10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2013

For those of us in the Americas, nine-primaried oscines are among our most familiar and beloved birds: finches; sparrows, juncos, and towhees; warblers; blackbirds, meadowlarks, and orioles; cardinals and grosbeaks; and tanagers. Above is a beautiful member of this group, the Painted Redstart ( Myioborus pictus ), a warbler.

Family 174

Family Blackbirds Groups Sparrows 174

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2013

So naturally, I got to thinking about kinglets, and their Palearctic kin, the “crests,” and where they belong in the avian family tree. 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.

Family 181

Family Guatemala Mexico Japan 181

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

JULY 4, 2017

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. The colors are rich, much deeper and beautiful than the muted inks in my copy of Hawks of North America.

Mexico 155

Mexico America North America Falcons 155

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2019

So, I was very excited when I heard that Rick Wright was writing a book about sparrows, the first treatment of North American sparrows since 2001, possibly the first book about sparrows of North America, depending on your definition of that geographic area. They’re all birds of North America! Mexico border. Read the Introduction!

North America 142

North America Sparrows America United States 142

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

Many of us in North America are facing the imminent departure of “our” hummingbirds for the next few months, though across the Gulf Coastal Plain, a few western hummingbirds are staking out winter homes, and hardy Anna’s Hummingbirds will do just fine along the Pacific Coast and in Arizona all winter long. And this one.

Family 193

Family Ecuador Costa Rica United States 193

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 25, 2015

A new paper out this month attempts to paint the most comprehensive picture yet of the origins and diversification of the American sparrows, wood-warblers, blackbirds, cardinals, tanagers, and their kin, an enormous group of birds more than 800 species strong. A female Western Spindalis ( Spindalis zena ) on Grand Cayman © David J.

Sparrows 244

Sparrows North America South America Blackbirds 244

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2015

Feeding Wild Birds in America: Culture, Commerce & Conservation by Paul J. The growth of community bird feeding programs in the 1920’s, for example, is shown to be rooted in post-World War I America prosperity–more spending money, more time, and (this is the part I like) the availability of cheap grain. And conservation.

America 222

America Industry Squirrels Birds 222

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2018

It is a common bird of humid, lowland forest in Central and South America where it is usually found in the lower storey. It belongs to the Parulidae family, but along with the rest of the Basileuterus genus is non-migratory. aureocapillus group of races. This is a Golden-crowned Warbler , Basileuterus cucilivorus.

South America 100

South America Argentina Stray Arizona 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2022

The exploration of triads within the avifauna of Trinidad and Tobago has taken me through various families and species groups on this blog. The Red-crowned Woodpecker is one of several species that are found throughout northern South America and Tobago but are absent from Trinidad. Red-crowned Woodpecker.

Woodpeckers 231

Woodpeckers Trinidad South America Hunting 231

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2023

I am puzzled as to why Gulls and Terns are almost passed over, with less than two pages of text devoted to a family description and only six species accounts (four gulls, two terns). Family follows family with no page break, making this section a little dense. Woodpeckers are a family of focus for Tuttle-Adams.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 246

Wildlife Rehabilitation Birds Family Collecting 246

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2020

This Chat winters along the coast of Mexico and throughout Central America. You may not know that Mexico is part of North, not Central, America.) They were also believed to be part of the Wood Warbler family. The photo above is from north of Morelia, in January; this one is from Paso Ancho, in April.

Mexico 243

Mexico United States 2019 2013 243

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

OCTOBER 8, 2020

Guiding aside, Howell is a research associate at the California Academy of Sciences and the author of many books, including Petrels, Albatrosses, and Storm-Petrels of North America (Princeton). 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.

Chile 194

Chile Birds South America North America 194

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 10, 2019

Painted Ladies are part of the Aristocrat group of butterflies. The group contains the largest and most beautifully patterned lepidoptera and their classy appearance is recognised with classy names such as Red Admiral , Purple Emperor and Camberwell Beauty. The Aristocrat group is not a recognised classification group.

Ireland 120

Ireland South America North America Groups 120

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2021

” And then I found out that bird song doesn’t just belong to the males, that there are female birds who sing too, only not so much in North America, and my mind was blown.**. Ballantine and Hyman explore how birds communicate and summarize studies on how that communication functions in diverse bird families all over the world.

North America 278

North America Research Birds Groups 278

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2022

Thank you, goddess of birding luck and text group people).* It also summarizes the vagrancy status of every bird family in the whole wide world, which makes it fun to read as well as superbly educational. The Family Accounts are the fun part of the book. Don’t worry. 220; Copyright © 2022 Tom Johnson photos p.

