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Howell’s A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America , which is absolutely my birder’s Bible for the region, says that Snowy Plovers are fair to uncommon summer breeders in the Lake Cuitzeo area, which they certainly are (breeders, though not uncommon). They were probably not preparing to go south.
My feelings about shorebirds came back to me a few days later, as I observed a mixed group of peeps and Dowitchers at Mecox Inlet, eastern Long Island, not far from where Peter Matthiessen once observed the shorebirds of Sagaponack, the stars of the first pages of his classic The Shorebirds of North America (1967). Pete Dunne and Kevin T.
And now we have the third iteration in Audubon’s guide book history: National Audubon Society Birds of North America. The National Audubon Society Birds of North America covers all species seen in mainland United States, Canada and Baja California. I didn’t.). This is a fairly large book: 907 pages; 7.38 GUIDE COVERAGE.
Here are some things I’ve learned from the Peterson Reference Guide to Owls of North America and the Caribbean by Scott Weidensaul: The Burrowing Owl is the only North American owl species where the male is larger than the female, albeit, only slightly larger. And the term is ‘non-reversed size dimorphism.’).
The potpourri covers some interesting bird related science of the last few weeks, and the promise is this: I’ll get to that other stuff soon, I promise! If this was America, we might not be concerned because starlings are an invasive species, at least in North America. ” Crows are smart.
I want to alert you to a recent study (from April) that looks at the plight of bird populations under conditions of climate change in Europe and North America. Data were collected from the North American Breeding Bird Survey and the Pan-European Common Birds Monitoring Scheme. Stephens, Philip, et al. 352:6281(84-87).
The wood stork occurs and breeds in Central and South America. I have seen them foraging on sandy shores of rivers deep in the Amazon, enjoyed them in their raucous breeding colonies in the Everglades, flushed them out of canals during walks around my house, and perhaps more importantly contribute to their recovery. Photo: U.S.
And there’s a good chance that, while they’re at it, they’ll trot out that dubious bit of trivia about the starling being brought to America as a part of some scheme to introduce all the birds mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare to New York City’s Central Park.
Though it was well-known to the Native American populations that shared its space, the black-footed ferret was overlooked by Lewis and Clark and all subsequent Euro-American expeditions, remaining officially unknown to science until John James Audubon, his sons, and the Rev. But the ferrets kept dying.
Flight Paths traces the history of migratory research in nine chapters, starting with the earliest attempts to track birds, bird banding/ringing (which she traces back to Audubon), and ending with ‘community science’ projects such as Breeding Bird Surveys and eBird. THIS IMAGE NOT IN THE BOOK. Schulman, 2023.
The first shorebird arrivals are apparently birds that failed at a breeding attempt and don’t have time to re-attempt; they might as well head south early. 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. This is by no means an exact science.
Here’s a diagram, available on the Audubon site , that compares its 2000 range with its anticipated 2080 range: Only 1 percent of the bird’s breeding range remains stable between 2000 and 2080 if global warming continues on its current course. … Conservation Audubon endangered species Extinction Week longspurs science'
It is self-evident when watching a grebe, for instance the wide-ranging and common Pied-billed Grebe of the Americas, that this is a bird built for the water unlike any other. I would never have believed it, but if the science says so who am I to argue otherwise?
Males of this species are more brightly colored in their non-breeding winter plumage. In 1996, several pipit specimens were collected for DNA analysis and it turned out that there was not one, but two new species to science in this sample! A dancing Blue Crane , South Africa’s national bird.
The mallard is a mighty duck indeed, successful all across its broad range from the Americas through Eurasia down into Australia and New Zealand. Not only are most domesticated duck breeds descended from A. platyrhynchos , but many distinct populations of wild ducks have sprung from the productive loins of this dynamic dabbler.
The task of wrestling this topic down into something that the human mind can manage, without losing sight of the big picture because it’s snowing in Buffalo, is likely to be the task of a lifetime for many science communicators.
Erika is a first year graduate student studying Ecosystem Science and Conservation at Duke. The park is home to not one, not two, but large three colonies of breeding seabirds: the Brown Noddy , Magnificent Frigatebird , and Sooty Tern. Lots and lots of birds. It was for the birds that we made this journey in the first place.
In what might nowadays be regarded as a slightly weird scientific practice, after meeting naturalist Daniel Gottlieb Messerschmidt, he married Messerschmidt’s widow after his death and got notes from Messerschmidt’s Siberia travels from her that had not been handed over to the Imperial Academy of Sciences.
49-50) She is also adept at writing about conservation’s larger context in terms of its history, public policy struggles, and the science behind species re-introduction. Well-researched and footnoted, these sections never feel disconnected from the more personal sections.
Written in a friendly, inclusive style quietly grounded in science, How to Know the Birds is an excellent addition to the growing list of birding essay books by talented birder/writers like Pete Dunne and Kenn Kaufman. John Schmitt, who illustrated Raptors of Mexico and Central America amongst many other books and magazine articles.
