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. Below is the logo. Leave your best guess in the comments.

United States 155

United States South America 2011 2012 155

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. Photo by Andrew Spencer.

Mexico 191

Mexico Costa Rica Arizona Birds 191

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 182

United States South America Cooking Family 182

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2021

Pough “with illustrations in color of every species” by Don Eckelberry, Doubleday, 1946. The National Audubon Society Birds of North America covers all species seen in mainland United States, Canada and Baja California. The press material says it covers over 800 species, so you know I had to do a count.

North America 279

North America America Birds California Condor 279

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 257

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 257

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2012

Cliff Swallows migrate to North America from their wintering grounds in South America to nest in large colonies, sometimes numbering in the thousands. In addition to their homing tendency, breeding swallows are attracted to old nests. Under suitable conditions, a nest is quite durable and can be used in successive years.

San Diego 165

San Diego illegal California South America 165

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 22, 2012

Right now we’re pretty much a three species town, Ravens with a chance of Hoary Redpolls and a sprinkling of Rock Ptarmigan. (I I smashed the High Arctic Christmas Bird Count record this January 2nd by managing to find all three species here in town. Typically there are four eggs in a brood especially on good year.

South America 160

South America Eggs Family Raised 160

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 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 232

El Salvador America Costa Rica Honduras 232

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 14, 2019

In Costa Rica, it’s also happening, not as in full force mode as the temperate north but that will change in a month when we see thousands of Eastern Wood-pewees , flocks of Eastern Kingbirds , and other species hurrying their way to South America. Where will those birds go when they come back looking for food and shelter?

Costa Rica 148

Costa Rica South America Tennessee 2019 148

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

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. Alex also masterfully worked another tricky species into view for us during that first afternoon, Ruddy Crake (a close relative of the Black Rail ).

Honduras 214

Honduras Costa Rica El Salvador Arizona 214

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 245

Trinidad South America America Ecuador 245

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 173

Bolivia Birds Brazil Switzerland 173

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. The guide covers 477 species, an expansion of 35 from the second edition, which was published in 1991. The AOU has not accepted that split.

Trinidad 195

Trinidad Birds South America Research 195

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2014

In her free time she travels near and far to find birds to continue building her life list, though many of her favorites can still be found right in her own backyard. The park is home to not one, not two, but large three colonies of breeding seabirds: the Brown Noddy , Magnificent Frigatebird , and Sooty Tern. Lots and lots of birds.

Birds 177

Birds Florida Groups Breeding 177

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. stuffing the chicks full of delicious seeds, most commonly including seeds from species of Croton and Hyptus.

Eggs 268

Eggs Venezuela Porcupines 2008 268

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

Larry starts us off right with an owl that makes birders drool: I was able to see and photograph many great birds in 2014 but my Best Bird of the Year would have to be the Great Gray Owl , the largest Strix in North America. Below are our Best Birds of the Year. What was yours? Let us know in the comments…see you there!

2014 188

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 188

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2011

Consider who the rightful owner of this rich resource might be and weigh the consequences of hasty action. Now a car manufacturer might suggest that you remove the caustic substance immediately with a soft cloth, but are they really the right people to be giving advice on such a sensitive issue? Now where have I heard that before?

Bolivia 189

Bolivia Chile America Spain 189

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 24, 2014

August arrived and I was releasing birds knowing they’d need time to adapt prior to making that long flight across the Gulf of Mexico, headed to South America. But lets see … I’d say one of my most memorable releases is that of a Purple Martin , a species of special concern in California. So gorgeous!

Wildlife Rehabilitation 221

Wildlife Rehabilitation Ohio Tulsa West Virginia 221

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2020

There is a thing parents know very well – how important it is to choose the right name for a child. Birders normally care about species and make species lists, how do families fit into those? Adding more species brings a lot of excitement, as long as you bird your own country or a continent. Families perhaps?

Family 293

Family Birds South America Breeding 293

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

I’ve been fortunate to see two Penguin species in the wild (African and Galapagos) and have dreamed of seeing more–maybe even all!–especially –especially when reviewing books like A Field Guide to the Wildlife of South Georgia or Far from Land: The Mysterious Lives of Seabirds.

Penguins 278

Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 278

10,000 Birds

MARCH 10, 2011

The vast majority of Baltimore Orioles that breed in North America return to the tropics between Mexico and northern South America for the cold half of the year. A trip to the coastal plain may net you up to seven species of warblers, from the omnipresent Yellow-rumps to Chats and Cape Mays. Wicked, right?

