10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2013

As I write this note, probably hundreds if not thousands of shorebirds are heading south to the wintering grounds. Some make stopovers along Florida’s coast, others fly straight from stopovers in the northern states to the coast of South America. I am an associate with this NGO and follow the progress of the banding program.

Peru 221

Peru South America Delaware New Jersey 221

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2015

I was going to have something for you this month about the dinosaur-bird thing, but I never got to it. 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! One of the birds most affected by this is Cassin’s Auklets.

Science 151

Science Iraq Birds Research 151

10,000 Birds

JUNE 28, 2017

We’ve all heard the myth that rice thrown at weddings will explode birds’ stomachs. 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. Not true, according to Snopes.) Bobolink photo courtesy of R.M.

Advocacy 100

Advocacy South America Research America 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 25, 2015

A new paper out this month attempts to paint the most comprehensive picture yet of the origins and diversification of the American sparrows, wood-warblers, blackbirds, cardinals, tanagers, and their kin, an enormous group of birds more than 800 species strong. The paper is by leading researchers F. Keith Barker, Kevin J.

Sparrows 246

Sparrows North America South America Blackbirds 246

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2017

I hadn’t until a little over a month ago when while flicking through one of my volumes of the Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) I came across it. Birds like the tityras, the becards and the purpletufts. eBird has a range of data exploration tools that, to my mind, exist help birders bird. Nothing wrong with that.

Science 106

Science Argentina South America Uruguay 106

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2021

I got back into birding less than a decade ago, long after moving to Mexico in 1983. So I can hardly speak with authority on birding in the U.S. A quick study as I researched this post revealed that fully 37 Arizonan “specialties” are common birds right here where I live. We just have better birds.

Arizona 259

Arizona Mexico Los Angeles Dallas 259

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2021

Audubon guides to birds have been around since 1946. The first guide bearing the National Audubon Society imprint was Audubon Bird Guide; Eastern Land Birds , written by Richard Hooper Pough, and illustrated by Don Eckelberry. Plate 28 from Audubon Bird Guide, Eastern Land Birds, by Richard H. Knopf, 1994/97.

North America 278

North America America Birds California Condor 278

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2022

The little red bit on the crown on this photo indicates that it is a male bird. The HBW entry for the Downy Woodpecker (Reno, USA) illustrates a common phenomenon – apparently, the more a species is known, the more subjects for further research pop up. Supposedly, they smoke less than the Brown-capped ones, too.

Woodpeckers 223

Woodpeckers South Africa China Singapore 223

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2015

I came late to bird feeding, and when I was finally able to put out a “thistle” sock and a seed feeder (or two or six), I was amazed by the learning curve. There is a long list of articles and books on how to feed birds in your yard. Feeding Wild Birds in America: Culture, Commerce & Conservation by Paul J.

America 223

America Industry Birds Squirrels 223

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. There are changes in where to find the birds.

2006 241

2006 Tortoises Sea Lions Sea Turtles 241

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. Like so many trips this one is more about the journey than the destination which brings us to why they have a guest post (hopefully the first of several) on 10,000 Birds. We were ecstatic!

South America 180

South America San Diego Mexico America 180

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2020

One of these days, Jeopardy will feature a category called “Field Guides” and the first clue will be: “This landlocked South American country finally got its own bird field guide in 2016, but it wasn’t available in the United State until 2019.” Bolivia doesn’t come up much in discussions of birding travel.

Bolivia 169

Bolivia Birds Brazil Switzerland 169

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2014

Let’s say you’re a bird wrapping up your breeding season in the north of Scotland—where do your thoughts turn when winter beckons? Now, the results may have prompted more questions than answers, and suggest that the Phalaropes could be affected by South Pacific phenomena such as El Nino. the Caribbean islands, and Ecuador and Peru.

Iceland 181

Iceland South America Ecuador North America 181

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

There were three profound questions my birding group discussed while we birded Trinidad and Tobago, back in December 2012: (1) How many Bananaquits could fit on a banana? (2) 3) What was the best guide to the birds of Trinidad and Tobago? The bird guide question was a conundrum.

Trinidad 190

Trinidad Birds South America Research 190

10,000 Birds

JULY 27, 2013

And while the birds that we in the western hemisphere refer to as blackbirds in their common names are from several different genera it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think that if a bird is in the same genus as the North American meadowlarks that it would also be called a meadowlark. If only naming birds were so simple!

Blackbirds 166

Blackbirds Trinidad Costa Rica Nicaragua 166

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2017

Written by an ornithologist who is also a birder and who embraces the world from an ecological viewpoint that sees birds as part of larger systems of evolution, succession, and mutualism, The New Neotropical Companion is the textbook-that-is-not-a-textbook you always wanted to read, though you may not know it yet.

South America 144

South America Ecuador America Reptiles 144

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2012

Very few birds – or animals for that matter – would plunge head-first into the churning cauldrons of some of South America’s most treacherous rivers. Seeing only the male or female really doesn’t cut it as these birds are the epitome of sexual dimorphism. How freakin bizarre is that??

Ducks 234

Ducks Colombia South America Squirrels 234

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

And where all those birds are? This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. And it raises a question: if all the birds are having a party over there, am I in the wrong spot? I am talking 600 or 700+ bird species. Why am I here?

Sri Lanka 256

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 256

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2014

In her free time she travels near and far to find birds to continue building her life list, though many of her favorites can still be found right in her own backyard. She has contributed many pieces to 10,000 Birds and writes about her birding adventures on her blog, newbirder.tumblr.com. Lots and lots of birds.

