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. Data were collected from the North American Breeding Bird Survey and the Pan-European Common Birds Monitoring Scheme. Why are Europe and North America different?

North America 113

North America Europe America United States 113

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

The first is that the illustrations by Dale Dyer are based, and largely seem to be the same, as the illustrations for his previous guide Birds of Central America: Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama (co-authored with Andrew Vallely, PUP, 2018). Doing this work takes time!

Costa Rica 203

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 203

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2015

Here are some things I’ve learned from the Peterson Reference Guide to Owls of North America and the Caribbean by Scott Weidensaul: The Burrowing Owl is the only North American owl species where the male is larger than the female, albeit, only slightly larger. And the term is ‘non-reversed size dimorphism.’).

North America 214

North America Owls America Dominican Republic 214

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2023

Terns are too often considered the baby brothers and sisters of gulls, and if you don’t agree, take a look at the number of books written about gulls (at least four in recent years) and then try to remember the last book you read about terns of North America. It’s also a beautiful book to look through.

North America 193

North America America Species Groups 193

10,000 Birds

JULY 30, 2015

Growing up in South America, I distinctly recall the arrival of “the swallow with a deeply forked tail”. They fly from extreme northern North America to the southern tip of South America and are seldom seen perched during migration. Swallows have migrated north to south along the Americas for millennia.

South Dakota 167

South Dakota South America North America America 167

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

Introduced breeding species and species recorded only as escapees now have all species illustrated (they were not in the #2) and those illustrations larger than before. Forget occasional escapees, there is an established feral population successfully breeding in the north of Germany, which was 131 birds strong last year.

Europe 247

Europe Birds Woodpeckers Ireland 247

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 26, 2020

This is when we might see the greatest variety and numbers of wood-warblers, where we can watch dizzying groups of swallows zip through the skies as kettles of Turkey Vultures , and Broad-winged and Swainson’s Hawks flow towards South America. How many Sinaloa Martins also fly this way?

Costa Rica 312

Costa Rica West Virginia New York South America 312

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 18, 2013

The Pygmy Nuthatch ( Sitta pygmaea ) is a non-migratory bird that lives primarily in Ponderosa and Jeffrey Pine forests in western North America. They are one of the few cooperatively breeding passerines in North America and a third of the breeding pairs have 1–3 male helpers, usually progeny or other relatives.

North America 165

North America America Collecting California 165

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2022

Wood-Wrens , birds of the family Henicorhina , are very small wrens of Central and South America that like to live very close to the ground, in dense forest underbrush or elfin forests. There was, inevitably, another group of Little Friends present at Cerro de Garnica that day, and in exactly the large numbers I had hoped for.

Mexico 183

Mexico South America Species America 183

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2019

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. Participate in the Rainforest Biodiversity Group’s annual bird-a-thon.

Costa Rica 174

Costa Rica Species Belize New Jersey 174

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2013

A friend of mine told me, she has been seeing small groups of Swallow-tailed Kites ( Elanoides furficatus ) in the general area; in south Florida. Of all migratory birds breeding in North America, Swallow-tailed Kites are among the first to leave for the wintering grounds. I then proceeded to expand on her observation.

Florida 225

Florida Cuba Colombia 2004 225

10,000 Birds

JULY 2, 2015

At some point in evolutionary times one Avocet colonized the high Andes and the other North America. American Avocet in breeding plumage. The Andean Avocet breeds in small groups in loose colonies scattered along the shallow saline lagoons at high elevation. Photo: Dan Dzurisin. Andean Avocet, Photo: Sergey Pisarevskiy.

Bolivia 165

Bolivia Chile Argentina North America 165

10,000 Birds

JULY 8, 2020

We also have many species that we share with the rest of Mexico, Central America, and/or the southwest of the United States. Fourth, a significant number of migratory species visit us in the winter, most from western North America, but a few from the continent’s eastern side. I have yet to have the thrill of seeing one.