North Carolina 140

North Carolina 2011 St. Louis Baltimore 140

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 213

America El Salvador Costa Rica Honduras 213

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 26, 2021

And apart from local people, primate researchers sometimes spot it, but it is a species seen by fewer than ten living birders. This book is essentially about those birds that breed on the continent south of the Sahara, a topic few birders are familiar with. Some are incredibly rare and hard to find.

Congo 264

Congo Africa South Africa Madagascar 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 30, 2021

From there, we entered a side tributary full of Ringed and Amazon Kingfishers , with Chestnut-fronted and Scarlet Macaws in flight… and then the noise: groans, croaks and grunts… and the smell… of this 65 million years old species, so old that the last dinosaurs must have fed on them! Later, we would be seeing dolphins every day.

Dolphins 260

Dolphins Colombia Otters Birds 260

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

Nestled right in the middle of Europe, we have a little bit of everything, a nice cross section of Europe’s avifauna. Greater Rheas, a species the Germans call Nandu, are very popular in Germany and frequently kept in zoos as well as private enclosures. Germany is underrated as a birding destination. Turns out, it wasn’t.

Germany 245

Germany Birds 2000 South America 245

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2023

That’s 18 species in one book. This is more than a collection of species accounts. There are also two pages illustrating the “Holistic Approach,” silhouettes of each species (Western birds on the left, Eastern birds on the right), that allow for comparison of structure, size, and shape.

Los Angeles 210

Los Angeles North America America Species 210

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2014

Less than 1% of all species exhibit role some type of role reversal where males do what females typically do. Perhaps the most complicated and bizarre mating system is that of the Rheas of South America. They live in flocks in the open country shrubland of Southern South America.

Eggs 153

Eggs South America Raised America 153

10,000 Birds

MAY 30, 2014

There are approximately 10,000 plant species in the Cerrado. It also supports the greatest variety of large mammals in all of South America, including such iconic species as Maned Wolf and Giant Anteater. A Rufous-winged Antshrike, a typical species of lightly wooded savanna in the lower elevations of the park.

Brazil 167

Brazil South America Collecting America 167

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 19, 2020

Last weekend I wasn’t on the hunt for any species in particular though. Many of these were still in their breeding plumage, a special treat for us here in the tropics as they would soon shed their richly patterned exterior for a drab and more mundane outfit. There were more Lesser Yellowlegs than we could count.

Trinidad 179

Trinidad South America Blackbirds Industry 179

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2013

Consider their plumage, waterproof and dense like all aquatic birds, but each feather attached to their skin at a right angle with a curl to the tip which traps air against the body. Despite their predilection for the watery realm, there are some species of grebes that are long-distance migrants. Not enough for you?

Jordan 192

Jordan Guatemala Birds South America 192

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 13, 2011

My home country of South Africa can only be described as a birding paradise! Originally considered monotypic, two species are now recognized. Cape (or Rufous) Rockjumper is a true South African endemic and restricted to the southwest Cape. Males of this species are more brightly colored in their non-breeding winter plumage.

South Africa 222

South Africa Lesotho Africa Swaziland 222

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

The flocks that just a fortnight ago held multiple species in varied, if subdued, hues, now overwhelmingly consist of a single species. We get to see a lot of them around here, and familiarity breeds, not contempt certainly, but perhaps apathy. Clearly they have no such compunction about heading south together.

North America 194

North America North Carolina South America America 194

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2017

bought the rights to Noah Webster’s famous American Dictionary of the English Language , though it later lost exclusive rights to the “Webster” name.). Many individual species get an entry too, though they are generally not capitalized. In 1843, G & C Merriam Co. Some entries include etymology (word history) information.

Albatross 104

Albatross Bears Ducks Bald Eagle 104

10,000 Birds

JULY 2, 2019

And, I looked at my eBird list and realized I’ve seen nine species of Antpitta and one of Gnateater. Antpittas and Gnateaters covers 64 species in six genera and two families. (I The Species Accounts feature highly detailed text by Harold Greeley, distribution maps, and over 250 photographs by a number of photographers.

Research 140

Research Eggs South America Costa Rica 140

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

MAY 15, 2011

We spent almost 4 months crossing the USA and had an amazing time, although it was not the right time of year for Wood-Warblers. Right now great flocks of wood-warblers are making their way north from the southern United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America to breed across the United States and Canada.

South Africa 158

South Africa United States Austin Alligators 158