Birds 174

Birds Florida Groups Breeding 174

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 18, 2014

migration corridors from Argentina in the Southern tip of South America to Canada. Birds in Delaware Bay. From North Carolina south to Texas, just under half of beaches are developed. During both the northbound (spring) and southbound (fall) migrations, knots can be found anywhere along the coastal and inland U.S.

Endangered Species 160

Endangered Species Protection Delaware Species 160

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

Found throughout South America in ever-dwindling numbers these extremely beautiful birds – threatened by habitat destruction and collection for the wild bird trade – are often difficult to see and hard to find.

Peru 254

Peru Parrots 2011 South America 254

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2024

These birds are out here creating architectural masterpieces while we struggle to assemble flat-pack furniture without swearing. So, without further ado, let’s dive into the top five bird nests that will put your DIY skills to shame. These birds construct intricate hanging nests that resemble high-end condominiums.

Sri Lanka 183

Sri Lanka Asia Malaysia Uruguay 183

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 11, 2011

.&# Traditionally, of course, falcons have been classified with other diurnal raptors, parrots have been positioned between doves and cuckoos, and seriemas have been lumped with cranes, rails, and other birds in the order Gruiformes. (If If you’re not familiar with the South American seriemas, here’s a great image. I like this one too.)

Parrots 221

Parrots Falcons Costa Rica South America 221

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2012

Nick Sly, a friend of 10,000 Birds who writes intermittently at the thoroughly-recommended Biological Ramblings , is an ornithologist who graduated not so long ago from Cornell only to be cast out into the real world where he keeps a wry eye on all things biological! The youngest bird in this clutch is only two or three days old.

Eggs 268

Eggs Venezuela Porcupines 2008 268

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. Like so many trips this one is more about the journey than the destination which brings us to why they have a guest post (hopefully the first of several) on 10,000 Birds. Their second is here.

Guatemala 162

Guatemala Mexico San Diego South America 162

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 26, 2021

And apart from local people, primate researchers sometimes spot it, but it is a species seen by fewer than ten living birders. This book is essentially about those birds that breed on the continent south of the Sahara, a topic few birders are familiar with. Some are incredibly rare and hard to find.

Congo 264

Congo Africa South Africa Madagascar 264

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2012

I spent the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in the usual post-hurricane activities—looking for storm birds, making sure my loved ones were o.k., trying to grasp the enormity of what had just happened, and reading this book, The Feathery Tribe: Robert Ridgway and the Modern Study of Birds by Daniel Lewis. And, draw birds.

Collecting 146

Collecting Illinois United States Science 146

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2018

It actually makes a lot of sense, the geographic features of the isthmus between North America (including Mexico, because Mexico is part of North America) and South America cut across political lines, as do birds. This is followed by abundance notations, denoting if the bird is abundant, common, uncommon, etc.

America 212

America El Salvador Costa Rica Honduras 212

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

And reports of birds nesting – not owls, of course, those weirdo snow fetishists, but other birds nesting – light up my life. Most exotics, at least in the bird world, stick close to their point of arrival and barely hang on – or don’t – over the generations. In 1998 W. And of Wyoming.

Montana 133

Montana 2011 New York Bahamas 133

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2012

These were the sounds I heard as I walked around a small pond in Amherst, Massachusetts last week, looking for dragonflies, listening for birds. There are over 5,000 species of frogs in existence (5,858 at the time the book was written, the exact number changes as research dictates re-arrangements of taxonomy and new species are discovered).

Reptiles 182

Reptiles Madagascar Family New York City 182

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2013

The species must be listed as a separate, full species by both of the most widely used ornithological bird lists, Sibley/Monroe and Clements. And lastly, I felt it important to consider this final question when deciding on the remotest endemic birds: How likely is it that the species can wander outside of its normal range?

Birds 199

Birds South Africa South America Feral Cats 199

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

There are few bird names that will elicit great big smiles and Penguin is one of them. Other contenders are Kookaburra, Shoebill, and Umbrellabird, but people smile when they hear these names because they know a song or because they can’t believe these are real names of real birds. <pause> Do I have your attention now?

Penguins 277

Penguins New Zealand Georgia Albatross 277

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

The magnificent history and diversity of birds on Earth came into sharper focus this month with the publication of 28 new scientific papers in Science and other journals. One of the central papers, Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds (Jarvis et al. American Flamingo photo by Dick Culbert).

Family 279

Family Birds Parrots 2014 279

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2011

A profound and deep understanding of birds is hard to complain about. Despite the vacant look in the eye of a Rock Pigeon , birds are not stupid…they cannot afford to be, or else they wouldn’t be here now. crossing the Carribean and winding up in South America? Many birds display a strong sense of curiousty.

Emotional 199

Emotional Science Birds Mammals 199

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 12, 2017

Starting in the mid-1990s, there was a “where to watch birds in…” series of five site guides written by Nigel Wheatley and covering South America (1994), Africa (1995), Asia (1996), Europe & Russia (2000) and Central America & the Caribbean (2001). Species accounts for all 2,792 bird species.

Africa 166

Africa Botswana Nigeria Namibia 166

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2022

Thankfully, there is a refreshing lack of concern for the taxonomic controversies that are apparently as rife in the turtle world as they are in the bird world. This culture chapter is necessarily brief but did make me wish for a reptile equivalent of Birds and People , where I could read more about turtle imagery in religion and literature.

Turtles 190

Turtles Family Tortoises Terrapins 190

10,000 Birds

JULY 15, 2021

Birds of Colombia (Lynx and BirdLife International Field Guides) by Steven L. Hilty “Sadly, a few specimens, salvaged from these shipments, were so rare that they have never been found in the wild”, an unexpected sentence in Steven Hilty’s introduction to the Birds of Colombia touched a sentiment deep inside me. Neither have I.)

Colombia 263

Colombia South America Birds 2000 263