10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2021

Insects and a host of other invertebrate life have evolved with these plant species, and thus depend on them. While reading the book I kept muttering, “Of course”; indeed, there was little to surprise or disagree with. Part of the answer is a simple solution; plant locally native plants in every backyard and re-establish an ecology.

Wildlife 261

Wildlife North America Mammals Breeding 261

10,000 Birds

JUNE 13, 2022

Readers with a pornographic mindset will enjoy the following information about the Dusky Moorhen: “Simultaneously promiscuous, forming breeding groups of 2–7 apparently unrelated birds; individuals sometimes switch groups between seasons. Honeyeaters are a large bird family (190 species) with a strong presence in Australia.

Australia 187

Australia Birds Feral Cats Kangaroos 187

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2022

Wood-Wrens , birds of the family Henicorhina , are very small wrens of Central and South America that like to live very close to the ground, in dense forest underbrush or elfin forests. It’s a long drive, at least an hour of steadily climbing twists and turns; but there are high-altitude species I can only see there.

Mexico 183

Mexico South America Species America 183

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2021

Fortunately, other spots in the same area offer similar birds, which of course I would not have known without our guides. Similarly, the Alpine Leaf Warbler is one of the more attractive species in an otherwise almost indistinguishable family of identical leaf warblers. (“But the difference in wing bars, Kai!”).

Birds 229

Birds North Korea China Woodpeckers 229

10,000 Birds

MAY 25, 2023

May is a busy month for birds migrating through Shanghai – and of course, last May was completely missed due to the lockdown. Note to other species: better do not rely on mature primary forests, as this may lead to extinction. This is also reflected in the Latin species name of sparverioides , which just means sparrowhawk.

Birds 130

Birds Raised Cattle Mammals 130

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2022

Not bad given that the 5 families in the inner circle of the laughingthrush family have a combined number of about 68 species. The Hainan version is sometimes considered a separate species, in which case it is classified as Near Threatened. And of course, I would have been wrong. This post shows some of them.

San Diego 198

San Diego Malaysia China Zoos 198

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2015

Third, observing and photographing breeding birds and their young have become acts of ethical confusion as birders, photographers, and organizational representatives debate the impact of our human presence on the nesting process. Some chapters focus on one species (Yellow Warbler), some on several related species (Chickadees and Nuthatches).

Eggs 263

Eggs Family 2006 New York 263

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2022

This is also why you very rarely find a photo of a giraffe on top of one of these posts – the other reason of course being that a giraffe photo would be relatively pointless in a birding blog. While 6 local species utilized these artificial nests, the Chinese Grosbeak did not, preferring its own construction.

Singapore 147

Singapore Mountain Goats Birds Giraffes 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2020

Hey, in 1959 Walt Disney set up a studio on the island and filmed Swiss Family Robinson there! By late March, hordes of Laughing Gulls and multiple species of pelagic terns gather for their turn. The seabirds are of course, the main attraction. The island of Tobago in the southern Caribbean is much wilder than one could imagine.

Fish 204

Fish Rights Species Birds 204

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2019

This past Saturday afternoon I was out on the beach in the Rockaways with my family. Royal Terns are interesting to me as a New York state birder as they are exclusively coastal and almost entirely a bird we see in fall after they disperse from their breeding grounds. The young bird, its parent, and a Herring Gull.

New York 132

New York Virginia Breeding Family 132

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2022

Hannah Buschert was first exposed to birds and birding during a required ornithology course at Oregon State University and she quickly caught the birding bug. About half of all breeding Wandering Albatross nest on the Prince Edward Islands. Marion has a fascinating history with invasive species. and seabirders.

South Africa 261

South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 261

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2020

The book is divided into three parts: “Introduction,” “Avifaunal Overview,” and “Species Accounts.” The authors trace the creation of swamps, wetlands, and meadows by farmers, and then the destruction of wetlands by the building of golf courses, the loss of meadows by the construction of train tracks. It’s a very mixed chapter.

