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 178

Family Guatemala Stray Humane 178

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. We now know a lot more about who is a tanager vs. a sparrow vs. a cardinal.

Sparrows 259

Sparrows North America South America Blackbirds 259

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2024

There is also a family of Barn Owls on the premises, and I have briefly seen the largest of them (enormous!) That’s a Melodious Blackbird in the background. A Roadside Hawk perched on a post next to, of course, a road. And two Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls toot-toot-tooted from the brush. flying by at night.

Barn Owls 217

Barn Owls Mexico Parrots ALA 217

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 18, 2019

But North Coast also makes a bird-themed beer, Le Merle, an interpretation of a Belgian, farmhouse-style saison with a name borrowed from the French word for the Common (Eurasian) Blackbird ( Turdus merula ). Birds and Booze readers may remember another saison originally named for le merle that we looked at about a year ago.

Blackbirds 102

Blackbirds California Family Birds 102

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2023

From Yellow-hooded Blackbirds to Purple and Common Gallinules , there are almost too many birds to focus on! While enjoying the family of Wattled Jacanas , a female Green Kingfisher flew in to an overhanging branch and sat there for several minutes.

Trinidad 263

Trinidad Birds Ducks Fish 263

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2023

The same can be said, to a lesser extent, for the shorebirds, New World sparrows, warblers, and many other families. For example, these may all technically be Blackbirds, but there are Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds and a Brown-headed Cowbird in this one photo. So modern of them.

Blackbirds 147

Blackbirds Ducks Mexico 2020 147

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2018

But the name of this beer had nothing to do with “Sixteen Tons” of coal, or “Okies” from Muskogee, but birds: merle is also the French word for “blackbird”. And, of course, by blackbirds I mean true thrushes of the family Turdidae , of which the Common (Eurasian) Blackbird ( Turdus merula ) is the most famous in European culture and folklore.

Blackbirds 113

Blackbirds Belgium Wounded Colorado 113

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2022

The male Grey-winged Blackbird is similarly attractive. Somewhat confusingly, its Latin species name is boulboul – a word that stands for nightingale but of course is also the name of a large bird family, the bulbuls. The Blue Whistling Thrush is of course named for its whistling – you can hear it here.

Horses 201

Horses Family Blackbirds Species 201

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2020

And yet, I miss my family and friends, and grieve for those around the world who are not as lucky as I have been. I even enjoyed following the Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles as they fed along the shallow edge of the water body. We love our house and our neighborhood, and my yard overlooks a particularly birdy pond.

Birds 237

Birds Blackbirds Shelters Wildlife 237

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2015

My family have already grown bored of my presence this week and are asking when I will be going back to work. An angry Red-winged Blackbird attacked again and again, flashing its bright epaulettes and hitting the heron hard in the middle of its back. The blackbird appeared to be purposefully targeting the heron’s back.

Blackbirds 155

Blackbirds Hunting Raised Fish 155

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2021

Yellow-winged Caciques , showy members of the Blackbird/New World Oriole family, are always conspicuous residents of the region. (I showed this photo to my sister, and her comment was: What a fabulous set of colors. You could decorate a house in them!) Make sure you notice those two raquet-feathers on the tail.

Mexico 178

Mexico Blackbirds Sparrows Owls 178

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2019

I fell into the latter camp, with cold rain dashing my family’s Father’s Day hike and any interest I had in leaving the house. It being Father’s Day, he was particularly taken with the Red-winged Blackbird that drove a Great Egret from his territory. How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?

2019 114

2019 Blackbirds Birds Family 114

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2024

The rooms are floating in a pond and the pond provides a home for a Eurasian Beaver family. but walking to the Schollevaar hide I saw Common Chaffinch, Eurasian Tree Sparrow , European Stonechat , Eurasian Blackbird , Eurasian Blue Tit , Common Kestrel and even a Great Spotted Woodpecker. Skeins of Greylag Geese completed the picture.

