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 218

North America America Hawaii Birds 218

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2020

Didn’t every household have a copy of a Peterson Field Guide on the shelf, maybe a third or fourth edition that family members grew up with, which they could quickly consult to see the arrow pointing to that belly band? These are the species that immediately come to my mind, and I probably missed some. Or, a classic Golden Guide?

North America 234

North America America 2020 Hawaii 234

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Now that Hawaii is in the ABA Area , the next additions should be Puerto Rico and the U.S. The Hawaii vote made it clear that that the ABA Area is about political borders, not geographical or ecological ones, and the two Caribbean territories have long been part of the United States. But even with Hawaii, there are many U.S.

Puerto Rico 160

Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Hawaii United States 160

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2021

Decades later, Richard Pough’s Audubon Bird Guide, Eastern Land Birds (I happily own the 1948 edition) included nest and egg descriptions for each species as well. And photographs of feathers in the species accounts, which surprised me. Text retrieved from the Hathitrust Digital Library. The first is accomplished well.

Eggs 239

Eggs Birds United States Sparrows 239