New York City 146

New York City New York Birds Breeding 146

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2013

Of course Africa could not to be left out of the pink weekend so I have researched all African species whose official or alternative names include the word “pink”. Its mostly found on the ground in thickets or the edges of dense vegetation and usually in small family parties. There are certainly some stunners involved.

Africa 202

Africa Somalia Pelicans Mozambique 202

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2020

A Field Guide to the Birds: Giving Field Marks of All Species Found in Eastern North America was published in 1934 by Houghton Mifflin (note–Peterson was 26 years old), after being rejected by four publishers. Adding the 76 new species in the Hawaii section, this makes coverage of approximately 884 species.

North America 199

North America America Hawaii Birds 199

10,000 Birds

MARCH 10, 2021

(The White-tipped Dove is actually called, in Spanish, the Paloma Arroyera , or “Gully Dove” And sorry, I have yet to get a photo of this shy species. This is, of course the Lesser Roadrunner. It is not that close of a relative of the Northern Mockingbird , being in the same family, but a different genus.

Trinidad 173

Trinidad Emotional Transported Mexico 173

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2016

Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Northern Central America covers 827 species, including resident, migratory, and common vagrant birds. The end result is that the whole “biographic” area (NCA plus southern Mexico and northern Nicaragua) is home to 41 endemic bird species.

El Salvador 229

El Salvador America Costa Rica Honduras 229

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2012

There are few families of birds as bewitching as the birds-of-paradise. They are feathered jewels with extraordinary breeding dances almost unrivalled in the bird world. There are, however, two species that are more accesible than the rest of the family. Of course, now I want to see the rest of them. …

Indonesia 185

Indonesia Birds Australia Guinea 185

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2022

we learn) that are home to coveted boreal species, breeding wood-warblers, and two species of Grouse. And of course, two raptors that are a part of North American birding history: the Great Black Hawk of Portland and the Steller’s Sea-eagle of Boothbay Harbor and other local areas. (

Los Angeles 186

Los Angeles Birds District of Columbia Parrots 186

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2022

Colorful bills and heads seem quite popular among Letaba’s bird species – see the African Jacana (blue and black) … … the Striated Heron (yellow and blue) … … and the Yellow-billed Stork (yellow and red). The Latin species name vermiculatus (worm-like) refers to the markings on the upperparts.

Zimbabwe 147

Zimbabwe Birds South Africa Benin 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2020

Diversity of habitat means, of course, great biodiversity, and the Introduction boasts that Bolivia “is the richest landlocked nation on Earth for bird diversity, the sixth richest overall, and the fifth richest in the Americas” (p. That’s pretty amazing–Bolivia has more bird species than India! ″ x 9.5″x

Bolivia 168

Bolivia Birds Brazil Switzerland 168

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 142

North America Sparrows America United States 142

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2012

You don’t really know a bird until you’ve studied it on its breeding grounds. Getting intimate with a species over the course of the breeding cycle is one of the more rewarding aspects of birding, and field research too. Over the course of the next several days, these pin feathers emerge and – poof!

Eggs 267

Eggs Venezuela Porcupines 2008 267

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 10, 2022

The Black-crowned Night Heron is a member of the heron family. This is often the case in birds – for the young birds, it is more important to be invisible than to impress the other birds of the same species. The Olive-backed Pipit is a small songbird that in Shanghai can only be seen in winter – in summer, it breeds further north.

Birds 162

Birds Fish Germany China 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2013

It’s among a handful of species — American Robin, Black-capped Chickadee , the unholy trinity of House Sparrow – Rock Pigeon – European Starling , a few others — that have been everywhere I’ve ever lived. We never would have gotten all those extra species of Red Crossbill that way.

Connecticut 169

Connecticut Baltimore North America New York City 169

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2015

Here are some things I’ve learned from the Peterson Reference Guide to Owls of North America and the Caribbean by Scott Weidensaul: The Burrowing Owl is the only North American owl species where the male is larger than the female, albeit, only slightly larger. And the term is ‘non-reversed size dimorphism.’).

