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

AUGUST 1, 2023

The official Ontario bird checklist, produced by Ontario Field Ornithologists , June 2022 listed 506 bird species**, putting it in the top tier of U.S. Small Species Accounts: Each species is allotted one page (with certain exceptions) offering basics–bird names and size, one or two photographs, and a one-paragraph description.

North America 209

North America Birds Owls Canada 209

Reddit Animals

JANUARY 5, 2024

People in North America began using the term “right whale” in the early 1700s, and originally “right” may have meant “typical,” as these whales were considered common and ordinary. However, over time, the term evolved to refer to how they were hunted—they were considered “the right whales to hunt.”

Whales 40

Whales Whaling Rights North America 40

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 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.

North America 115

North America Europe America United States 115

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2018

You can blame the nice people at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, who took it upon themselves to send me a review copy of the Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Southeastern North America by Seabrooke Leckie and David Beadle. Moth plates from Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Southeastern North America. Let that sink in.

North America 100

North America America Oklahoma Missouri 100

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 212

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 212

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).

Costa Rica 210

Costa Rica Species South America America 210

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. Another migration tracker that seems to hold great potential for those able to master it is the Find The Data North America Bird Migration page. Fun, right?

North America 166

North America America Science Birds 166

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.

Bald Eagle 154

Bald Eagle Montenegro Campaign Turkey 154

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. Note that these are not all species accounts!

North America 202

North America America Species Groups 202

10,000 Birds

APRIL 28, 2017

The latest from his pen is Birds of Prey , a hybrid between an identification guide and an essay collection, a book of lore that provides a comprehensive overview of the raptors of North America. Birds of Prey: Hawks, Eagles, Falcons, and Vultures of North America by Pete Dunne with Kevin T. Karlson, $26.00, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

North America 102

North America Falcons America Eagles 102

10,000 Birds

JUNE 5, 2021

In Costa Rica, with around 50 hummingbird species on the list, we have our fair share of minute feathered stars. These unreal birds zip through every level of forest, use every habitat, and, like various others of their kind, several are found right in the garden. I feel fortunate to see one or more of this species on a daily basis.

Costa Rica 261

Costa Rica South America Arizona Species 261

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.

Spain 177

Spain Mexico Europe North America 177

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2022

First, rangers would show some animal dung and teach their guests how to identify it (big deal – it is going nowhere, nor hiding away) and then show, let’s say, a herd of antelopes to their left – only to use the time when no one is watching to print some lion spurs in the dust on the right hand side, so they would be nicely fresh for photographing.

Gazelles 255

Gazelles India 2012 Endangered Species 255

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

MAY 25, 2022

Towhees are large, ground-hugging sparrows that occur only in North America. The first was strange only on a personal level, as I had never before seen a juvenile of the species. They belong to either the Pipilo or Melozone genera, or perhaps both, as their taxonomy is still a point of contention. Our towhees are weird.

Mexico 206

Mexico North America 2015 Sparrows 206

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.

Costa Rica 276

Costa Rica Nashville Tennessee Turtles 276

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2021

All sorts of exotic and beautiful species may be seen. This would sound attractive even to me, except for one fact: almost all of those exotic and beautiful species are common down here in central Mexico. Southeastern Arizona is unusual, precisely because its species mix is as much Mexican as it is American.

Arizona 261

Arizona Mexico Los Angeles Dallas 261

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 253

Europe Birds Woodpeckers Ireland 253

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. Birds Can Fly Right Over Costa Rica.

Costa Rica 319

Costa Rica West Virginia New York South America 319

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 10, 2020

but there are other birds, many stopping to stay, many others moving to South America. In Costa Rica, a lot of those birds fly right overhead. Latin America tends to be loud and Costa Rica is no exception. This fall, I have had the fortune of listening to both species calling at the same time from the back balcony.

Costa Rica 267

Costa Rica South America Colombia Paraguay 267

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.

Equatorial Guinea 194

Equatorial Guinea Costa Rica Guyana Central African Republic 194

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.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Birds Protection Panama 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2021

The female isn’t quite so unreal but is still a cool little bird in her own right. Plumaged like various other small female hummingbirds from North America, the lady Snowcap is pale gray below, pale glittering green above, and with a tail that flashes bits of white. One of those shy antbirds. Raptors, Tanagers, and More.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica San Jose Birds Farming 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 192

Mexico Birds Honduras United States 192

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?

Mexico 192

Mexico Bahamas South America Panama 192

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.).

Mexico 182

Mexico Indonesia North America Arizona 182

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. Did they show up for us?

Barn Owls 257

Barn Owls Owls Mexico Leopards 257

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2021

Birds are arriving in North America, flying from places far to the south. Many come from Central America, a good number fly much further. Based on population estimates and migration routes, yes, millions, and for some species, many millions! Cliff Swallow , one of many million that migrated through Costa Rica.

Costa Rica 261

Costa Rica Nicaragua Ohio Honduras 261

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 12, 2022

White-tailed Kite in action- a classic airport species in Costa Rica. Turf farms in wooded regions are wide open oases for grasspipers and other species adapted to natural lawns. These are the three main species that urge us to scan a grassy field with puddles in September and October. Odd habitats attract odd birds.

Costa Rica 162

Costa Rica Ecuador North America Peru 162

10,000 Birds

MAY 2, 2017

This time the tome that three lucky readers will receive is Birds of Prey: Hawks, Eagles, Falcons, and Vultures of North America by Pete Dunne. The first and easiest way to win a copy of Birds of Prey: Hawks, Eagles, Falcons, and Vultures of North America is to subscribe to the 10,000 Birds email mailing list.

North America 164

North America Falcons Birds Eagles 164

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 213

America El Salvador Costa Rica Honduras 213

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 25, 2023

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. Cedar Waxwings have come back to central Mexico.

Mexico 147

Mexico 2020 2012 Parrots 147

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2023

It covers 403 species: 172 nonpasserine species and 231 passerine species in the Species Accounts, 198 species beautifully illustrated by the author in the Plates section. The scarcity of information on the young of some avian species is astounding.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 255

Wildlife Rehabilitation Birds Family Collecting 255

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 12, 2021

Simply put, wilderness areas are the most protected public lands in America. Of course, as places that are largely “untrammeled by man,” wilderness areas also have birds ( 591 species according to one study ) for birders willing to leave roads and infrastructure behind. The longer answer is below. The Wilderness Act ( 16 U.S.C.

Puerto Rico 251

Puerto Rico Alaska Protection Research 251

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 260

Costa Rica Nicaragua Birds Panama 260