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Acorn Woodpeckers: The Clowns of the Avian World

10,000 Birds

Why would I call these beautiful woodpeckers the “clowns of the avian world?” ” Besides the facial features of the Acorn Woodpecker ( Melanerpes formicivorus ) appearing somewhat clown-like, they are a joy to watch and some of their antics are sure to bring a smile to anyone’s face. www.youtube.com/watch?

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Best Bird of the Weekend (Third of June 2016)

10,000 Birds

Mid-June has so much to offer in the temperate zones, with breeders in one half of the world and migrants in the other. Pileated Woodpeckers take BBOTW honors quite often around here, but who can resist the captivating sight of an adult teaching two big, gangly juveniles the finer points of extracting nutrients from decaying logs?

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Some Ingenuity Can Go a Long Way

10,000 Birds

Among birds the Egyptian Vulture uses rocks to crack Ostrich eggs, the New Caledonian Crow and Woodpecker Finch (one of several Darwin Finches of the Galapagos Islands), uses sticks to extract grubs from inside a branch. This is similar to the fact that all birds, even first time breeders within a species build identical nests.

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Computer-modelled Range Maps

10,000 Birds

There are 240+ breeding birds in Serbia, but the colonial breeders and raptors were treated separately, and for a few dozen uncommon species there wasn’t enough data for computer modeling software. Once in the forest, attention should be diverted to the White-backed Woodpecker , also Eurasian Woodcock , Stock Dove and Ural Owl.

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American Birding Association Field Guide to Birds of Ontario: A Field Guide Review

10,000 Birds

Lengthy captions point out key identification features, mostly plumage-based, sometimes including behavior, size, and structure. The text descriptions encapsulate everything else and they are a delight.

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The Wonderfulness of Local Field Guides: Reviews of ABA Field Guide to Birds of Maine & Birding Guide to the Greater Pasadena Area

10,000 Birds

There are charismatic birds like Barrow’s Goldeneye, Evening Grosbeak, Red and White-winged Crossbills; mysterious seabirds like Leach’s Storm-Petrel; ‘little brown jobs’ like Winter Wren and Nelson’s Sparrow; a treasury of warbler species, 27 in all, many state breeders.

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The Summer Doldrums

10,000 Birds

Migration hasn’t really kicked in, the breeders aren’t tied to breeding territories any more, and it is hot and sweaty outside. Tanagers, woodpeckers, gnatcatchers – missing! Nothing is quite as much of a downer to a birder than the summer doldrums. Uncomfortable weather and a lack of birds make birders grumpy.

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