Beavers 144

Beavers Netherlands Eagles Geese 144

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2020

Already in my several walks there recently I’ve enjoyed a juvenile Bald Eagle , hordes of Song Sparrows , an early Common Yellowthroat , a nice Rusty Blackbird , and, most importantly, some moments of calm in a crisis. looking west from the east side of the lake (I live near the big building on the left.).

Bald Eagle 191

Bald Eagle New York City New York Birds 191

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2012

But I have been sick with different kinds and forms of cold since the beginning of December with no interruption, and so has my entire family. A short summary of events described in this former blog post of mine: We are talking about the thrush called Eurasian Blackbird Turdus merula , not the American Icterids. I honestly did.

Germany 160

Germany Blackbirds 2006 Denmark 160

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2019

Blackbirds. Some members of this family always do well with people and Costa Rica is no exception. Great-tailed Grackles are a given, we also had Bronzed Cowbird, Melodious Blackbird, and a few Montezuma Oropendolas. The uncommon, skulking endemic Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow was also recorded but only by call.

Costa Rica 198

Costa Rica Parrots Birds Blackbirds 198

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2011

It sheltered him, it haunted him, and it set his thoughts adrift, to the warmth of spring and the family he had. But something happened, and it happened many times: Something has been killing our Blackbirds. The problem is that Blackbirds are incredibly common in suburban and even urban areas of Germany. All were long gone.

Blackbirds 154

Blackbirds Germany Shelters Rodents 154

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 16, 2020

I took a gamble and got the family out on a (socially-distanced) whale-watching boat on the 12th and was rewarded, finally, with my Queens Great Shearwater ! At the end of summer we took a family trip to Cape Cod and on the way home a Black-throated Gray Warbler was reported at Jamaica Bay on 4 September. And I predicted this one too!

New York City 152

New York City Birds New York Blackbirds 152

10,000 Birds

MARCH 10, 2017

In some ways his story is familiar to a lot of birders: the outdoors was both recreation and refuge for him, his family imbued him with a love of learning and an appreciation for the earth. The love of nature is evident in his chapters about his parents and siblings; his family is ever-present in his musings on trees and springs and cows.

South Carolina 132

South Carolina Stray Cows Blackbirds 132

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2015

However, there are those species which have a hard time bringing attention to themselves such as Yellow-shouldered Blackbird , Giant Nuthatch , and Vinaceous-breasted Parrot. It was quite late in the morning when we saw a family group consisting of an adult and three nearly fully grown juveniles right on the track about 300 meters away.

California Condor 220

California Condor Brazil Parrots Texas 220

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2014

It reminded me of a male swimmer afraid of soaking the family jewels. This female Red-winged Blackbird spent quite some time washing this moth, which I assume was meant for a fledgling. This Gray Catbird was very hesitant about getting immersed in the puddle. Click for a bigger version.). Teenage rebellion?

Birds 179

Birds Blackbirds Family 179

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Checklist for Belize lists 622 species in 76 families, of which 104 are rare or accidental and four introduced. Checklist lists 955 species in 86 families, with 152 rare/accidental species, three extirpated species, five introduced species, and nine endemics). For context, the IOC version 13.1

Costa Rica 222

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 222

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2021

Some other members of the shrike family were a bit less testosterone-driven at Nanhui – like this Bull-headed Shrike … … this rather attractive-looking Tiger Shrike … … or one of the many Brown Shrikes passing through Nanhui on migration. .” A juvenile Chinese Blackbird. A happier shrike.

LACS 237

LACS Birds France Japan 237

10,000 Birds

MAY 30, 2012

One of my all time favorite bird feeding moments involved a Blue Jay family. Another time to consider taking your feeders down for a limited time is if you get a blackbird takeover when their young leave the nest. As summer progresses, you get to watch adult birds bring their young to feeders and teach them how to use the feeders.

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Blackbirds Baltimore Birds Breeding 232

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 10, 2012

I’ve always been rather fascinated by trans-Atlantic bird families, perhaps because of growing up with copious mentions of British birds in my children’s books.

Blackbirds 165

Blackbirds Adoptable Humane Family 165

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2015

An American Redstart sang half-heartedly, a Ring-necked Pheasant ran from me, and Gray Catbirds , Red-winged Blackbirds , and American Robins were everywhere. Once I was done at the beach I explored some of the little remaining undeveloped scrub habitat that has grown up behind the beach and the boardwalk, just to see what I could find.