The Kittlitz’s Murrelet at least is named after an actual naturalist, Heinrich von Kittlitz, who bummed around the Pacific on behalf of the Imperial Academy of Sciences at Saint Petersburg. Likewise the Xantus’s Murrelet , named for John Xantus de Vesey, a Hungarian exile who discovered a number of birds in western North America.
In the non-breeding season, male Baya Weavers sometimes enter the basket-making trade, often with considerable success. Meanwhile, the females seem to have a much more relaxing life, at least in this early stage of the breeding season. You can see why here. The world’s tallest dwarf.’
What are the best field guides for birds in North America? Birding can be enjoyed at various levels of intensity, from casual birdwatching in one’s backyard to more dedicated pursuits that involve keeping birding lists, participating in birding competitions, or contributing to citizen science projects. Analysis : Good summary.
But I found myself wondering things like: If Common Ringed Plovers migrate from here through Europe, and Semipalmated through North America, what happens to the different type of offspring from a single mixed brood? Do the Common Ringed type migrate through Europe and the Semipalmated head south?
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. copyright @2020 by David A llen Sibley. As Sibley tells us in the Preface, he originally intended to write a children’s book.
The first shows three subspecies of Whimbrel that have occurred in North America–“Hudsonian,” “Eurasian,” and “Siberian.” Light blue boxes give brief facts on breeding age, strategy and lifespan. ” Each subspecies is also thoroughly described in the text.
The sandhill crane has the lowest recruitment rate (average number of young birds joining a population each season) of any bird now hunted in North America. They reach breeding maturity at four to seven years of age, produce only one chick per nesting season, and only one in three offspring survive to fledging age. to a high of 11%.
This bit of science is a nice final counterpoint to an account that has emphasized art, history, and literature. He effectively brings his point across by presenting facts and images and a little bit of hard science. Or the destruction of the forests, food source and breeding grounds. journey, written up in diary format.
It is also familiar at inland sites in winter, especially reservoirs and refuse tips, and breeds in the relatively-Northerly regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. Yellow-Legged Gull These gulls breed around the Mediterranean and have yellow, rather than flesh-coloured legs. Get yours today!
Somehow, the northernmost redstart in the Americas didn’t receive the same treatment. For example, the legendary ornithologist Alexander Wilson happened upon in his broad travels a warbler previously undescribed by science. Naming a bird species for the part of the world in which it breeds or resides makes sense.
A new study published in The Condor analyzed the feathers of Bobolinks to determine what they eat after they leave their North American breeding grounds and fly south for the winter. With this latest research in hand, advocacy organizations can work to reduce rice-related threats to Bobolinks wintering in South America.
Diversity of habitat means, of course, great biodiversity, and the Introduction boasts that Bolivia “is the richest landlocked nation on Earth for bird diversity, the sixth richest overall, and the fifth richest in the Americas” (p. That’s pretty amazing–Bolivia has more bird species than India!
I am not sure about the security situation in Iraq these days but at least some people do ornithological research there – resulting in papers such as one titled “Breeding observations of the Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus (Desfontaines , 1789) in Iraq” Impressive. Fortunately, they are quite common in Shanghai.
A General Identification section gives a thumbnail description of the species, including when it resides in North America, general geographic area, habitats, significant behaviors, a description of its physical appearance (which may be quite detailed), and information on subspecies in North America. ” A fantastic idea!
I was puzzled why the authors decided to include Buff-breasted Flycatcher, Pine Flycatcher, and Tufted Flycatcher, species that have extremely limited range in North America. The maps are fairly complex, showing breeding range, winter range, year-round range, migration routes, times, and directions.
Dragonflies and Damselflies of Costa Rica: A Field Guide by Dennis Paulson and William Haber fills a large gap in the field guide coverage of Costa Rica and continues the high level of excellence set by Paulson’s previous guides to dragonflies and damselflies of eastern and western North America.
The locations ranged from Toronto, Ontario to Pacific Grove, California with most counts in or near the population centers of northeastern North America. Christmas Bird Counts are organized all over North America, as well as scattered locations throughout Central and South America.
In Sibley Two, the in-flight images literally fly across the page in slight diagonals, with the full-bodied images are presented below in a parallel order (meaning we see the same bird–fresh juvenile, worn juvenile, 1st year, Adult breeding, Adult nonbreeding–in the same part of the page for each species).
So yes, this appears to be a breeding population.]. And since I don’t go to the lake very often in late spring, I rarely get to see these Avocets in their breeding plumage. Most Marbled Godwits breed in inland North America, and winter along the tropical coasts of Mexico and the Caribbean. It means something.
Gulls of the World: A Photographic Field Guide is a successor, or companion, as the author terms it, to Klaus Malling Olsen’s classic guide, Gulls of Europe, Asia and North America (Helm, 2004*). Describing gull plumage is a combination of science, graphic art, and visual metaphor. Howell & Jon Dunn in Gulls of the Americas.
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