10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2022

I saw two Pitta species at Hongbenghe, both among the slightly less glamourous among the pitta family: The Blue-naped Pitta … … and the closely related Rusty-naped Pitta. It seems that this is another species for which the standard phrase of scientists anywhere, “more research needed”, applies.

Birds 147

Birds Myanmar China Chicago 147

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 169

Bolivia Birds Brazil Switzerland 169

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 8, 2017

This lucky youngster from Massachusetts has almost 300 ticks, but just added his favorite— a Great Gray Owl his supportive family drove hundreds of miles to glimpse. Project FeederWatch data prove that woodpeckers are at the top of the backyard bird feeder pecking order.

Massachusetts 100

Massachusetts Eggs Falcons Rights 100

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 278

North America America Birds California Condor 278

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2015

I’m happy to say that Laura Erickson and Marie Read have written a book, Into the Nest: Intimate Views of the Courting, Parenting, and Family Lives of Familiar Birds , that is not too cute and that does not anthropomorphize. Some chapters focus on one species (Yellow Warbler), some on several related species (Chickadees and Nuthatches).

Eggs 263

Eggs Family 2006 New York 263

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2016

Once you eliminate the risque jokes (I know, I know, but it’s a family blog) the Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet might have the most comical name in American birding. The tyrant flycatchers, in turn, derive their name from the first member of the family to land a Latin name, the Eastern Kingbird. Next: Beardless.

Costa Rica 102

Costa Rica 2014 Family Collecting 102

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2020

The book is divided into three parts: “Introduction,” “Avifaunal Overview,” and “Species Accounts.” Most birders will go straight to the “Species Accounts.” It’s important to note that the 301 species selected for this section are those of historical and current importance to the core study area, the northwest Bronx.

New York City 147

New York City New York Birds Breeding 147

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 21, 2015

I have 10,000 Birds contributor Adam Riley to thank for telling me I had to add it to my list, and a quick bit of research showed that he was right on. Longclaws are African members of the pipit and wagtail family, and unlike the rest of the family they have gorgeously-coloured throats. A terrible shot of Barrow’s Korhaan.

South Africa 145

South Africa Africa Falcons Family 145

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 143

North America Sparrows America United States 143

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2015

Fernandina’s Flicker, a tongue-twisting alliterative name for one of the most endangered woodpeckers in the world! Navarro’s exceptional drawings illustrate the species accounts. Forty-eight species. Bee Hummingbird, the smallest hummingbird in the world! Cuban Black Hawk, split in 2007 from Common Black Hawk!

Cuba 226

Cuba Birds United States 2000 226

10,000 Birds

MARCH 7, 2011

Checking for moult limits on a female Band-tailed Manakin to determine her age Imagine learn or improving your mist-netting, bird banding, handling, aging, and Neotropical bird ID skills in one of the most exuberantly natural surroundings ( 599 bird species recorded at Explorer’s Inn and Sachavacayoc Centre!)

Peru 190

Peru 2011 Deer Birds 190

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. I realized a curious thing while researching some of the creatures in this guide–some of the common names given for the flying fish appear to have originated with co-author Steve N.G.

Pennsylvania 160

Pennsylvania Texas Whales Whaling 160

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2017

In a time of little published information about the rainforests of Central and South America aside from scientific journal articles and the works of 19th-century naturalists, the “little green book,” as it was called, became a must-read amongst nature-oriented travelers and researchers.

South America 145

South America Ecuador Reptiles America 145

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 19, 2012

Europe… with such low herp diversity the locals split any sub-population of a species that occurs on either the Iberian Peninsula or Italy as a new species just to make them feel better out themselves, naturally is the continent that rose to the top of my trip list. Either that or having family friends in Germany.

Salamander 137

Salamander Germany Birds Blackbirds 137

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2014

White-bellied Parrot was one of many target species at either of the canopy towers. ” At first light, many of the larger canopy species commute and call from the canopy: parrots, cotingas, guans, and toucans. Is that far away beeping the call of a Ringed Woodpecker ? 4:30AM: It is time to wake up!

Otters 160

Otters Parrots Birds Brazil 160

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

This was a wonderful re-introduction to the desert species I was seeking. I managed to get some video of this greedy thrasher before a family walked down the path, and you can view it here. My goal was Lucifer Hummingbird , but I didn’t do enough research to know that the best time to see the hummingbird is in the early evening.

Arizona 102

Arizona Lovebirds Phoenix New Jersey 102

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2022

“In the 1960s, Efraín Chacón constructed a dirt trail [from San Gerardo de Dota] to the Pan-American Highway, and brought his family to build a house, to farm and fish for trout. more than two dozen species before the rain forced us inside. more than two dozen species before the rain forced us inside.

Costa Rica 229

Costa Rica Opossums Mammals United States 229

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

UNLESS that is you get yourself down to the internationally-renowned Tambopata Research Centre in southern Peru where literally hundreds of macaws (and other parrots) congregate around a 50 meter high clay bank. That’s right – birds eating clay. Chestnut-fronted Macaws Ara severa.

Peru 254

Peru Parrots 2011 Research Center 254

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 227

Woodpeckers Hungary Thailand 2014 227

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2011

Getting to know the subtleties in differences between closely related species takes years of dedication and practice. Thirdly, many species of shorebirds display such vast differences in their summer and winter plumages that it is always interesting to note how some birds in the same flock are in contrasting stages of plumage.

