10,000 Birds

JANUARY 19, 2013

The individuals in this gallery were found at Reserva Ecologica Costanera Sur in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Considering its preferred habitat, there was a proposal that they be included in a family known as “forest flickers” using the generic Chrysoptilus. It struck me that they looked very similar in structure to a Flicker.

Woodpeckers 164

Woodpeckers Argentina South America Adoptable 164

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2012

It is spring in Argentina. It continued to cry as the adult rested for a moment, possibly wondering, (as so many of us watchers have done in our own family lives) “What do I have to do….?” All three of them competed as loudly for their parents’ attention, but my chick had to wait for a few passes before it got its share.

Argentina 149

Argentina South America America Family 149

10,000 Birds

MARCH 26, 2016

This week my birdy buddy, Martin, joined me for a trip to Argentina and one of our first birds from the Costanera Sur Reserve was a male Double-collared Seedeater. The Sporophila family contains exclusively Neotropic species (within the flexible Thraupidae ) and S.

Argentina 100

Argentina South America America Family 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2014

Tropical birding demands tropical birds, those families and genera unique to their latitudes rather than shared via migration across various climate zones. But these tropical ecosystems also harbor families that remind us by their very presence just how close we’ve come to the Equator and how far we are from the poles.

Colombia 190

Colombia South America Argentina Ecuador 190

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2011

Phoebes are proud members (at least they seem so) of the Family Tyrannidae , the tyrant flycatchers. Of the more than 400 tyrannids, as birds in this family are sometimes called, only three belong to the genus Sayornis , the phoebes. Black Phoebes eat bugs with the same gusto as any other flycatcher, but will also go after tiny fish.

Argentina 221

Argentina United States North America America 221

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

We all have them: families of birds that are maddeningly similar, forever leaving nagging doubts about our identifications. There are Nightingale-Thrushes all the way from central Mexico to Argentina, although the range maps for all these species show only narrow strips following mountain ranges.

Mexico 137

Mexico Argentina Experience Experiments 137

10,000 Birds

JULY 30, 2015

But, seeing a actual barn swallow nest would imply either going to central Argentina or travel to northern latitudes during the breeding season. This summer the opportunity presented itself in the form of a family trip to South Dakota and neighboring states. Chicks in nest in Wyoming. Photo: Alfredo Begazo.

South Dakota 167

South Dakota South America North America America 167

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2019

Grassland birds continue to lose habitat as small, family-run farms are replaced by large-scale, corporate agriculture interests, or are bought up and consigned to real estate development. In fact, the specific epithet oryzivorus means “rice-eating” in Latin.

Vermont 118

Vermont Belgium Farming Europe 118

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2015

Giant tyrannosaur like dinosaurs had systems for efficient breathing that modern birds use to facilitate the aerobically demanding task of flight, but those dinosaurs did not fly (see: Aerosteon riocoloradensis : A Very Cool Dinosaur from Argentina. Here’s the thing. However, both birds and Alligators actually use this pathway.

Alligators 211

Alligators Chickens Research Birds 211

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2014

Photographs taken on these travels and locally have been published in several field guides, including the Kaufman Field Guide to Advanced Birding , Peterson Reference Guide to Seawatching: Eastern Waterbirds in Flight , and Birds of Argentina & Uruguay: A Field Guide.

Japan 178

Japan Massachusetts Birds Asia 178

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2021

If you had your choice of one bird family to pursue, to seek out and observe and photograph and kvell over, which one would you choose? A passion for one bird family is also very useful. I hope by this time you have settled on a bird family for your avian obsession. (I

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Brazil Ecuador Bolivia 264

4 The Love Of Animals

MARCH 17, 2011

Chimpanzees and elephants grieve the loss of family and friends, and gorillas hold wakes for the dead. Paul’s family noticed that whenever he was about to have an attack, Tinker would get agitated. Caledonian crows live in small family groups and youngsters learn to fashion and use tools by watching adults.

Emotional 100

Emotional Animal Whales Whaling 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2013

That family name Troglodytidae has now come to mean a barbarian, but way back when it just meant “cave-dweller” This is another reference to their more or less reclusive nature and tendency for the birds to forage in dark places and crevices. Which, of course, is why we call them troglodytes.

Jordan 194

Jordan Birds North America Tenant 194

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2023

Several, like the mocker and the hummer, were members of families I hadn’t encountered before, either. Though trips to Borneo, Argentina and Sri Lanka gave plenty of new ticks, I most enjoyed birding in Africa. I can still recall the thrill of that first morning outside San Francisco, surrounded by new birds. Fantastic!

Sri Lanka 231

Sri Lanka Kenya San Francisco Greece 231

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2021

There are still some knotty problems to be worked out on the taxonomy of these families, but this new guide, featuring new artwork by Harrison and Larsson, works well with Steve N.

Birds 241

Birds Colombia Collecting Guyana 241

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2012

This totally crazy bird is the crème de la crème of the cracid family, and besides being endangered (population estimated at under 2,500), its habitat choice of cloudforests on the steep slopes of a few volcanoes and mountains in southern Mexico and south-western Guatemala makes it a tough bird to seek. Secondly, well just look at it.

2012 146

2012 Birds Guatemala Florida 146

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

As it streaks across the Andean skies of Bolivia and Argentina with its flashy tail, its not hard to see how this bird got the name “comet&#. Found in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, this bird is called the “tufted flower kisser” in some of the areas that it is found. Coming in at no. 19 is the celestial Red-tailed Comet.

Colombia 279

Colombia Ecuador Bolivia Peru 279