10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2019

Although Bobolinks are a very rare migrant, lots of other birds are possible, more than enough to rack up hundreds of species over the course of the year. Each January, I hope to identify at least 600 species over the next 12 months, this year, I’m hoping that Marilen and I (aka Team Tyto ) will find 700.

Costa Rica 200

Costa Rica Species Birds New York 200

10,000 Birds

JULY 13, 2023

Some 320 species have been recorded here, and in springtime it is possible to observe more than 150 bird species in a week. The Strymonas Channel was adorned by numerous Great White Pelicans , Black-crowned Night-Herons , Glossy Ibises , also Penduline T**s , Common Reed Warblers , Cetti’s Warblers and Eurasian Tree Sparrows.

Greece 231

Greece Pelicans Birds Stray Dog 231

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2011

In response to the decline last year saw the first ever World Sparrow Day and tomorrow, 20 March, is the second annual World Sparrow Day. In response to the decline last year saw the first ever World Sparrow Day and tomorrow, 20 March, is the second annual World Sparrow Day.

Sparrows 201

Sparrows 2011 Deer New York 201

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2022

In pastures of the hot lowlands, they tend to be lines of stunted Gumbo-Limbo trees or some other heavily pruned species. In addition to those birds and the Squirrel Cuckoo pictured above, the following are some of the more common hedgerow species of Costa Rica. Rufous-tailed Hummingbird and other hummingbird species.

Costa Rica 262

Costa Rica Birds Sparrows Woodpeckers 262

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2013

For those of us in the Americas, nine-primaried oscines are among our most familiar and beloved birds: finches; sparrows, juncos, and towhees; warblers; blackbirds, meadowlarks, and orioles; cardinals and grosbeaks; and tanagers. Some scientists have lumped them all into one enormous family (e.g., Keith Barker, et al.,

Family 178

Family Blackbirds Groups Sparrows 178

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

Some call them trash, tours might not visit, but they can host more than the expected and common species. Some such vegetated spots can also attract oddball birds, species that wander to find a home in urban circumstances. Three species of seedeaters sing from the tall grass, one of them being the Yellow-bellied Seedeater.

Costa Rica 255

Costa Rica Sparrows Birds Rodents 255

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 16, 2012

Ourselves, for instance; just consider how many sweet or gritty stories you’ve seen about Olympic athletes’ family backgrounds over the last few weeks. We’re going to look at its family tree today, at where it fits in the grand avian assemblage, at what makes it at once unique yet not so alone after all. But not all.

Family 177

Family Guatemala Stray Groups 177

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2018

Recently, while guiding on the slopes of Poas, without too much effort, we had more than a hundred species. Such a birdy day and yet, one that still lacked quite a few species. Poas itself seems to be pretty straightforward but I wondered how far down both sides of the mountain should be included in my species list. Two hundred?

Costa Rica 100

Costa Rica Species San Jose Birds 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 19, 2022

One of the reasons that I usually start each year’s species list with a visit to the wetlands of Lake Cuitzeo is that the site offers so many species that I can find nowhere else. Not all the colorful species have feathers. There are several, almost identical, species of Flycatchers in the Myiarchus genus.

Eagles 216

Eagles Falcons Sparrows Species 216

10,000 Birds

MAY 25, 2022

Towhees are large, ground-hugging sparrows that occur only in North America. Just to complicate things more, four members of the Melozone genus are called Ground-Sparrows rather than Towhees.). Earlier this month, I came across a family of Spotted Towhees (Olive-backed) with a couple of other strange aspects.

Mexico 210

Mexico North America 2015 Sparrows 210

10,000 Birds

JULY 13, 2014

It’s mid-July, which among other things means that those of us in North America are starting to check local mudflats for returning shorebird migrants and waiting impatiently for the AOU to hurry up and create five species from the Clapper-King rail complex (the reasons for which we covered last year ). Gowen et al.

New Zealand 198

New Zealand Elephants Sparrows Ostriches 198

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 17, 2021

Still, the outing did not produce any new species for the year, or enough good photos for a post here. Instead, I have chosen to write about an idea I’ve had percolating for a while: to tell you what the most common species are down here. I’ll take the most common native species in taxonomic order.