Florida 185

Florida South Africa 2011 Africa 185

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

processed the entire genomes of 48 bird species and compared nearly 42 million base pairs of DNA (Hackett et al. ’s bird family tree in a new tab and follow along as you read. Now we move on to the Neognathae , which also has two very deep branches that lead to all the other living species of birds. Open Jarvis et al.’s

Family 279

Family Parrots Birds 2014 279

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2011

Among these white-headed/dark-winged gulls formerly lumped into the genus Larus , there were 18+ recognized species the last time I checked, sharing similarities that make telling them apart for the amateur birdwatcher very difficult. 1998), then the proper name for this species is L. fuscus – should be separated as species.

2011 157

2011 Cyprus Deer Species 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 22, 2011

Universities like Harvard, Columbia and Cornell regularly use the research facility. On the grounds, Punta Cana has preserved a 1,500 acre Ecological Park that is an excellent place to view the local endemic bird species and enjoy nature. Additionally the foundation provides a facility for important biological field work.

Dominican Republic 181

Dominican Republic 2011 Birds Deer 181

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

This species is not only usually the earliest, but the most common. What’s remarkable about this species is what we don’t see here: the extremely long migration that this species makes, with some individuals traveling from Sub-Saharan Africa to Greenland and back every year. Get yours today!

Cyprus 145

Cyprus 2011 Deer New York 145

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

Hes only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasnt working as a union representative or spending time with his family. Though Scarlet Macaws are threatened in Honduras there is hope that they will get protection and recover at least some of their numbers and former range.

Honduras 150

Honduras 2011 Deer Birds 150

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

Sometimes I just want to hug eBird, or more specifically, whoever writes the short species descriptions (even though I am not the typical hugging kind of person, trust me on this). The Plain Sunbird is the plain vanilla version of the otherwise often very colorful family (ok, a very low-budget sort of joke). “Dull, me?

Los Angeles 179

Los Angeles Birds Woodpeckers Owls 179

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2020

This is a delightful book, large (8-1/2 by 11 inches), filled with Sibley’s distinctive artwork and an organized potpourri of research-based stories about the science behind bird’s lives. They portray the nesting cycles of Mallard, Red-tailed Hawk, and American Robin, illustrating the various ways in which birds create families.

2020 263

2020 Birds Groups North America 263

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2014

I write ‘focus-on-the-birds’ because it is highly probable that Harper had drawn birds before, but not in a highly focused manner that involved research, which he engaged in very seriously, and observation of bird behavior. A tradition was born. The chapter also gives hope.

Betty Crocker 170

Betty Crocker Birds 2008 2007 170

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2011

Nice. ((** all names have been changed to protect identities and have been substituted with (almost) randomly chosen substitutes suitable for a family of Alpine Accentors.)) While studying, he also worked on various conservation/research projects (parrots, wagtails, vultures, and anything else that flew) and ringed thousands of birds.

2011 205

2011 Breeders Breeding Deer 205

10,000 Birds

MAY 16, 2015

A rain-free dawn and morning gives you a chance at hearing a high percentage of forest species when they vocalize (and some of them might call for just a minute or so) that you probably won’t see at other times of the day, and presents the main opportunity for finding a hundred or so other species of birds. “Snowcap!”

Costa Rica 157

Costa Rica Species Owls 2015 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2011

As part of the Wildlife Conservation Society Birds of Brazil giveaway we asked readers of 10,000 Birds to name the bird in Brazil that they would like to see more than any other species. What follows are the responses that readers offered, a veritable aviary of sought after species. It is a really neat bird that I have not seen before.

Brazil 199

Brazil 2011 Birds Wildlife 199

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2017

Can a family-focused trip—even to one of the world’s most biodiverse countries—deliver enough opportunities for avian observation to satisfy this serious world birder? With enough planning, you can enjoy a family-friendly, bird-rich vacation in the Panama Canal zone. If you have kids, you’re probably as curious as I was.

Panama 100

Panama 2017 Monkeys Family 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2015

Mack tells the story of how he set up a research station, and a life, in Papua New Guinea. Brit birder Goodie didn’t do an ordinary big year; he decided he would see every Pitta species in the world (32 at the time) in one year. This is also a good time to catch up on supplementary titles, such as guides to bird families.

Papua New Guinea 178

Papua New Guinea 2014 Penguins Birds 178

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

For my new book, due out in 2012 from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, I’ve been researching sandhill crane hunting. Hunting sandhill cranes in Kentucky is a bad idea from a public relations standpoint, considering the growing cadre of birders and nature enthusiasts for whom cranes are a touchstone species.

2011 241

2011 Kentucky Tennessee Hunting 241

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 222

Eggs Birds United States Sparrows 222

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2017

The 7th edition of the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America covers 1,023 species that reside, migrate, or have been documented as accidentals or exotics in North America. Species Accounts: With 1,023 species, National Geographic 7 continues to cover the most species of any North American field guide.

North America 179

North America America 2017 Birds 179

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2015

Picidae, Woodpecker, is one of those charismatic bird families that everybody gets excited about. Unless the woodpecker is drumming a hole into your garage, and then, well, it’s a different kind of excitement.) Woodpeckers of the World: A Photographic Guide is the first major guide to family Picidae in 20 years.

Woodpeckers 237

Woodpeckers 2002 Europe Research 237