10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 8, 2020

Guiding aside, Howell is a research associate at the California Academy of Sciences and the author of many books, including Petrels, Albatrosses, and Storm-Petrels of North America (Princeton). Birds of Chile – A Photo Guide has 240 pages and more than 1,000 photos accompanied by a brief text to make bird ID easy.

Chile 206

Chile Birds South America North America 206

10,000 Birds

MAY 20, 2020

But the highly social Rufous-crowned Warbler , found from Western Mexico all the way down to northern South America, is one Warbler that really knows how to warble. I almost always see the Rufous-crowned Warbler in groups of two or three. I love to hear its song in our dry canyons. chi-chi-chi-chi-chi-ssiu-ssiu-ssiu-ssiu.

Mexico 343

Mexico Honduras South America America 343

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2015

This bunch of possible Costa Rican crypto birds can be grouped into four main categories: (1). Taxa that could end up being split into one species occurring north of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and one south of the isthmus. (2). A species that lives in both Costa Rica and South America but might be two separate species. (3).

Costa Rica 217

Costa Rica Species South America America 217

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

I have just checked the maps, BirdLife says South America only, but the more relevant eBird says this: The entire text and all maps have also been revised. Apart from this, a few new vignettes have been added. I haven’t noticed changes in the few descriptions of harder to ID species that I compared.

Europe 258

Europe Birds Woodpeckers Ireland 258

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2022

Wood-Wrens , birds of the family Henicorhina , are very small wrens of Central and South America that like to live very close to the ground, in dense forest underbrush or elfin forests. There was, inevitably, another group of Little Friends present at Cerro de Garnica that day, and in exactly the large numbers I had hoped for.

Mexico 197

Mexico South America Species America 197

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 8, 2020

I really have no idea, since I could not be sure whether I was seeing the same groups many times each, or many groups one time each. And Wilson’s Phalaropes are supposed to spend the winter in South America, but nobody told this group. How many were there? I prefer the latter theory.

Mexico 143

Mexico South America Ducks Groups 143

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

Among our bird groups with many such species are the Wood-Partridges, Quail-Doves, Ant-Tanagers, Forest-Falcons, and Tody-Flycatchers. Except that all those are tropical jungle groups, found mostly on the other side of Mexico from where I live. Today, I would like to introduce you to members of the latter two groups.

Sparrows 138

Sparrows Mexico United States Groups 138

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2021

Anyway, even this lower number puts China at rank 8 in the list of countries with the most bird species, surpassed only by Indonesia outside of the usual suspects in South America. The first two photos were actually taken right from my hotel room. Bird photography for extremely lazy people.

China 264

China Pandas Birds Zoos 264

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2014

By checking my Facebook feed on a daily basis, I had a broad idea about birds arriving into different countries in Central and South America. I have Facebook friends and belong to multiple bird related Facebook groups throughout South America. Black-throated Blue Warbler. This is by no means an exact science.

South America 162

South America Colombia Peru Chile 162

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2020

Each of these habitats attracts its own group of species. The Yellow-green Vireo is another of those rare birds that winter in South America but only travels north as far as Mexico to breed. This sort of biozone mixing can create a tremendous richness of species.

Mexico 247

Mexico Lamb Nicaragua Sparrows 247

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 16, 2019

There’s so much more that can be said about this group of birds but that’s the first description that comes to mind. Although most New World Barbets live in the tropical forests of South America (“the bird continent”), us birders in Costa Rica are fortunate to have two species to watch and listen to.

Costa Rica 172

Costa Rica Colombia South America Ecuador 172

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2013

They packed up in June of 2013 and headed south from San Diego with the southern tip of South America as their destination. The non-breeding distribution is virtually unknown, although they are suspected to winter in northern South America (Howell and Web 1995). Very little is known about this enigmatic species.

South America 187

South America San Diego Mexico America 187

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2017

Soaring on the warm desert updrafts, or sitting on a group of cactus tops, always in groups of two, three or more. Their proclivity for living in small social groups was fact that I learned much later. harrisi can be found in southern Texas, Eastern Mexico and much of Central America.

