or draw maps or build walls and, as far as we can tell (since we can’t talk to birds, yet), they have no concept of political boundaries. Robert Gallardo’s self-published Guide to the Birds of Honduras came out in 2015, and is the first bird field guide dedicated to that country.

El Salvador 234

El Salvador America Costa Rica Honduras 234

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2020

I was soooo excited about getting to know the Middle East, as well as some of its exotic species. The Streak-backed Oriole shown at the head of this post is far from an uncommon species in Paso Ancho. This female Rose-throated Becard also gave me my best photo so far of its species. All in all, it was a very satisfying day.

Species 164

Species Mexico Jordan Turkey 164

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2021

Guyana is an Amerindian word meaning “land of many waters” but it could just as easily mean “land of many birds”. That’s because this fascinating part-Caribbean, part-south American country holds well over 800 species of avifauna making it without doubt one of my top three countries in all of the continent to visit. Wilderness.

Guyana 279

Guyana Otters South America Colombia 279

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 22, 2023

Guyana’s capital city of Georgetown, a quaint, sprawling network of roads and waterways is a regulated introduction to the country’s 800+ species of birds. Bird number one in a new country, and fittingly, a lifer for me. Lesser Kiskadee A pair of very similar looking birds flew in to confuse things even more.

Guyana 204

Guyana Parrots Birds South America 204

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2024

Maybe the latter is because the bird is so plump, or maybe it is because (at least to me) the head looks like it has been created by a somewhat amateurish wood carver. The species is listed as Vulnerable – the estimated number of individuals is 4600-5100 (HBW), of which about 2000 winter on Hokkaido. Back to the eagle.

Eagles 131

Eagles Sea Lions Bears Russia 131

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

It feels good to start a post with some truly attractive birds – such as two species of broadbills. If you like cute birds, you will probably like the Black-and-yellow Broadbill. Homework assignment: Is the bird in this video a male or a female? Strangely, there do not seem to be many papers on this species.

Birds 226

Birds Sri Lanka Taiwan Cats 226

10,000 Birds

JUNE 29, 2023

The (Big) Year that Flew By: Twelve Months, Six Continents, and the Ultimate Birding Record – which is the book’s full title, or Arjan Dwarshuis’s Big Year, as I prefer to call it shortly, is a highly anticipated and a long awaited travelogue of the author’s 2016 race against time across 40 countries in his attempt to break the world birding record.

Papua New Guinea 258

Papua New Guinea Guinea Suriname South America 258

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

If you followed Dorian’s adventures on his Big Year blog, Biking for Birds , you are familiar with many of these stories, but not the major one, the internal journey that was going on inside Dorian’s mind as he pedaled and birded: his history and multi-year struggle with alcoholism and related addictions.

Birds 228

Birds Los Angeles Massachusetts New York City 228

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2019

The idea was to see how many birds could be collectively identified by folks anywhere and everywhere. Go birding, eBird the results and see what happens! Whatever the reason for getting involved with this massive day of birding, every GBD has been a success where literally thousands of species are found by thousands of birders.

Costa Rica 221

Costa Rica Species West Virginia New York 221

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2015

Birders head to Costa Rica to see stunners like Resplendent Quetzal , Three-wattled Bellbird , Orange-collared Manakin , fancy hummingbirds , tanagers, and literally hundreds of other birds. These and several other species might end up being armchair ticks if and when we take a closer look at their evolutionary history.

Costa Rica 223

Costa Rica Species South America America 223

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2024

“Birds and insects, as might have been expected, are very few in number; indeed I believe all the birds have been introduced within late years” – Charles Darwin , Naturalist’s voyage around the world I wonder if Napoleon went birdwatching during his final years in exile on the volcanic island of St Helena.

Birds 223

Birds Madagascar ALA 2000 223

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2016

I want to alert you to a recent study (from April) that looks at the plight of bird populations under conditions of climate change in Europe and North America. The study looked at common birds, and used data divided by either state (in the US) or country (in Europe). Stephens et al. Stephens, Philip, et al. 352:6281(84-87).

North America 122

North America Europe America United States 122

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2017

There are birders who watch hawks and there are hawk watchers who bird. Raptors of Mexico and Central America by William S. This is the first identification guide that I know of that covers Mexico (technically North America but rarely included in North American raptor guides) and Central America. Clark and N.

Mexico 174

Mexico America North America Falcons 174

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2020

Do you want to help endangered birds? How about helping with conservation of cool tropical birds by listening to innovative electronic music? The brainchild of music producer, bird lover, and environmentalist Robin Perkins, this digital album is his second guide to birdsong.

Costa Rica 249

Costa Rica Nicaragua Cuba Mexico 249

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2021

Louisiana is a magical place to bird. At the same time I was ogling Scissor-tailed Flycatchers and Upland Sandpipers, Marybeth Lima was also birding Louisiana. Chapter Two is a potpourri of stories about nemesis birds, birding by ear, birding for science, under the rubric of birding ‘for the love of it.’

Louisiana 264

Louisiana Species Mississippi Alabama 264

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2022

Not just to bird, but equally to rest, reset and restart. And also, to bird. Three years ago I asked American birders which foreign countries they dream of birding, and with more than one fifth of all answers, Costa Rica turned to hold a very strong first place. It was close to 5 a.m., I was literally awake at 3 a.m.,

Costa Rica 254

Costa Rica San Jose Nepal Europe 254

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2019

In the birding world, May is the beautiful time. With birds bedecked in their breeding best and filling the air with song, this is migration at its loveliest. A wonderful variety of bird species are waiting to be seen and among them are many a birder’s favorite avian group, the wood-warblers. Habitat at Las Brisas.