Mexico 185

Mexico Birds Honduras United States 185

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2013

They packed up in June of 2013 and headed south from San Diego with the southern tip of South America as their destination. The non-breeding distribution is virtually unknown, although they are suspected to winter in northern South America (Howell and Web 1995). Very little is known about this enigmatic species.

South America 179

South America San Diego Mexico America 179

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2018

It actually makes a lot of sense, the geographic features of the isthmus between North America (including Mexico, because Mexico is part of North America) and South America cut across political lines, as do birds. It is the first bird field guide to every country of Central America (plus the islands governed by those countries).

America 211

America El Salvador Costa Rica Honduras 211

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 25, 2021

Other birds stay in Central America and this makes winter birding in Costa Rica replete with a nice selection of wintering species including wood-warblers. Similar to its behavior on its breeding grounds, this warbler mostly forages in dead leaf clusters. Worm-eating Warbler. Blue-winged Warbler. Common Yellowthroat.

Costa Rica 218

Costa Rica Kentucky Louisiana Species 218

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2020

Each of these habitats attracts its own group of species. The Yellow-green Vireo is another of those rare birds that winter in South America but only travels north as far as Mexico to breed. This sort of biozone mixing can create a tremendous richness of species.

Mexico 232

Mexico Lamb Nicaragua Sparrows 232

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2015

I’m a big fan of the antelopes, a group that is most commonly associated with Africa but which also occurs in Asia and, if you stretch the term to be cladistically meaningful, Europe and North America. The crest on the back becomes erect during breeding displays.

Africa 162

Africa Hunters Goats Wolves 162

10,000 Birds

MAY 2, 2023

It could easily be mistaken for a book about aviation or space navigation or even a flight simulator game if you don’t read the long, adjective-filled subtitle: How a Passionate and Quirky Group of Pioneering Scientists Solved the Mystery of Bird Migration. Geological Survey.

Science 181

Science Illinois Investigation Research 181

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2014

The wood stork occurs and breeds in Central and South America. I have seen them foraging on sandy shores of rivers deep in the Amazon, enjoyed them in their raucous breeding colonies in the Everglades, flushed them out of canals during walks around my house, and perhaps more importantly contribute to their recovery. Photo: U.S.

North Carolina 190

North Carolina Bald Eagle South Carolina Florida 190

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2014

The first shorebird arrivals are apparently birds that failed at a breeding attempt and don’t have time to re-attempt; they might as well head south early. By checking my Facebook feed on a daily basis, I had a broad idea about birds arriving into different countries in Central and South America. The fall migration is underway.

South America 162

South America Colombia Peru Chile 162

10,000 Birds

APRIL 24, 2021

A nice bird for sure, a bird with an evocative name and one that would be a lifer for many birders from North America, but not the bird we had hoped it to be. At first, the birds were absent, it was just that one shearwater, a sad lost Eastern Kingbird flying low over the waves, and groups of Brown Boobies making a beeline to feeding grounds.

Costa Rica 263

Costa Rica Dolphins Sea Turtles Turtles 263

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2016

Instead, they are summer visitors, moving up to Colorado in the warm months to breed before returning to wintering grounds in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico. During the summer breeding months, Lark Bunting males – a sparrow species – are jet black, their white wings contrasting beautifully with the dark bodies.

Colorado 101

Colorado Legislature North America New Mexico 101

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2015

The Andean Flamingo ( Phoenicopterus andinus ) is one of the three flamingos occurring in the high Andes of South America. Egg harvesting to sell as food was intensive then, with thousands taken annually from the breeding colonies in Chile. It is the largest and easiest to identify in all age stages.

Chile 154

Chile Endangered Species Eggs Argentina 154

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

Spoonbills and ibises are stocky, colorful wading birds with distinctive bills: downcurved and pointed in the case of ibises, flat and paddle shaped in the spoonbills (above is my shot of Roseate Spoonbills ( Platalea ajaja ) near a breeding colony in Louisiana). White-faced and Glossy ibises ( Plegadis chihi and P.