Mexico 100

Mexico Game South America Rabbits 100

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

In front of us, the river is two miles wide… and it is paved with birds: smaller groups of Greater White-fronted and Greylag Geese , numerous Mute Swans and Mallards , plus Eurasian Teals , Gadwalls , Common Pochards , a few Ferruginous and Tufted Ducks , Common Goldeneyes and several Smews. A goose hunt sounds like a WWII battle.

Geese 179

Geese Hunting Boars Birds 179

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2019

The Yellowthroat group is an odd collection of bird species. The one migratory species, aptly named the Common Yellowthroat , can be seen almost anywhere in North America. Another one, the Masked Yellowthroat , can be found in five unconnected resident territories over much of South America.

Mexico 196

Mexico Bahamas South America Panama 196

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2024

Because, although these flycatcher groups don’t have the sexy, challenging reputation of Empidonax flycatchers, they can be confusing–ask any East coast birder trying to figure out if a vagrant bird with worn tail feathers is a Western Kingbird or a Cassin’s Kingbird.

Los Angeles 183

Los Angeles North America Species America 183

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2013

In Central and South America, they are part of the established ecosystem and play an important role, supporting the fauna of the region. The answer caught me out first time round as I had mistaken the colourful brachts for petals. The flower is actually the tiny white bloom surrounded by the varied hues of the brachts.

South America 171

South America Mexico America Groups 171

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 156

South America Ecuador Reptiles America 156

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2014

My group came to Montezuma to spy tasty Chocó endemic tanagers, hummingbirds, and anything else we could lay eyes on. This, of course, was a great boon for our group. Trips Cerro Montezuma Choco Region Colombia South America' Hope that you’re as fortunate to go birding with Leo!

Colombia 266

Colombia Birds South America America 266

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2019

A wonderful variety of bird species are waiting to be seen and among them are many a birder’s favorite avian group, the wood-warblers. Participate in the Rainforest Biodiversity Group’s annual bird-a-thon. How will you help Cerulean Warblers and other migrants flying to and from South America?

Costa Rica 186

Costa Rica Species Belize New Jersey 186

10,000 Birds

JUNE 18, 2012

If you haven’t been to Trinidad and Tobago, you’re missing out on a country that combines many of the best qualities of the Caribbean and South America. One attribute endowed in T&T by its geological parent Venezuela is a deep diversity of avifauna, including a lot of South American specialties.

Venezuela 185

Venezuela South America Trinidad America 185

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 26, 2020

This is when we might see the greatest variety and numbers of wood-warblers, where we can watch dizzying groups of swallows zip through the skies as kettles of Turkey Vultures , and Broad-winged and Swainson’s Hawks flow towards South America.

Costa Rica 325

Costa Rica West Virginia New York South America 325

10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2022

I spent a few hours on Mauritius flying from Shanghai to Cape Town, South Africa, and decided to use this time for a short trip to a nature reserve on Mauritius, the Black River Gorges National Park. I saw a few of each group, with the obvious exception of the second one.

Mauritius 231

Mauritius Birds 2000 South Africa 231

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2013

A friend of mine told me, she has been seeing small groups of Swallow-tailed Kites ( Elanoides furficatus ) in the general area; in south Florida. Somewhat complicated, but fascinating, the Swallow-tailed Kites one sees in South America could belong either to the resident or the migratory population.

Florida 238

Florida Cuba Colombia 2004 238

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

Though not based on the Aruba populations, the movie portrayed a group of friends from Florida trying to save Burrowing Owl habitat from destruction. Burrowing Owls also gained greater recognition after a 2006 film, “ Hoot ,” was released.

Prairie Dogs 101

Prairie Dogs Tortoises Owls South America 101

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2015

The Andean Flamingo ( Phoenicopterus andinus ) is one of the three flamingos occurring in the high Andes of South America. Conservation organizations such as the Flamingo Specialist Group is actively trying to inform the public on the vulnerability of flamingos. It is the largest and easiest to identify in all age stages.