Woodpeckers 330

Woodpeckers Mexico Cattle Species 330

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 25, 2021

We are too far into the year for many FOY sightings, but not quite far enough for most migratory species to make their return appearances. No surprise to that; these two species always initiate the migratory season here. I’m no expert, but I strongly suspect Rusty Sparrows only hunt for grubs when they are feeding babies.

Louisiana 262

Louisiana 2000 Mexico Groups 262

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2023

Between March and May, we say goodbye to more than half our duck and wood warbler species, as well as about half of all our shorebirds, vireos, hummingbirds, buntings, sparrows, and orioles, and many members of other avian families. And there is some sweetness in these bittersweet months. They are our summer consolation prizes.

South America 170

South America Pigs Mexico Species 170

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2021

A typical description of the family is that of “a tropical African and Asian songbird that typically has a melodious voice and drab plumage”, another is “small, dull-colored passerine birds of Asia and Africa”, yet another states that they are “often rather plain” Individual species get even harsher reviews.

South Africa 227

South Africa Malaysia Africa China 227

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2020

Over the years I’ve seen a variety of open-country birds there, including Bobolinks , Vesper Sparrow , and American Kestrel. Over the years birding Willow Lake I had added nearly eighty eBird checklists at the preserve and netted myself 127 species, good for number two on the eBird hotspot list.

Bald Eagle 186

Bald Eagle New York City Birds New York 186

10,000 Birds

APRIL 20, 2022

So I didn’t really expect to see many new species on this visit. With ten species I had not seen previously this year, my April 11th visit to Paso Ancho was my best outing since February 14th, back when it was a whole lot easier to find FOY species. I had already visited the lowland town of Paso Ancho in January.

Mexico 216

Mexico Sparrows Species Family 216

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2022

Colorful bills and heads seem quite popular among Letaba’s bird species – see the African Jacana (blue and black) … … the Striated Heron (yellow and blue) … … and the Yellow-billed Stork (yellow and red). The Latin species name vermiculatus (worm-like) refers to the markings on the upperparts.

Zimbabwe 147

Zimbabwe Birds South Africa Benin 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2020

Conservation status is Least Concern: “This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion” Or to put it more personally, I saw it in Shanghai yesterday. A resident in India but also included in the list of the world`s 100 worst invasive alien species.

Birds 165

Birds India Zoos 2019 165

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2023

The official Ontario bird checklist, produced by Ontario Field Ornithologists , June 2022 listed 506 bird species**, putting it in the top tier of U.S. Small Species Accounts: Each species is allotted one page (with certain exceptions) offering basics–bird names and size, one or two photographs, and a one-paragraph description.

North America 213

North America Birds Owls Canada 213

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2020

That is because we receive so many extra species from up north, which can double the number of potential species in many of our most important avian families: Ducks, Hummingbirds, Wood Warblers, New World Sparrows, Tyrant Flycatchers, and many others. I went back to Las Mesas, just east of Morelia, a week ago.

Game 157

Game Lions Africa Family 157

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2019

As is typical of urban birding in Costa Rica, we had small flocks of this species fly over and good looks at the White-crowned Parrot , the other most common parrot in the valley. But, they still occur, the most common species being Black Vulture , Turkey Vulture , Gray Hawk , Short-tailed Hawk , and Yellow-headed and Crested Caracaras.

Costa Rica 196

Costa Rica Birds Parrots Sparrows 196

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 10, 2020

A metaphor for life, I am tempted to say, if this wasn`t such a meaningless thing to say … November is a good time for several species of buntings, of which I am quite fond of. While Long-tailed Shrikes are the second hand car dealers of the Nanhui bird world, some of the other members of the shrike family are a bit more subtle.

Stray 243

Stray Asia Industry Family 243

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2022

we learn) that are home to coveted boreal species, breeding wood-warblers, and two species of Grouse. There are 461 species on the Maine checklist. This field guide covers 265 species, the ones most likely to be seen–residential and migratory, almost all nesting birds, many wintering birds.