Louisiana 192

Louisiana Mississippi America Pelicans 192

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2015

The Durango Highway is arguably one of North America’s great birding roads due to the great variety of habitats, the spectacular mountain scenery of the Sierra Madre Occidental, and the numerous Mexican endemics one can target. This poorly documented swallow is a breeding endemic to these high mountains. Photo by Andrew Spencer.

Mexico 186

Mexico Costa Rica Arizona Birds 186

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2015

Birders in the Americas may not be aware of it, but from the higher ground of a European perspective the American “warblers” are intensely overrated. These subspecies can be divided into two major clades, the domesticus group and the indicus group, with the indicus group occupying south and parts of central Asia.

Sparrows 209

Sparrows Italy Asia Austria 209

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2014

The parents moved them from their breeding territory as soon as they could fly, which makes sense because you don’t want them to eat all of the food that you will need to survive until the next breeding season. Searching deep into the sand for bivalves! A juvenile Pied Oystercatcher emptying a bivalve.

Family 157

Family Breeding Australia Groups 157

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

Most Acorn Woodpeckers are cooperative breeders and live in family groups of up to a dozen or more individuals. Within a group, 1–7 male co-breeders compete for matings with 1–3 joint-nesting females who lay their eggs in the same nest cavity. References: 1 Birds of North America Online a.

Woodpeckers 183

Woodpeckers Breeders Groups North America 183

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 25, 2015

Black Tern in Breeding Plumage. Black Terns do not breed or over-winter in Florida, they merely migrate through on their way to Central and South America. In terms of looks, their breeding plumage is the polar opposite of all other tern species: a deep ebony, truly striking. Black Tern in Non-Breeding Plumage.

Breeding 160

Breeding South America Florida Protection 160

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2013

The family Regulidae comprises six small, hyperactive species that range through the great boreal and temperate forests North and Middle America, North Africa, and Eurasia. The best evidence available so far puts them somewhere near a group of three superfamilies: Bombycilloidea (waxwings, etc.),

Family 181

Family Guatemala Mexico Japan 181

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2013

elegans ) are the largest rails in the Americas. Their taxonomic status long has been unclear due to their overall similarity and the fact that in eastern North America and Cuba, they hybridize. King Rails occur widely in eastern North America, in eastern and central Mexico, and in Cuba.

Species 212

Species North America Cuba Louisiana 212

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2016

I purchased my first Sibley— The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America —in 2003. It gets very confusing when I’m trying to look at subspecies descriptions in multiple field guides (“Slate-Colored Fox Sparrow” in Sibley West, for example, is “Western Slate-colored Group” in Stokes West).

North America 152

North America 2003 Birds America 152

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2019

How to Know the Birds talks about 200 commonly found birds in North America (including one extinct bird, the Passenger Pigeon) in 200 brief essays, each exactly one page long. ” The essays are arranged in thematic order grouped in six sections: “Spark Bird!” He received a B.A.

Birds 114

Birds North America Breeding America 114

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2019

The striking Golden-cheeked Warbler nests only in the hills of central Texas near Austin but a substantial part of those breeding grounds have leveled in favor of development. One of the fastest growing cities in America, Austin is the capital of Texas and home of the University of Texas.

Austin 165

Austin Texas Endangered Species Birds 165

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2016

This is a very different book from what I expected, less of a handbook and more of a comprehensive identification text on 24 groups of birds, presented in words and photographs. These are bird groups that have been covered extensively by other guides. Armistead and Brian L. It is an intriguing choice of species.

Birds 189

Birds Groups 2015 North America 189

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 30, 2013

Now you know why the most numerous and widespread of the two swan species in North America used to be known as the Whistling Swan. That is where I found this group of nearly 100 Tundra Swans northeast of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge as they flew in to the flooded agricultural fields.

California 105

California South Dakota Sacramento North America 105