New York City 165

New York City Blackbirds New York Collecting 165

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2015

Regardless of the temperatures I got out and about both mornings on my own and in the afternoons with the family. A few Rusty Blackbirds made it through the winter but there are many more about now and they are far more vocal. There were lots of birds around and my camera was in overdrive! A very serendipitous shot.

Bald Eagle 187

Bald Eagle New York City Birds Geese 187

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2011

We had a blast, the family and I, and experienced some amazing natural places, to say nothing of the fine city of Seattle. Ditto for the Blackbird Bakery on Bainbridge Island, Fins Coastal Cuisine in Port Townsend, and Ezell’s Chicken in Seattle. Here I am, back from my first ever visit to the Pacific Northwest. Scary nice.

Seattle 181

Seattle Washington Chickens Blackbirds 181

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2017

From Florida to Maine and back again I toured urban forests, marshes, estuaries, and more, stopping along the way to visit family and friends. Osprey and Royal Terns soared on the coastal winds overhead, and Red-winged Blackbirds sounded their raspy calls just about everywhere. A strong sense of nostalgia washed over me.

Virginia 100

Virginia Blackbirds 2013 Protection 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2013

I didn’t travel much this year, with a June family trip to California and Nevada and a four-day trip in July to Trinidad and Tobago being my only opportunities to get birds not in the northeastern United States. Checking out Red-breasted Blackbirds at the Aripo Agricultural Research Station. Red-breasted Blackbird.

2013 177

2013 New York City Nevada Trinidad 177

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 6, 2012

This is the Ruppell’s Long-tailed Starling , a glimmering blue-black bird with a creamy white eye, reminiscent of the Brewers Blackbird but comparatively a little more scarce. Getting a glimpse into the workings of the world by witnessing a family of starlings foraging together is a real treat.

Tanzania 180

Tanzania Chickens Blackbirds California 180

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2013

Flocks of Bushtits made their noisy way through the bushes and a large number of Yellow-headed Blackbirds , which easily increased by ten-fold the number of Yellow-headed Blackbirds I had ever seen, flushed from one reed-bed to another. Hummingbirds buzzed past often and Verdin called with regularity from the bushes and small trees.

Las Vegas 208

Las Vegas Nevada Birds Blackbirds 208

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2016

I was back in Florida just last week, in Orlando as part of an annual trip with my wife’s family. In past visits the vultures put up around mid-morning, building up into lazy cyclones of long-winged blackbirds, spiraling upward without a single wingbeat. I have yet to see a Short-tailed Hawk. But enough distraction.

Florida 128

Florida ALA Blackbirds Family 128

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

In many cases, our waterfowl, gulls, and shorebirds are the same as those overseas – or only slightly different – and there are many other corresponding species in nearly all the shared families.

2017 118

2017 Portugal Rabbits Europe 118

10,000 Birds

JUNE 19, 2018

Taking advantage of my son, Desmond, having this past Friday off from school our small family decided to do a three-day trip somewhere. Eventually, around midafternoon, the rain slowed down to the point where it was hardly even coming down and the family took a nature walk. Nonetheless, it was nice to see a second endemic species.

Monkeys 100

Monkeys Family Deer Pelicans 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2020

Jon Fjeldså’s contributions include many of the ducks, yellow-finches, and many other families where his images of Birds of the High Andes could be used. And, it has to be added that all of these artists and the additional seven artists contributed images that filled out plates of most of the bird families.

Bolivia 178

Bolivia Birds Brazil Switzerland 178

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 16, 2011

I, on the other hand, had a very busy weekend that included seeing The Big Year (look for a review soon), joining the huge Occupy Wall Street rally in Times Square, taking Desi to the Queens Zoo, and driving upstate to visit the newest addition to the family, my nephew, Andrew Peter (Congrats Jonathan and Shannon!).

Costa Rica 178

Costa Rica Atlanta New York City 2011 178