10,000 Birds

MAY 24, 2020

Breeding only above treeline on windswept and desolate rock faces (or equally austere habitats on the Aleutians), the three American rosy-finches (Gray-crowned, Black, and Brown-capped) are extreme environment specialists that are endemic to North America. In the summer, they are the highest altitude breeding songbird in North America.

America 264

America Arizona North America United States 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 22, 2024

When I last visited the town almost 10 years ago, it had a Wild West feel, and Wikipedia claims that it is “an important location for trade with Myanmar, in both legal and illegal goods and services” but it seemed pretty tame to me this time. This photo explains the scientific species name haemacephalus (bloodheaded).

Myanmar 224

Myanmar Sri Lanka Nepal Birds 224

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2020

The authors’ detailed delineation of problems with the accuracy of NYC breeding bird surveys or with the limits of historical writings may test a reader’s patience. Because, as this book demonstrates so well, it is sometimes important to look back in order to move forward. It’s a very mixed chapter.

New York City 180

New York City New York Birds Breeding 180

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2022

The Eurasian Wryneck is the woodpecker that doesn’t look like a woodpecker, the bird with the portmanteau name that is also a medical condition (and which may remind some people of a Nora Ephron essay). But they are woodpeckers: the genus Jynx of the subfamily Jynginae of the Picidae family.

Woodpeckers 263

Woodpeckers Hungary Thailand 2014 263

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 12, 2024

Said Blue-throated Barbet – maybe lacking an altimeter – indeed could be seen very close to its family member at Tongbiguan. A paper on the Chestnut-vented Nuthatch titled “Nest-Site Features and Breeding Ecology of Chestnut-Vented Nuthatch Sitta nagaensis in Southwestern China” has 8 authors.

Birds 221

Birds China Woodpeckers Breeding 221