10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Yet they also bring up questions, which I’m going to talk about right now before diving into the specifics of the guides themselves. An associated issue is that the Belize and Costa Rica guides share many of the same descriptions of species, written by Howell. Other species are splits and lumped and have had their names changed.

Costa Rica 227

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 227

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2019

That fallacious family name seems to have encouraged all manner of knaves, dunderheads, and miscreants when time came to label species. Most of the warblers south of the border escaped this ignominy; those Basileuterus and Myiothlypis species generally appear exactly as advertised. NAMED FOR PEOPLE. NAMED FOR PLACES.

Rights 113

Rights Connecticut Tennessee Nashville 113

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. Stephens et al. Let’s look at that first.

North America 122

North America Europe America United States 122

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2017

The point is, the field guide I grabbed without hesitation was the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 7th Edition by Jon L. North America is defined as from north of the Mexican border to the far north, plus “adjacent islands and seas within 200 nautical miles off the coast or offshore islands.”

North America 187

North America America 2017 Birds 187

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2022

All right, I’ll admit it. I’m feeling pretty good about myself right now. I’ve never known quite what to do with the two Cardinal sightings I have had near our church in Morelia, since that species is not supposed to be seen there, or to be migratory, but both sightings occurred in winter.

Mexico 234

Mexico 2018 Ducks Breeding 234

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2024

When a birder uses the word, we usually refer to a species that canbe mostly or exclusively found in a single country. Which means that the large country of Mexico boasts (according to one list) 127 endemic bird species, while the famous birders’ destination of Costa Rica has only 6. It doesn’t seem fair at all.

Costa Rica 201

Costa Rica Mexico North America Lions 201

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2020

There is a thing parents know very well – how important it is to choose the right name for a child. Birders normally care about species and make species lists, how do families fit into those? Adding more species brings a lot of excitement, as long as you bird your own country or a continent. Families perhaps?

Family 297

Family Birds South America Breeding 297

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2016

Published by Princeton University Press in early 2016, Waterfowl of North America, Europe, and Asia (I’m going to use this shortened title for the rest of the review), covers 83 species of Anseriformes–ducks, geese, and swans–of, yes, Europe, Asia and North America.

North America 161

North America Asia Europe America 161

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2024

Being a westerner — raised in California, and now living in western Mexico — I was perhaps most excited about the migratory birds that breed in eastern North America. This was only my fourth encounter with the species (all on the east side). Although, truth be told, this species does seem to be a rarity in Tabasco.)

Mexico 210

Mexico Birds Raccoons Baltimore 210

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.

North America 178

North America America Birds Family 178

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2020

Niagara Falls State Park, right above the cataracts, is where I used to bike to on May days to see dozens of fantastic chestnut Bay-breasted Warblers whispering from the canopy, American Redstarts and Tennessee Warblers and Nashville Warblers filling the woods with song. One of the common species of middle elevation habitats in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Panama Nashville Baltimore 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2023

That’s 18 species in one book. This is more than a collection of species accounts. There are also two pages illustrating the “Holistic Approach,” silhouettes of each species (Western birds on the left, Eastern birds on the right), that allow for comparison of structure, size, and shape.

Los Angeles 225

Los Angeles North America America Species 225

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

There was one odd reprint in 2018, when the Subalpine Warbler was split into the Eastern and Western species, but the changes in the guide weren’t sufficient to call it a 3rd edition, so it remained the updated reprint of the 2nd edition. Left – 2nd edition, right – 3rd edition So, not much has changed since the 2nd edition?

Europe 261

Europe Birds Woodpeckers Ireland 261

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

I’ve been fortunate to see two Penguin species in the wild (African and Galapagos) and have dreamed of seeing more–maybe even all!–especially The goal of Around the World For Penguins is simple: Describe the 18 species of penguin and their breeding grounds “from the perspective of a traveller.”

Penguins 278

Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 278

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 26, 2020

The muted colors of Blackburnians, Black-throated Greens, and Blackpolls fit right in with the dull greens and golden highlights of the early fall vegetation. This being an uncommon species in upstate New York, I appreciate having an abundance of Cliff Swallows to look at. Swallows Everywhere.

Costa Rica 330

Costa Rica West Virginia New York South America 330

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2017

The Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Eastern North America by Nathan Pieplow is innovative, fascinating, and challenging. The guide covers 520 species of birds regularly found in the eastern United States and southeastern Canada, including, interestingly, a number of exotic species. But, first the basics.

North America 178

North America America Birds New York 178

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2022

From one side, the reserve is under the attack of spreading arable fields, from another by numerous wind generators and it is no easy task to support the surviving breeding birds within its borders. After my trip, I followed the news of this species closely. He asks if the wind generators can influence the bird numbers? Males reach 1.2

Gazelles 261

Gazelles India 2012 Endangered Species 261

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2020

Perhaps one of my reasons for going to the lake was that it guarantees more species in one day than any of my other sites. But I am also always eager to get a better handle on the migration dates for our wintering species, and April is a great month for that. How on earth do they breed so quickly up north?)

Mexico 171

Mexico Breeding Ducks North America 171

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Like any birder visiting a new place, I had a target species list I was hoping to seek out during the one day I had available between business commitments. The climatic changes set in motion by the Industrial Revolution are now proceeding at a pace far greater than many species and ecosystems can adapt to naturally.