North America 214

North America Owls America Dominican Republic 214

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. Upland Sandpipers were seen almost daily, on posts, in tall grass, in trees, and, of course, flying away from us. . I wanted to see prairie birds and I wanted to experience a new state.

North Dakota 134

North Dakota Birds Sparrows Blackbirds 134

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2017

Birds of Kruger National Park covers the 259 species most frequently seen in the park, about half of the total number of birds documented there. Of course, this is not a formal “field guide,” but it is interesting to look at this alternative form or organization. Does a habitat organization of species work for you?

Ecuador 164

Ecuador Wildlife Reptiles Birds 164

10,000 Birds

MARCH 27, 2011

But the new second edition of Watching Sparrows * by Michael Male and Judy Fieth, who have a whole series of bird films already produced or in production , not only kept me staring at the screen but drew in family members to see what I was watching, to say nothing of my cats, who were enthralled by the sparrows singing on screen.

Sparrows 164

Sparrows North America United States America 164

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2013

Birds, of course! ( Avocets, Black-necked Stilts , and Spotted Sandpipers breed at the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve. Later in the season more species show up. Black-necked Stilt is one of those species that needs no explanation for their common name. As Clare well knows! ) Get out of the casinos and into nature!

Las Vegas 195

Las Vegas Nevada Birds Blackbirds 195

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2016

In addition to splits, selected rare visitors have been added (Lesser Sand-Plover, Zenaida Dove, Red-vented Bulbul and African Collared-Dove are some of the species new to the East book, Streaked Shearwater, Stonechat, Red-flanked Bluetail and Japanese White-eye are some of the West adds), and selected exotics.

North America 152

North America 2003 Birds America 152

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2012

Horned Larks breed widely over North America, including up here in the High Arctic. Horned Lark fledglings seem impossibly big to me, like they are larger than the adults (which of course they are not). Here they are a common breeding bird, one of our two species that migrate from here to Europe and then south.

Eggs 183

Eggs North America Breeding Europe 183

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

First published in 1973 in association with the Asa Wright Center, the book focuses on species descriptions, with illustrations grouped together in plates positioned in the center of the book. It is organized taxonomically, with families identified by first scientific and then popular name. The AOU has not accepted that split.

Trinidad 189

Trinidad Birds South America Research 189

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2011

Among these white-headed/dark-winged gulls formerly lumped into the genus Larus , there were 18+ recognized species the last time I checked, sharing similarities that make telling them apart for the amateur birdwatcher very difficult. 1998), then the proper name for this species is L. fuscus – should be separated as species.

2011 157

2011 Cyprus Deer Species 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

Brown Pelicans , and the northernmost Brown Booby breeding colony on this side of the Pacific. That larger clade is in turn sister to a clade containing the four remaining totipalmate bird families, which do still seem to be related, and which needed a new order name once pelicans were removed.

2011 151

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 151

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2013

Of course, this raptor pattern baldness exists for a good reason, which is another of the distasteful aspects of vulturine biology. The smellier the better, particularly as, unusually for birds, many species can boast a robust sense of smell. Old World Vultures are nestled within the family Acciptridae along with the hawks and eagles.

California Condor 175

California Condor Turkey North America Jordan 175

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2013

The story of the cahow, a “Lazurus species” that was thought to be extinct for over 300 years and then discovered to be breeding on a tiny remote island in Bermuda, is part of modern birding legend. A particularly good type of fertilizer, for example, drastically increased the population of crabs, spoiling Bermuda’s golf courses.

Birds 164

Birds Rats Breeding 2012 164

10,000 Birds

APRIL 23, 2011

Whether you like learning about bird breeding and behavior, adore baby birds, or just think that big wading birds are cool, this film is for you! Footage of them foraging, flying, and having family-time at their nests is included with narration from the two filmmakers that clearly explains what the viewer is seeing without becoming obtrusive.

United States 154

United States North America Fish Breeding 154