10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2020

For, in birder lingo, a split occurs when subspecies are determined to be, in fact, entirely separate species. If you happen to have seen both species, your life list can increase without you even leaving the house. Two former species can also be joined into one, the same way. This Bullock’s Oriole migrated from up north.

San Diego 171

San Diego San Francisco Mexico Baltimore 171

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2011

For native people, living in South America meant living with hummingbirds, and for Europeans, discovering South American meant discovering hummingbirds (and, tragically, exploiting South America meant exploiting hummingbirds, destroying hundreds of thousands for stuffed specimens and in futile attempts to keep them alive in captivity.)

South America 156

South America New York Alaska America 156

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2015

These arid hills, cloaked in a mosaic of deciduous scrub and desert vegetation, form a northern outpost for several Neotropical species while also harboring several key endemics and southwestern Nearctic species. This poorly documented swallow is a breeding endemic to these high mountains.

Mexico 187

Mexico Costa Rica Arizona Birds 187

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2011

What species is shown? Though wood-warblers, the mostly brightly colored birds of the family Parulidae, are only found in the New World we felt that birders the world over would be pleased to see a plethora of posts about these striking and sought after species. Read about them here but also get out and experience them.

United States 155

United States South America 2011 2012 155

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2018

It actually makes a lot of sense, the geographic features of the isthmus between North America (including Mexico, because Mexico is part of North America) and South America cut across political lines, as do birds. In addition, 67 species are listed in a chapter entitled “Marginal, Dubious, and Hypothetical Species.”

America 212

America El Salvador Costa Rica Honduras 212

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

In this first installment, I will focus on my impressions and experiences in the highlands portion of our tour. Many Nearctic species and families reach their southern terminus in the Northern Central American Highlands, such as Common Raven , Red Crossbill , Steller’s Jay , and even Brown Creeper. We were off to a great start.

Honduras 209

Honduras Costa Rica El Salvador Arizona 209

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2011

They are species that breed in the US and then spend the winter in Central and South America, eating what’s avialable–especially fruit. Nyjer (aka Thistle) for goldfinches was introduced from Nigeria–someone had to experiment with that. Grape jelly for orioles was an experiment too.

Nigeria 244

Nigeria Birds Belize South America 244

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2011

We will have posts on a variety of individual species of wood-warblers, wood-warbler taxonomy, searches for difficult-to-find wood-warblers, and a host of other topics. Many other non-migratory wood-warbler species are living their lives across the neotropics, doing their best to survive and pass on their genes.

United States 179

United States South America Cooking Family 179

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2015

The title is a bit deceptive, for while photographs are a huge part of the book, it is grounded in the 239 species accounts written by woodpecker guru Gerard Gorman. Chapters on taxonomy, distribution, anatomy and morphology, habitat, behavior, breeding, plumage and moult, food and foraging, flight, calls, drumming, and conservation follow.

Woodpeckers 237

Woodpeckers 2002 Europe Research 237

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. I live in the southeast of Europe, for a while lived in the south of Africa and also have extensively birded western and central India. I am talking 600 or 700+ bird species.

Sri Lanka 256

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 256

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

As summer ends these same birds (and the new year’s broods) then escape the snow and ice and head south for the austral summer, finding warmth, long days and abundant insect life. In the High Arctic we find several migrating species that break that mould. From the Tundra to the African Steppes.

Africa 193

Africa Somalia North America Nigeria 193

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2012

The dichotomous republic of Trinidad and Tobago may be something of a cipher to anyone unfamiliar with the point where the Caribbean ends and South America begins. I’ve been privileged to travel somewhat extensively through the Americas, but I still pulled a ton of lifers from the veranda before my first breakfast.

Trinidad 243

Trinidad South America America Ecuador 243

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2011

The sighting was easily the best I have ever had of the species, and it was in and out of view for about twenty minutes, foraging in small circuits but always coming back to the stand of thick brush where I had first spotted it. Read about them here but also get out and experience them.

Tigers 158

Tigers United States Jamaica Pennsylvania 158

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2011

Most of these birds are small, finch-like species with thick, conical bills for cracking seeds or eating insects. Odd little grassquits singing from power lines in South America’s great cities. ” For these reasons, it is perhaps no surprise that bird bills have played a prominent role in their classification. (PDF:

2003 206

2003 Sparrows Family South America 206

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

Experiments in the field (the famed Asa Wright Nature Center veranda) involving Bananaquits and bananas came up with numbers ranging from 7 to 16, but a tanager always came along to interfere with Bananaquits’ noisy appreciation of their namesake fruit. Even during the breeding season the birds appear to be quite unwary of humans.

Trinidad 190

Trinidad Birds South America Research 190

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2011

Though wood-warblers, the mostly brightly colored birds of the family Parulidae, are only found in the New World we felt that birders the world over would be pleased to see a plethora of posts about these striking and sought after species. Read about them here but also get out and experience them.

South Africa 158

South Africa United States Austin Alligators 158

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2014

The park is home to not one, not two, but large three colonies of breeding seabirds: the Brown Noddy , Magnificent Frigatebird , and Sooty Tern. No, that was not a typo, the Sooty Terns fly non-stop for an average of five years before they return to the Dry Tortugas to breed. Lots and lots of birds. Each took merely a minute or two.

Birds 175

Birds Florida Groups Breeding 175

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

I got to see a beautiful female and owlet on a trip to a secret nest location near Howard Prairie Lake (human-made nest structures have enhanced local breeding for these huge owls whose nest success is boosted to 83% on artificial platforms vs. 66% at natural sites). The experience, the place, and the bird combine to make this my BBOTY.

2014 184

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 184