10,000 Birds

APRIL 1, 2023

Our own version of Gullmania began with the first documented sighting of a Heerman’s Gull. It’s a bird species I have expected for some time, an overdue bird if you will. Our tropical shores just don’t get the numbers of gulls seen in other, more northerly places.

Costa Rica 226

Costa Rica Factory Transported Fish 226

10,000 Birds

APRIL 24, 2021

Earlier in the day, as we ventured out towards the deep waters off of Malpais, Costa Rica at 6 in the morning, another Galapagos Shearwater was the first real pelagic species we encountered. There was even that outside, enticing chance of documenting something new for Costa Rica.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Dolphins Sea Turtles Turtles 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2023

It covers 403 species: 172 nonpasserine species and 231 passerine species in the Species Accounts, 198 species beautifully illustrated by the author in the Plates section. The scarcity of information on the young of some avian species is astounding.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 255

Wildlife Rehabilitation Birds Family Collecting 255

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 26, 2020

This species is rare, hardly ever observed, and severely understudied. EBird, for example, has a total of only 134 observations recorded (5 of them mine), and has only received 9 lists with photos of the species (4 of them mine). This one is a female, although there was more than one male present in the group of some 10 that I saw.

Owls 154

Owls Woodpeckers Mexico Falcons 154

10,000 Birds

MAY 2, 2023

It could easily be mistaken for a book about aviation or space navigation or even a flight simulator game if you don’t read the long, adjective-filled subtitle: How a Passionate and Quirky Group of Pioneering Scientists Solved the Mystery of Bird Migration. But there are no indications that these notes exist in the text itself.

Science 186

Science Illinois Investigation Research 186

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2023

Because, let’s face it, when you get off that plane and look at those severe volcanic landscapes and then find yourself face to face with one of the islands’ four mockingbird species, you’re not going to think, “Oh, look, lava and a mockingbird.” The updating of the text is very important.

2006 248

2006 Tortoises Sea Lions Sea Turtles 248

10,000 Birds

APRIL 19, 2016

This example is important because it appears that the protector species, not just the protected species, gains a benefit, the latter having been documented many times before.

Alligators 115

Alligators Protection Leopards Birds 115

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2015

In its natural old-world range, the House Sparrow offers an interesting identification challenge and has vagrant potential since it is a polytypic species with a highly complex taxonomy. The genus Passer has several well-recognized and recognizable species in Europe, and still holds several enigmas.

Sparrows 215

Sparrows Italy Asia Austria 215

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 21, 2014

The socioecology of Monk Parakeets: Insights into parrot social complexity by Elizabeth Hobson, Michael Avery, and Timothy Wright, is a new paper in Auk , with this abstract: In many species, individuals benefit from social associations, but they must balance these benefits with the costs of competition for resources. but not steep (,0.1).

Parrots 202

Parrots Research Dogs Groups 202

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2020

That’s pretty amazing–Bolivia has more bird species than India! The source of this ranking, BirdLife International, lists Bolivia as currently having 1,439 bird species, including 18 breeding endemics. The guide covers 1,433 species, the number of birds documented at the end of 2014, the cutoff point for the book.

Bolivia 172

Bolivia Birds Brazil Switzerland 172

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. This still leaves the user flipping through sections, looking for the species in question, though I don’t think there are many species with this habitat overlap.

Ecuador 171

Ecuador Wildlife Reptiles Birds 171

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2014

In the late nineteenth century, Eugene Schieffelin, a wealthy New York drug manufacturer, resolved to introduce to North America every species of bird mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare. Schieffelin was long a leading figure in the American Acclimatization Society, a bizarre group of meddlers based in New York City.

New York City 191

New York City New York North America Species 191

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2016

This is a very different book from what I expected, less of a handbook and more of a comprehensive identification text on 24 groups of birds, presented in words and photographs. It is an intriguing choice of species. These are bird groups that have been covered extensively by other guides. Armistead and Brian L.

Birds 190

Birds Groups 2015 North America 190

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 27, 2015

Along with Snows, Greater White-fronted Goose are one of the most abundant species here. We were just minding our own business, completely innocently, when this group of birds came along. Geese, of course, are known to be down to get down with other species, because they’re kinky like that. We couldn’t believe it.

Geese 197

Geese Fowl Ducks Mississippi 197

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2023

The Majestic Wetlands: Within Shanghai’s boundaries lie several pristine wetland habitats that serve as vital sanctuaries for a plethora of bird species. This expansive marshland is home to rare and endangered species such as the charismatic Black-faced Spoonbill, Saunders’s Gull, and the elegant Oriental Stork.

China 164

China Endangered Species Sanctuary Protection 164

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2018

There is the “The Moth,” a storytelling group popularized by The Moth Radio Hour. The group’s name is in honor of the moths attracted to porch lights in evenings gone by, when storytellers would sit and tell tales on these porches. There are over 11,000 species of moths in North America. But, there have been exceptions.

North America 100

North America America Oklahoma Missouri 100

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

The brilliant orange coloration and rich, haunting song of the Spot-breasted Oriole ( Icterus pectoralis ) makes this species one of my favorite permanent residents in southeastern Florida, even though it is an introduced exotic. How can an introduced species be a favorite among birders? Don’t they compete with native birds?