Costa Rica 191

Costa Rica Species Belize New Jersey 191

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 14, 2023

You might think that birds don’t change the world, birds are the world – but by his odd title, Ten Birds That Changed the World, author Stephen Moss means, he says, that birds have, in various ways, led to “paradigm shifts” in human history. Maybe Moss is right, and birds have changed history. Fine and dandy.

Bald Eagle 166

Bald Eagle Montenegro Campaign Turkey 166

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 29, 2018

Maybe it’s because the American Coot ( Fulica americana ) is the most abundant and widely distributed species of rail in North America that it gets no respect? But I think the adult Coot is a cool bird in its own right. Just look at that cool red iris… and the very cool lobed green feet!

North America 113

North America America Ducks Industry 113

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2024

Sixteen species that have been recorded in the United States are covered: six Myiarchus flycatchers and ten Kingbird ( Tyrannus ) flycatchers. As with the first volume, I was surprised to see the inclusion of a species that has only been seen in the U.S. Introductory Material Sixteen species, 190 pages.

Los Angeles 190

Los Angeles North America Species America 190

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 157

North America Sparrows America United States 157

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

The Collins Bird Guide covers Europe, North Atlantic islands, much of North Africa and the Middle East. The Collins Bird Guide 2nd edition from 2009 was a much hated taxonomical revolution/nightmare, changing just about everything. I am still annoyed that no birds are where they used to be. the Corn Bunting plate).

Europe 261

Europe Birds Woodpeckers Ireland 261

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2023

Everyone loves baby birds; 10,000 Birds even had a Baby Bird Week once upon a time! Baby birds are cuteness personified, possibly even more so than other baby animals, including human babies, and pose interesting questions of survival and development. Aren’t they usually in their nest with their parents?”

Wildlife Rehabilitation 270

Wildlife Rehabilitation Birds Family Collecting 270

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 21, 2021

The trees that occur, that thrive in such places are various species of mangroves and as is typical of so many other tropical microhabitats, mangrove forests have their own suite of birds. This Myiarchus is a bird of mangrove forests, at least in Costa Rica. This small, pale bird of the mangroves it’s all that common.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Birds Protection Panama 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 8, 2020

One of the ways I could describe the unique mix of birds I can see here in southwestern Mexico, would be to divide our species into five categories. The invasive species are few, but, unfortunately, very numerous. But there is a final group of species here, about which I have not written very much.

Mexico 206

Mexico Birds Honduras United States 206

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2021

With travel restrictions still in place, going on a birding trip outside of China is still not a practical option. Fortunately, China itself has a large number of bird species and habitats. The first stop was Wolongshan, a place known more for its giant pandas than its birds. Bird photography for extremely lazy people.

China 264

China Pandas Birds Zoos 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2022

Instead, they usually just describe species seen at a specific location, with the vague notion that these descriptions might be interesting to other birders. Perhaps the star bird here is the Nonggang Babbler , which was first observed by professional ornithologists only in 2005. The birds are not closely related.

China 220

China Birds Asia Vietnam 220

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2021

In the birding realm, any quetzal is a little piece of heaven. Of the 6 species of quetzal, the one that lives in the cloud forests of Central America usually gets the “most spectacular” badge. This mega trogon truly does look like something out of your wildest birding dreams.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Birds Eagles America 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 8, 2020

If you want to write a bird guide, you should have guided people yourself. Howell and Fabrice Schmitt: both of them are international bird tour leaders with WINGS. Birds of Chile – A Photo Guide has 240 pages and more than 1,000 photos accompanied by a brief text to make bird ID easy. And that is what recommends Steve N.

Chile 212

Chile Birds South America North America 212

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2021

There was a time when I thought each bird species had its own individual song. Then I found out that there was this vocalization called a ‘call,’ so I thought each bird species had its own individual song (but just the males) and individual call. Bird communication is a complex and evolving science.

North America 279

North America Research Birds Groups 279

10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2022

Bird-wise, Mauritius is probably primarily known for a bird that no longer exists, the dodo. Being an island, Mauritius has its share of endemics, extinct endemics (the dodo again), and introduced species. The Red Fody is an introduced species, though from nearby, sort of (Madagascar). Quite nice looking, though.

Mauritius 239

Mauritius Birds 2000 South Africa 239

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 21, 2011

Do you know your raptors but wish that you had an easy reference for all the raptors of North America? Never fear, David Allen Sibley has done it again with the release by Scott & Nix of Sibley’s Raptors of North America poster.* The price of $29.95

North America 240

North America America United States Eagles 240

10,000 Birds

JULY 19, 2014

Here at 10,000 Birds we are going to dedicate the coming week, from today until Saturday, to invasive species. Of course, most of the species we will cover will fit the more traditional definition of invasive species, which usually only covers introduced species that are doing harm to species in the areas to which they are introduced.

Species 191

Species New Zealand North America Mammals 191

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2021

10,000 Birds is running a series of articles by and about tour guides, tour companies, eco-lodges, and other birding travel organizations. We want to help the birding tourism industry come back strong from the COVID pandemic. On a typical day we bird from grasslands to the canyons, a second day we go up to the pine forests.

Arizona 207

Arizona Birds Owls North America 207

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

The more data about bird migration we gather from professional and citizen science efforts, the more each one of us can learn about the comings and goings of our favorite species. Obviously, when Audubon and Cornell Lab of Ornithology collaborate on a Bird Migration Forecast tool, the result is going to be pretty spectacular.

North America 167

North America America Science Birds 167

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

Bufflehead ( Bucephala albeola ) Female at Cavity Entrance photos by Larry Jordan “Some 85 species of North American birds excavate nesting holes, use cavities resulting from decay (natural cavities), or use holes created by other species in dead or deteriorating trees. Talk about cute! www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWDXIhy9oJA

North America 225

North America America Barn Owls Falcons 225