10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2021

But this book taught me about eagles, owls, storks and herons. Not all the birds, of course, but many of the distinctive and conspicuous species. Yes, you read that correctly – it was seemingly reversing the laws of gravity. Very soon, the other members of this unique family were on my radar. I was blown away.

Trinidad 173

Trinidad Laws Family Hunting 173

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2021

All sorts of exotic and beautiful species may be seen. This would sound attractive even to me, except for one fact: almost all of those exotic and beautiful species are common down here in central Mexico. Southeastern Arizona is unusual, precisely because its species mix is as much Mexican as it is American.

Arizona 257

Arizona Mexico Los Angeles Dallas 257

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2022

I was surprised that this species is named for its vocalization – which sounds like laughter. For example, the Diamond Dove is the world’s second-smallest species of the columbidae order ( source ). The Latin species name haematonotus (“blood-backed”) sounds a bit more exciting but not necessarily more accurate.

Australia 147

Australia Birds Parrots Ostriches 147

10,000 Birds

MAY 9, 2019

At the same time, at the western bank of the Volga River corpses piled ever higher… or so starts the plot of the Jean-Jacques Annaud’s movie Enemy at the Gates, with Jude Law as young Zaytsev. Just imagine a family excursion to Yellowstone to photograph grazing herds of elephants – equally wrong. Something was very wrong.

Protection 144

Protection Elephants Owls Laws 144

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2019

So, for example, Essay #15, “Individual Variation,” uses Herring Gulls to introduce the concept that one species, even one species at a specific age, can vary widely in appearance. The Checklist is more than a taxonomic listing of species and chapter number and title; it also contains useful notes on each bird family.

Birds 114

Birds North America Breeding America 114

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2011

In the right season, with a little luck, we often find it, and sometimes it perches high and long enough that we can admire its scimitar of a bill, its stern face pattern, and even the patch of rusty red on the undertail that gives the species its English and its scientific names. Following a detour to Harvard Law School, he took the Ph.D.

2011 140

2011 Tucson Arizona Deer 140

10,000 Birds

MARCH 22, 2011

The naming of the hornbill family is a bit farther fetched. Wikimedia Commons Bucerotidae is etymologically opaque to most birders, I’d venture, but when Rafinesque described the family almost two centuries ago, he had kine on his mind. Following a detour to Harvard Law School, he took the Ph.D. Wicked, right?

Cows 141

Cows Cattle 2011 Birds 141