10,000 Birds
JUNE 24, 2016
Blackbirds, as a family, often have those simple descriptive names that are easy to mock ( Yellow-rumped Warbler , ugh) until a non-birder comes describing such a species to you and asking for an ID. Which is not to say that the creeping hand of ornithological nepotism has never touched the blackbirds. Take Brewer’s Blackbird.
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. We now know a lot more about who is a tanager vs. a sparrow vs. a cardinal.
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10,000 Birds
APRIL 2, 2019
I like sparrows. I like observing them, reading about them, grappling with species and subspecies identification, and even—on a good day—talking about sparrow taxonomy. The book does not include House Sparrow, an Old World sparrow that belongs to a completely different bird family. Scope of Book. Mexico border.
10,000 Birds
APRIL 26, 2013
Since it’s really hard to type in a splint, here is a blast from the past: specifically from the beginning of this long, strange trip, my cross-country journey from New York to Montana: I have to confess, I had forgotten all about the Eurasian Tree Sparrow. I wasn’t thinking about the Eurasian Tree Sparrow at all, though.
10,000 Birds
NOVEMBER 6, 2021
424 Eurasian Blackbird – Turdus merula. 434 House Sparrow – Passer domesticus. 452 Stripe-headed Sparrow – Peucaea ruficauda. 453 Black-chested Sparrow – Peucaea humeralis. 454 Black-striped Sparrow – Arremonops conirostris. 455 Chipping Sparrow – Spizella passerina.
10,000 Birds
OCTOBER 3, 2021
He got to some of the hotspots in his home town and enjoyed seeing a variety of fall migrants from wood-warblers to blackbirds. But, of them all, his Best Bird of the Weekend was a new one for him for Ulster County, a Lincoln’s Sparrow. How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?
10,000 Birds
APRIL 6, 2022
And this is why ornithologists stopped calling the American Kestrel a “Sparrowhawk” Kestrels will eat lots of things, including grubs… but never sparrows. Brewer’s Blackbirds are rare treats down here in Michoacán. Extra points to these American Avocets for adopting a different pose for each numbered group.
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