Blackbirds, Family, Research and Species

The Blackbird that is a Meadowlark – Red-breasted Blackbird in Trinidad

10,000 Birds

JULY 27, 2013

Blackbirds are blackbirds. In the new world all meadowlarks and blackbirds, along with grackles, cowbirds, orioles, oropendulas, and some others, are members of the family Icteridae , the New World Blackbirds. adult male Red-breasted Blackbird showing off its namesake. female Red-breasted Blackbird.

Blackbirds

Blackbirds Trinidad Costa Rica Nicaragua

Tiny Asian bird discovered as sole member of ancient family. Who’s next?

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2014

Big news about a small bird broke earlier this month when bird researchers from several nations announced that the species formerly known as Spotted Wren-Babbler ( Spelaeornis formosus ) — a tiny, secretive bird of montane forests from the eastern Himalayas to southeast China — is not a Spelaeornis wren-babbler at all.

Family

Family Comoros Asia Birds

The origins of tanagers, warblers, and sparrows are coming into focus

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.

Sparrows

Sparrows North America South America Blackbirds

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Birds of Belize & Birds of Costa Rica: A Field Guide Review Doubleheader

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

An associated issue is that the Belize and Costa Rica guides share many of the same descriptions of species, written by Howell. Similarly, descriptions of species repeated across volumes do not lose their accuracy with each publication. Other species are splits and lumped and have had their names changed. Why are these issues?

Costa Rica

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds

Birds of Bolivia: Field Guide–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2020

That’s pretty amazing–Bolivia has more bird species than India! The source of this ranking, BirdLife International, lists Bolivia as currently having 1,439 bird species, including 18 breeding endemics. The guide covers 1,433 species, the number of birds documented at the end of 2014, the cutoff point for the book.

Bolivia

Bolivia Birds Brazil Switzerland

First Outbreak of Usutu Virus in Germany

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2012

But I have been sick with different kinds and forms of cold since the beginning of December with no interruption, and so has my entire family. A short summary of events described in this former blog post of mine: We are talking about the thrush called Eurasian Blackbird Turdus merula , not the American Icterids. I honestly did.

Germany

Germany Blackbirds 2006 Denmark

The Case for Adding the U.S. Territories in the Caribbean to the ABA Area

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Both Puerto Rico and the USVI have active birding communities that are currently excluded from full membership in the ABA family. The USVI are smaller and have fewer habitats and, as a result, fewer bird species. All Americans Should be Full Members of the ABA Family. Because it is much larger, this will focus on Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Hawaii United States

Revenge Birding (Shanghai, early June 2022)

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2022

If I was an ornithologist aiming for a grant, I would now definitely highlight the need for more research on this topic. The Grey-Streaked Flycatcher looks only marginally more interesting, and while the Latin species name griseisticta sounds vaguely mysterious, it only means grey-spotted. These birds have too much taste.

Singapore

Singapore Mountain Goats Birds Giraffes

Into the Nest: A Book Review in the Time of Nesting

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2015

I’m happy to say that Laura Erickson and Marie Read have written a book, Into the Nest: Intimate Views of the Courting, Parenting, and Family Lives of Familiar Birds , that is not too cute and that does not anthropomorphize. Some chapters focus on one species (Yellow Warbler), some on several related species (Chickadees and Nuthatches).

Eggs

Eggs Family 2006 New York

Returning to Old Haunts

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2017

For three weeks in June, I traveled up and then down the eastern seaboard visiting ecological research sites. From Florida to Maine and back again I toured urban forests, marshes, estuaries, and more, stopping along the way to visit family and friends. Unsurprisingly, I am very fond of this small piece of natural habitat.

Virginia

Virginia Branding 2013 Blackbirds

My 2013 Birding Year in Review (With My Top Ten Birding Moments!)

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2013

states and thirty-seven counties, and added a whopping ninety-two species to my life list. I didn’t travel much this year, with a June family trip to California and Nevada and a four-day trip in July to Trinidad and Tobago being my only opportunities to get birds not in the northeastern United States. Red-breasted Blackbird.

2013

2013 New York City New York Trinidad

Birds Of The Twelve Days Of Christmas

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2011

To the birder, this begs the question: what species of birds appear in the Twelve Days of Christmas ? On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me: A Partridge in a Pear Tree The partridge, a member of the pheasant family, has been a traditional game bird in England for centuries.

Turtles

Turtles 2004 United Kingdom Geese

Birds and People: A Book Review

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2014

It’s not like I had forgotten lists created with friends of ‘songs with birds in the lyrics’, my personal favorites being Sondheim’s Green Finch and Linnet Bird and the Beatles’ Blackbird. It’s relatively easy to classify birds into family groups based on physical characteristics. As they say, the relationship is complicated.

Birds

Birds Egypt Family Eagles

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 7th Edition: A Field Guide Review

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2017

The 7th edition of the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America covers 1,023 species that reside, migrate, or have been documented as accidentals or exotics in North America. Species Accounts: With 1,023 species, National Geographic 7 continues to cover the most species of any North American field guide.

North America

North America America 2017 Birds

Birds on Posts or Birding North Dakota

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2018

We saw sparrows–a total of 14 species–and we saw many other great prairie birds, and we often saw them perched on posts. Brewer’s Blackbirds often joined the hordes of Red-winged Blackbirds flitting in and out of the taller grasses and few shrubs. back to the birds.

North Dakota

North Dakota Birds Sparrows Blackbirds

Peterson Reference Guide to Sparrows of North America: A Review by a Sparrow Fan

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2019

I like observing them, reading about them, grappling with species and subspecies identification, and even—on a good day—talking about sparrow taxonomy. Peterson Reference Guide to Sparrows of North America covers 61 species of the New World sparrow family Passerellidae that breed in Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico.

North America

North America Sparrows America United States

German Birding Blitz

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 19, 2012

Europe… with such low herp diversity the locals split any sub-population of a species that occurs on either the Iberian Peninsula or Italy as a new species just to make them feel better out themselves, naturally is the continent that rose to the top of my trip list. Either that or having family friends in Germany.

Salamander

Salamander Germany Birds Blackbirds

Polygynandry and avian swingers

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2011

Nice. ((** all names have been changed to protect identities and have been substituted with (almost) randomly chosen substitutes suitable for a family of Alpine Accentors.)) While studying, he also worked on various conservation/research projects (parrots, wagtails, vultures, and anything else that flew) and ringed thousands of birds.

2011

2011 Breeders Breeding Deer

Animal Rights Zone

The Blackbird that is a Meadowlark – Red-breasted Blackbird in Trinidad

Tiny Asian bird discovered as sole member of ancient family. Who’s next?

Webinars

Trending Sources

The origins of tanagers, warblers, and sparrows are coming into focus

Webinars

Birds of Belize & Birds of Costa Rica: A Field Guide Review Doubleheader

Birds of Bolivia: Field Guide–A Book Review

First Outbreak of Usutu Virus in Germany

The Case for Adding the U.S. Territories in the Caribbean to the ABA Area

Revenge Birding (Shanghai, early June 2022)

Into the Nest: A Book Review in the Time of Nesting

Returning to Old Haunts

My 2013 Birding Year in Review (With My Top Ten Birding Moments!)

Birds Of The Twelve Days Of Christmas

Birds and People: A Book Review

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 7th Edition: A Field Guide Review

Birds on Posts or Birding North Dakota

Peterson Reference Guide to Sparrows of North America: A Review by a Sparrow Fan

German Birding Blitz

Polygynandry and avian swingers

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