Species 178

Species Science Los Angeles Birds 178

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2022

Early July is right in the middle of month-and-a-half where I have seen the Sinaloa Martin. (I thousand reported sightings of Central America’s Black-capped Swallow. As it happens, Alberto/Chivizcoyo had seen his one remaining Mexican Swift species, the White-fronted Swift , two days before. So now, we had a party!

Mexico 147

Mexico United States Breeding Penguins 147

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 7, 2021

and Canada and winter in northeastern Mexico, while the sedentary wrens of central Mexico, Central America, and South America are now to be identified as Grass Wrens. That’s 100% Barn Owl butt, right there. But its two mixed-breed children would make an 80’s British soccer club proud, with their punk hairstyles.

Barn Owls 262

Barn Owls Owls Mexico Leopards 262

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

There is much to enjoy and appreciate here and I only wish I could have tested out some of these species accounts in pelagic waters before writing about them (sadly, the 10,000 Birds pelagic to Antarctica was canceled this year). SCOPE & SPECIES ORGANIZATION. It covers 434 species across 9 orders and 18 families of birds.

Albatross 279

Albatross Penguins Family Groups 279

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2019

It’s also a big time for bird movements, a period punctuated by waves of migrants, first the early ones, then a time of many species, and finally, those last “late” migrants moving north. Several come to Costa Rica and a lot of those are, right at this moment, on the move.

Costa Rica 146

Costa Rica South America Tennessee Philadelphia 146

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2023

What are the best field guides for birds in North America? Birders often venture into various habitats, such as forests, wetlands, grasslands, or coastal areas, to encounter different bird species. The primary objective of birding is to identify bird species based on their physical characteristics, behavior, and vocalizations.

United States 147

United States North America Birds America 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2012

Howell continues his tradition of giving clarity to what most birders find intimidating with Petrels, Albatrosses & Storm-Petrels of North America: A Photographic Guide , just published by Princeton University Press. This is the first field identification guide on tubenoses in North America. Each section is then further subdivided.

North America 159

North America Albatross America Species 159

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 12, 2019

Our big month of bird movements in Costa Rica, the 10th month of the year, is when most of the swallows, Scarlet Tanagers , thrushes, and other species on the South American express push through. Some stop right in front of our place in the urbanized intermontane valley where the majority of Costa Ricans reside. What do they eat?

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Nicaragua Birds Panama 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2022

While the species favors forested hills at moderate elevations ( source ), there are no hills at all here at Nanhui, so maybe these individuals are outcasts or just eccentrics. Chestnut-winged Cuckoo: This could be your host species! There was a breeding pair at Binjiang Forest Park this June. Arguments in favor: 1.

Birds 197

Birds Sparrows Protection Humane 197

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. The process doesn’t totally ignore plumage. This isn’t a new idea.

North America 208

North America America El Salvador Nicaragua 208

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 30, 2021

From there, we entered a side tributary full of Ringed and Amazon Kingfishers , with Chestnut-fronted and Scarlet Macaws in flight… and then the noise: groans, croaks and grunts… and the smell… of this 65 million years old species, so old that the last dinosaurs must have fed on them! Later, we would be seeing dolphins every day.

Dolphins 263

Dolphins Colombia Otters Birds 263

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 19, 2020

Last weekend I wasn’t on the hunt for any species in particular though. Many of these were still in their breeding plumage, a special treat for us here in the tropics as they would soon shed their richly patterned exterior for a drab and more mundane outfit. There were more Lesser Yellowlegs than we could count.

Trinidad 190

Trinidad South America Blackbirds Industry 190

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2018

Of the 300 hummingbird species across the globe, North America only sees fewer than two dozen of them. Many fly through these Texas hotspots, transforming physics into magic right before our eyes! Then, I learned that over 400 species of birds have been identified in and around these islands.

Texas 187

Texas North America Alaska America 187

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 18, 2019

Between our many residents and migratory species, birding in central Mexico is a joy. I find the concept of a “leg man” offensive, but when it comes to these two species, their legs are the only practical way to distinguish them (dark for the Western, yellow for the Least). But in the winter, both species head for Mexico.

Mexico 142

Mexico United States North America Ethics 142

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 14, 2015

The distribution of color morphs is unequal in the Snow Goose population, with the maximum number of blue-morph geese occurring in mid-continent breeding and wintering areas 1. At about the 2:03 mark you will notice a Ross’s Goose moving behind the dark morph goose from right to left and another following behind. v=DYNb-0vYTE8.

Sacramento 201

Sacramento Geese North America Wildlife 201

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

They say so right here in the Preface of Oceanic Birds of The World: A Photo Guide —seabirds are “some of the most challenging of all birds to identify.” And, for many of these species, you need a boat that goes very far from shore, to extremely remote areas. Howell and Kirk Zufelt certainly think so. And, you need a boat.

Albatross 167

Albatross North America Birds Groups 167

10,000 Birds

JULY 2, 2014

Green-tailed Towhee s breed in species-rich shrub communities within shrub-steppe habitats, and disturbed and open areas of montane forest, often created by forest fires 1. References: 1 Birds of North America Online. Click on photos for full sized images. Up in Ashland we found them on the outskirts of Howard Prairie Lake.

North America 208

North America Oregon Birds Owls 208

10,000 Birds

JUNE 5, 2018

So many species that change eye color or leg color as they age. Gulls of the World: A Photographic Field Guide is a successor, or companion, as the author terms it, to Klaus Malling Olsen’s classic guide, Gulls of Europe, Asia and North America (Helm, 2004*). So many birds of white and gray touched with black.

2004 161

2004 North America America Europe 161