Birds 255

Birds Compassion Eagles Science 255

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2022

When buntings meet for a family reunion, I can imagine the Crested Bunting is the focal point of the attention – the one that got rich and popular compared to all the others. Sunbirds are found in Africa and Asia, while hummingbirds are restricted to the Americas.” The Chestnut-capped Babbler looks vaguely monkish to me.

China 197

China Birds Asia Vietnam 197

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 16, 2019

There’s so much more that can be said about this group of birds but that’s the first description that comes to mind. However, as DNA and morphological studies have indicated, despite the barbets of Asia and Africa looking quite like the ones in the Americas, they aren’t closely related to each other.

Costa Rica 159

Costa Rica Colombia South America Ecuador 159

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 29, 2022

The stars of the bird world take many forms and fame is often related to location but some species, some cool groups of birds are accorded priority no matter when or where they are seen. One such star avian family is the Setophagidae, the birds known as wood-warblers.

Costa Rica 269

Costa Rica Nashville Tennessee Turtles 269

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

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

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. By this I mean applying the term antelope to cover all of the family Bovidae, which would include the sheep, goats and ox.

Africa 162

Africa Hunters Goats Wolves 162

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

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

Together, they are placed in the family Threskiornithidae, and they’re related to herons and egrets, pelicans, and the strange Hamerkop and Shoebill. The “widespread” clade occurs throughout the Old World and has apparently colonized the Americas several times. White-faced and Glossy ibises ( Plegadis chihi and P.

Louisiana 192

Louisiana Mississippi America Pelicans 192

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

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

FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Waxwings and their relatives are a small, interesting group of songbirds that have seen some interesting taxonomic changes in the last few years. 2008), but how the bombycillid lineages are related to each other, and whether the various subgroups deserve family, subfamily, or tribe status, all still remains to be seen. Spellman et al.

Saudi Arabia 207

Saudi Arabia 2008 Indonesia Groups 207

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

In Chapter 11, simply entitled “A World of Birds,” Doug explores tough questions about bird diversity around the world: Why are hummingbirds in tropical America and sunbirds in Africa, Asia and Australasia? Why are all the real tanagers in tropical America? 70) is adorable as well as educational.

Science 204

Science Albatross Research Birds 204

10,000 Birds

JULY 13, 2014

It’s mid-July, which among other things means that those of us in North America are starting to check local mudflats for returning shorebird migrants and waiting impatiently for the AOU to hurry up and create five species from the Clapper-King rail complex (the reasons for which we covered last year ).

New Zealand 192

New Zealand Elephants Sparrows Ostriches 192

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 13, 2022

Tap water is not as cold as in Europe (and, I presume, North America), but to be called lukewarm it should be warmer. Field guides As far as I have noticed, the entire group (including me) was using the latest Lynx edition of Hilty’s Birds of Colombia. Yet, our local guide Daniel Camilo preferred some older but more portable edition.

Colombia 231

Colombia Birds Cooking Fish 231

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2021

21 species is less than 6% of the total number of hummingbird species in the Americas.) How many Emeralds were in this group? Just to confuse things even more, many other “ Emeralds ” are also in the same family and tribe, but belong to, according to current taxonomy, up to 8 different genera.

Mexico 199

Mexico Species America Groups 199

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

We all have them: families of birds that are maddeningly similar, forever leaving nagging doubts about our identifications. Birders throughout the Americas can experience the chalenges of Gull, Tern, New World Warbler, and Tyrant Flycatcher identification. New World Warblers in non-reproductive plumage. They are just hard to identify.

Mexico 136

Mexico Argentina Experience Experiments 136

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. Thus, I looked forward to this second portion of the trip with great anticipation.

Mexico 186

Mexico Costa Rica Arizona Birds 186

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 18, 2015

They are large groups of birds of all different kinds of species. A large family of White-crested Helmetshrikes , sounding like electrical toys, formed a flock within a flock, while the Black Cuckooshrike was happy to search for caterpillars alone. Long-billed Crombecs are members of the African warbler family. Blue Waxbill.

South Africa 145

South Africa Tortoises Woodpeckers Birds 145

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2014

What happens when you visit one of the best birdwatching sites in the region with the highest number of endemic bird species in the Americas in the world’s birdiest country? My group came to Montezuma to spy tasty Chocó endemic tanagers, hummingbirds, and anything else we could lay eyes on. Your mind gets blown.

Colombia 260

Colombia Birds South America America 260

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2018

But our adventurous group, led by Oliver Komar and Yobani A. Alex first led our group to nesting Yellow-tailed Orioles , which made spotting these exquisite but elusive birds gratifyingly easy. We spent two blissful days exploring both the waders and wildlife of Lake Yojoa and the tropical splendor of PANACAM Lodge.

Honduras 131

Honduras Birds Farming America 131