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. And the Baltimore Oriole is an iconic eastern bird, which winters along Mexico’s east coast, but never in the west. Then, around 4:00 p.m.,

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Mexico Birds Raccoons Baltimore 210

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.

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Costa Rica Mexico North America Lions 201

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2016

So, if you are going to write a field guide on the birds of the countries south and east of Mexico–Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—it makes the utmost sense that you embrace the whole geographic area. It has been a long time between field guides for most of these countries.

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El Salvador America Costa Rica Honduras 234

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

Last week, I received an email from an American couple that has recently moved to Morelia; they found me right here on 10,000 Birds. But there are apparently almost a million Americans that have settled here in Mexico, far beyond any other country’s total. Fame suits me, I must humbly admit.) Good choice!).

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Mexico Birds Costa Rica Alabama 232

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2020

The April arrival of the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America, Second Edition was a supremely happy moment in a very difficult, sad month. A companion regional guide, Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Western North America was published in 1941; its fifth edition will be coming out in early September.

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North America America Hawaii Birds 223

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.

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Mexico 2018 Ducks Breeding 234

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.

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Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 227

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. The birds we observed were nesting right into the cliff face. Photo by Andrew Spencer.

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Mexico Costa Rica Arizona Birds 201

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 11, 2021

Many thrushes live or winter in Mexico, but their taxonomy is mostly quite simple. Eight of our large thrushes (the American Robin , western Mexico’s own Rufous-backed Robin , and eastern Mexico’s ubiquitous Clay-colored Thrush , among others) belong to the genus Turdus. Why are Aztec Thrushes so hard to see?

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Mexico North America 2017 America 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.

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Mexico Birds Honduras United States 206

10,000 Birds

MAY 25, 2022

Towhees are large, ground-hugging sparrows that occur only in North America. Down here in central Mexico, the Canyon Towhee is a constant presence in open areas, including in my garden and around our church. The first was strange only on a personal level, as I had never before seen a juvenile of the species.

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Mexico North America 2015 Sparrows 222

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 25, 2022

Now, it is much easier for me to achieve first-time sightings of species in Europe than it is in Mexico, at this point of the game. So I might have assumed I would not see new species in the Palmones wetlands. The first gave me eight new species for Spain, of which four were lifers. Gee, I hope I got this one right.

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Spain Mexico Europe North America 188

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2014

Where did the Coney Island Gray-hooded Gull come from, Africa or South America? I kept wishing I had Rare Birds of North America , by Steve N. Howell, Ian Lewington, and Will Russell, right in front of me. Species that were once seen rarely and have now become more common, like Clay-colored Thrush, are not included.

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North America America Birds United States 259

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2015

These and several other species might end up being armchair ticks if and when we take a closer look at their evolutionary history. Taxa that could end up being split into one species occurring north of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and one south of the isthmus. (2). Two subspecies of the same species that differ within Costa Rica. (4).

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Costa Rica Species South America America 223

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 25, 2023

Cedar Waxwings have come back to central Mexico. Most years, there are no more than a few dozen reports of this species across the region. and Canada, Waxwings are clearly an irruptive species for Mexico. Which brings us to the species in this post’s title. And, gee, I do hope I am right.

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Mexico 2020 2012 Parrots 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 14, 2021

But it does offer plenty of the endemics and other species that make our area distinctive, and many of them were waiting for me on this latest visit. For the taxonomy fans out there, the American Ornithological Society just announce that this species should be moved to the Chlorophonia genus. Blue Mockingbird.

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Mexico Sparrows United States Virginia 238

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. From the Abstract and summary: Changes in climate can cause populations of species to decline, to increase, or to remain steady. Stephens et al. Let’s look at that first.

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North America Europe America United States 122

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 14, 2023

Had it not been for the Wild Turkey, for instance, the first Pilgrims to America, the English ones, would not, possibly, have survived, he says. They were barely mentioned in The Voyage of the Beagle and not at all in On the Origin of Species. Maybe Moss is right, and birds have changed history.

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Bald Eagle Montenegro Campaign Turkey 166

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.

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Los Angeles North America America Species 225

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. The name Sedge Wren is to be used for the migratory wrens that summer in the U.S.

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Barn Owls Owls Mexico Leopards 262

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2022

Alberto Lobato, an ornithologist from the eastern side of Mexico, would be in Morelia, and could we go birding? ” (Actually, Chivizcoyo is a common name for Mexico’s legendary Bearded Wood-Partridge.) Early July is right in the middle of month-and-a-half where I have seen the Sinaloa Martin. (I So I had hope.