Chile 154

Chile Endangered Species Eggs Argentina 154

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2014

The wood stork occurs and breeds in Central and South America. Some conservation groups are concerned that down-listing the wood stork was premature given the rate of habitat loss in its current range. Some predicted that at that rate the wood stork would become extinct by the year 2000. However, birds in the U.S.

North Carolina 200

North Carolina Bald Eagle South Carolina Florida 200

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2013

Clapper Rails , as currently defined by the AOU, occur along the coasts of North and South America and Caribbean islands, and inland in southern California and Arizona. King Rails occur widely in eastern North America, in eastern and central Mexico, and in Cuba. The photo above, one of mine, shows a Clapper Rail in Louisiana.

Species 224

Species North America Cuba Louisiana 224

10,000 Birds

MAY 20, 2014

They packed up in June of 2013 and headed south from San Diego with the southern tip of South America as their destination. Today it is placed in its own monotypic genus, Oreophasis , and loosely grouped with the present day curassows and chachalacas. Horned Guan (Click for a bigger version.). Wine-throated Hummingbird.

Guatemala 164

Guatemala Mexico San Diego South America 164

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2019

Split from the Three-striped Warbler of South America, yet another species is added to the list of birds only found in the mountains of Costa Rica and Panama. Once upon a time, it was lumped with the Masked Yellowthroat of South America. Some birders are more learners than listers, others more photographers than birders.

Costa Rica 201

Costa Rica Birds Owls South America 201

10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2017

Deep in a walking reverie, I was startled out of my daydream by a group of tiny terns perched at the edge of a sand embankment, looking over at me as I looked at them. There is no mistaking a Least Tern: they were back!

South America 103

South America United States Protection Pelicans 103

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 12, 2015

Jacamars live only in the neo-tropical rainforest of South America. But morphological differences sometimes minor of significant as in the Flycatchers and Jacamars, enable one group specialize in one type of food. Ecologically, they are Tyrant flycatchers in disguise.

South America 170

South America America Protection Groups 170

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 22, 2015

The forests were rather silent and only an occasional Black-billed Magpie , a group of Gray Jays , a Northern Shrikes , and Willow Ptarmigans crossed or flew across the road. We are told the scenic beauty of Alaska is only rivaled by that of the Patagonian and Antartic region in extreme South America. Ruffed Grouse.

Alaska 157

Alaska South America Penguins Owls 157

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2023

He’s the author of The New Neotropical Companion (2017, originally published in 1997), a must-read for any birder preparing to travel to Central and South America, the Peterson Reference Guide to Bird Behavior (2020), and a long list of other books and articles.

2006 255

2006 Tortoises Sea Lions Sea Turtles 255

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 12, 2013

The (non-birding) group I was with was on our way to the Caroni Swamp when our guide suggested a quick stop at the Trincity Sewage Ponds so I could see a few cool birds. Though the Large-billed Tern is a bird of freshwater rivers, lakes, and marshes of South America it does wander to North America on very rare occasions.

Trinidad 175

Trinidad New Jersey Nevada Illinois 175

10,000 Birds

APRIL 8, 2019

But in the fall (with plumage as in the photo on the left, above) they take an entirely different, and heroic, route, first to Massachusetts and then, after a rest, south over the Atlantic Ocean. The blackpoll, “a bird with a body just a little larger than your thumb,” doesn’t stop until South America. Eighty hours of flying.

Ohio 200

Ohio Bats Legislature Ducks 200

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 11, 2011

In fact, the two groups appear to belong near parrots and passerines, which are now thought to be sister clades. But what no major checklist has yet done (to my knowledge) is to take the next step and rearrange the order in which these groups of birds are presented. Some of this should sound familiar. What do you think?

Parrots 233

Parrots Falcons Costa Rica South America 233