Miami 174

Miami Costa Rica Florida 2005 174

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2019

Nor are there any birding authorities requiring folks to identify, count and document the nuthatches, titmice and Downy Woodpeckers that come to their backyard feeders. Watch that one and keep an eye on the others because all sorts of species can show at any time. Check out the toucanets. Northern Emerald Toucanet. Quail-doves anyone?

Costa Rica 204

Costa Rica Cooking Birds Chickens 204

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2019

If a list also shows the status for each species, birders on their way to Costa Rica would realize that they shouldn’t really expect vireos with white eyes nor blue heads (but would hopefully know that they should very much report those species on eBird so local birders can chase them!). Toucan species with new names.

Costa Rica 199

Costa Rica Birds Owls South America 199

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

DECEMBER 31, 2019

I saw 863 species of birds, bringing my life list to 1,820. Such travel brings a lot of birds and the 863 species I saw this year is the most species I have ever seen. How can I narrow down the eight-hundred-sixty-three species to ten? How can I, by listing only ten, call eight-hundred-fifty-three species not worthy?

2019 139

2019 Barbados Uganda Costa Rica 139

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2014

It’s relatively easy to classify birds into family groups based on physical characteristics. Additional back of the book material includes a Glossary, Biographical Details, a Select Bibliography, Notes, Credits, an Index to Species and a General Index. And, that just isn’t documented in scientific papers.

Birds 212

Birds Egypt Family Eagles 212

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

JULY 5, 2022

He describes the change model he was using as follows: From my orientation, background, and bias, scholarly work must come first to document and establish a need for change. There’s a lot more, of course, and it all makes you wonder if we should have bird feeders or urban green spaces or fountains or windows.

New York City 253

New York City Birds Illinois Science 253

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2011

.&# * Flipping from the field guide plates to the species accounts muddied the water for me a bit, as instead of a discussion of subspecies there is a discussion of three different groups, which have names that overlap with the subspecies’ names. What have I learned from all of this? So, help!

Woodpeckers 154

Woodpeckers Honduras Groups Mexico 154

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2014

Did I dare dip my toe into this catalog of tantalizing species? Phillipps’ Field Guide (I’ll be using this shortened form of the title) covers 673 avian species, including 59 endemics, and 53 species that have not been documented yet for the area but which may show up in the next few years.

Brunei 174

Brunei Birds Asia China 174

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 147

North America Sparrows America United States 147

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2015

birders have been able to visit Cuba as part of survey groups and cultural exchanges for years, but those trips have been few in number and not always easy to find. Navarro’s exceptional drawings illustrate the species accounts. Forty-eight species. Cuban Trogon, the national bird who wears the colors of the Cuban flag!

Cuba 229

Cuba Birds United States 2000 229

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2016

where and when the species is likely to be seen on the east coast, flight style, size and structure as compared to similar species. Of the 426 species on the official state checklist, this guide covers 252. The brief, concise text paragraphs for birds give status (common, uncommon, scarce, etc.),

Pennsylvania 165

Pennsylvania Texas Whales Whaling 165

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2015

Plastic behaviors are not automatically unrelated to natural selection, but the way those behaviors vary across individuals or across groups may not be best explained by underlying genetic differences. Part of that research was to document human avoidance by ground mammals, and that was stark and apparent.

Birds 119

Birds Research Humane Pets 119

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

But getting a grip on gulls can be rewarding, and even within a large group of seemingly drab-colored, dump-loving trash eaters, there are spectacular species, like the dramatic Sabine’s Gull, the nearly mythical Ivory Gull, and easily one of the most sought-after species in North America, the mysterious Ross’s gull. (p.

Birds 263

Birds North Carolina North America Owls 263

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. The 39 owls include five endemic Caribbean species.

North America 221

North America Owls America Dominican Republic 221

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 6, 2015

Florida is by Bill Pranty, central Florida resident, author of A Birder’s Guide to Florida , now in its fifth edition, plus numerous articles documenting the distribution of birds in Florida, current chair of the ABA Checklist committee, and an active member of the Florida Ornithological Society.

Colorado 235

Colorado Florida Birds New Jersey 235

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 30, 2013

But as she stayed and mice were being tossed out, she decided it wasn’t for her, and she left the birds, and the group. And as Ron Dudley shows, it goes beyond live mice, as he documented a whole chicken being left out by someone to attract raptors. At least a chicken would last awhile as a feeder.

Owls 192

Owls Mice Tethering Chickens 192

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 21, 2012

These wildlife refuges are literally essential for the survival of many migratory species of the Pacific Flyway. Waterfowl were then and are now the most prominent and economically important group of migratory birds of the North American continent. In 1985, waterfowl populations had plummeted to record lows. By 1985, approximately 3.2

Sacramento 169

Sacramento Wildlife United States North America 169

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2011

You’d think, then, that applying science to philosophy by studying the evolutionary underpinnings of thought and behavior across species would be right up my alley. But perhaps such morals would be the hardest to discover and document. For the most part hope won, but it was not a flawless victory.

Morals 109

Morals Animal Humane Research 109

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 21, 2014

As an example, not long ago I found a pair of Long-tailed Ducks – a locally rare species – on a nearby reservoir. A couple locally uncommon and well-documented species are all it takes to put yourself on the path to trustworthiness. We are not immune. Honestly, it doesn’t take much.

Raleigh 208

Raleigh 2008 Rights Raised 208