Los Angeles 198

Los Angeles Birds District of Columbia Parrots 198

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

The HBW even mentions the importance of Ruoergai for this species: “Key sites for migrants include the Ruoergai Plateau (China), which is also an important breeding area” Common Mergansers also seem to use these wetlands as breeding area. The raptors of Ruoergai deserve a separate post.

China 174

China Mongolia Birds Russia 174

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2020

Where can I see Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow followed by a fantastic meal ? Local guide and birder David Mora Vargas has been spending much of his time at his family’s farm in the Sarapiqui lowlands. With around 400 species recorded for the area, yeah, it’s where we might all like to quarantine for a bit!

Costa Rica 215

Costa Rica Birds Thailand Family 215

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2020

The bird family that got his attention was originally the herons, egrets and other wading birds, but as time went on New World warblers, woodpeckers and ducks fueled the passion further. Luis is an avid eBirder and he likes to keep a good record of his lists, photograph as many species as he can, and he encourages others to do the same.

Canada 167

Canada Cuba Miami Florida 167

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2016

Blackbirds, as a family, often have those simple descriptive names that are easy to mock ( Yellow-rumped Warbler , ugh) until a non-birder comes describing such a species to you and asking for an ID. In the long run, all of this proved to signify nothing, as the sparrows were more than able to take care of themselves.

Blackbirds 190

Blackbirds Boston Science Sparrows 190

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 29, 2018

Sparrows predominate but there are a host of other species to find and identify. So, of course, I’ve been out and about looking for birds as often as family and job allow me to. Though not as crisply marked as a spring bird I think fall Chipping Sparrows have a muted beauty. Nothing much tops birding in autumn.

New York City 141

New York City Birds New York Sparrows 141

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2013

New World populations of the widely distributed Sandwich Tern ( Thalasseus sandvicensis ) are treated by some authorities (including the British Ornithologists’ Union) as a distinct species: Cabot’s Tern ( T. Sage Sparrow split. nevadensis ) and California Sage Sparrow ( A. acuflavida ). lherminieri ).

2013 186

2013 Sparrows Owls Stray 186

10,000 Birds

APRIL 22, 2021

Just last year, 5 new bird species and 5 new subspecies were discovered in a few short weeks of fieldwork on the islands of Taliabu, Peleng and Batudaka. In recent years Indonesia has been competing with the Andes as the region giving rise to the biggest number of undescribed bird species (naturally, all of them endemics).

Indonesia 264

Indonesia Timor Brunei Guinea 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2012

The bird was a sparrow, that much was clear, but it didn’t seem to fit any of the easily boxes the other North American sparrows can be fairly easily sorted into. Superficially, it resembled the Black-chinned Sparrow of the southwestern United States with its gray chest and chestnut streaked with black back.

New Jersey 224

New Jersey North Carolina Sparrows Connecticut 224

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2021

And many of these species are also strikingly beautiful. Yellow-winged Caciques , showy members of the Blackbird/New World Oriole family, are always conspicuous residents of the region. Those are very unripe Jocote fruits, along with a Stripe-headed Sparrow , in the header photo above.). The Hot Country is, well… hot.

Mexico 174

Mexico Blackbirds Sparrows Owls 174

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 28, 2024

Called home to the Oregon Coast to operate the family motel, in her free time she leads Tufted Puffin walks and escapes to guide at birding festivals and explore the world as often as possible. The first we went to was a family home with generations of mezcaleros and the process being completed in their front courtyard.

Mexico 189

Mexico Birds Oregon Groups 189

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2018

I love sparrows, so seeing a feather-worn Vesper Sparrow this past July filled my heart with joy. We saw sparrows–a total of 14 species–and we saw many other great prairie birds, and we often saw them perched on posts. Baird’s Sparrow was one of those elusive creatures.

North Dakota 140

North Dakota Birds Sparrows Blackbirds 140

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 200

Costa Rica Birds Owls South America 200

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2021

There was a time when I thought each bird species had its own individual song. Then I found out that there was this vocalization called a ‘call,’ so I thought each bird species had its own individual song (but just the males) and individual call. There’s more than one song per warbler?

North America 278

North America Research Birds Groups 278