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Mexico United States Breeding Penguins 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2019

The Yellowthroat group is an odd collection of bird species. The one migratory species, aptly named the Common Yellowthroat , can be seen almost anywhere in North America. Another one, the Masked Yellowthroat , can be found in five unconnected resident territories over much of South America. See the difference?

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Mexico Bahamas South America Panama 199

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 16, 2019

No, the problem with “empids” is that they all look exactly alike… all 15 species! Why they can’t all agree on a single species and lump themselves, I’ll never know. All because you do not live in central Mexico, where most of these species spend the winter, all jumbled together.

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West Virginia Mexico Illinois Rabbits 150

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

Algeciras, Spain, to be specific — right around the bay from Gibraltar. It is the western European equivalent of the amazing Raptor River ( Río de Rapaces ) in Mexico’s eastern state of Veracruz. A Peregrine Falcon was seen in the distance, one of the day’s few species I could also have seen in Mexico.

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Spain Birds Mexico Eagles 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2021

It is also fascinating to see how similar Old World trogons look to their New World relatives, right down to the same flamboyant color patterns. Honesty requires that I confess to having seen none of these species. These species are visually very similar, with subtle differences in their tail patterns. Wikipedia has been used.).

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Mexico Indonesia North America Arizona 194

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 30, 2020

I drove out a bit late because of an almost-flat tire that needed attention, and then managed to drive right past the reservoir without seeing it. The Salvia mexicana is sold in North America with the varietal name “Limelight” But this one was wild, native, and beautiful. Not the most auspicious start to my day!

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2020 Birds South America Reptiles 280

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.

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Costa Rica Panama Nashville Baltimore 264

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. The Olive-crowned Yellowthroat is one of Costa Rica’s resident wood-warbler species. Yes, you read that right. Violet Sabrewing.

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Costa Rica Nashville Tennessee Turtles 285

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. But this Plover is a Snowy, and will stay right here.

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Mexico Breeding Ducks North America 171

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 21, 2021

Give certain, special trees the right conditions and they also take root in the shallow mud of estuaries and other coastal situations. 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.

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Costa Rica Birds Protection Panama 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

Oh, all right, I’ll admit that you could stay at home and still enjoy your Yellow- and Black-crowned Night-Herons.). Fortunately for me, my adoptive land of Mexico is rich in, precisely, double-hyphenates. Except that all those are tropical jungle groups, found mostly on the other side of Mexico from where I live.

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Sparrows Mexico United States Groups 142

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2019

When you bird in Latin America, you quickly realize how America-centric English-language bird names are. This is an easy species for me to see in my region — any time BUT in summer. The winter-only nature of migratory species can cause other name problems, such as with the Indigo Bunting. What is the problem?

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Mexico America Species Birds 113

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2022

This is my best place to pick up species that inhabit, or visit, the border between the Hot Country thorn forest and highland pine-oak forest habitats. It wasn’t the most colorful species of the day. And how am I doing on my species race for the year? But its rump was somewhat bright, I suppose.

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South America Sparrows Mexico Bears 206

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2019

It’s a rush any new birder experiences: that of every species being a lifer. But the opportunities to see new species become more difficult with each one seen. But the opportunities to see new species become more difficult with each one seen. Even so, I was able to see 54 species, of which fully half were lifers.

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Spain Europe Sparrows Mexico 204

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2020

Plus a few truly difficult species. Sure, it is an introduced species in Germany. But the Kentish Plover was sheltering its young under its body, and the Little Ringed Plover was incubating an egg — right in the middle of downtown Madrid! Mexico has a good number of greenish or rusty Woodpeckers. I live in Mexico!

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Austria Spain 2019 Birds 153

10,000 Birds

JULY 19, 2018

And what does it tell us, other than the obvious “head for South America” or perhaps Indonesia? It divides countries into categories, where the next category has 200 more species. In some cases the data are outdated, e.g. Costa Rica has 900 and not 800 species, but I made no corrections, remaining faithful to the original map data.

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Equatorial Guinea Costa Rica Guyana Central African Republic 207

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

(Someday I will get up the nerve to write about the ten, yes, TEN Empidonax species I believe I have seen in my little corner of Mexico. But I am afraid to post my photos of these with IDs, since I am never quite sure I got them right.). I know of two field marks to use with this species. Thanks again, Fabián!

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Mexico Argentina Experience Experiments 144