10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2011

One that could take close up shots when we were banding birds, get a wide view for establishing shots of habitat or just something to grab fun photos of friends and family–all while fitting easily in a jacket or pants pocket. Then came smart phones. Here’s the same Chaffinch but taken with my SLR.

Israel 266

Israel ALA Abandon Abandoning 266

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2015

I’m happy to say that Laura Erickson and Marie Read have written a book, Into the Nest: Intimate Views of the Courting, Parenting, and Family Lives of Familiar Birds , that is not too cute and that does not anthropomorphize. Part Two: The Family Live of Selected Species” describes and illustrates the family lives of 49 species in 25 chapters.

Eggs 263

Eggs Family 2006 New York 263

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

Many Neotropical families and genera have some of their northernmost members here, such as the spinetails ( Rufous-breasted Spinetail ), Tangara tanagers ( Azure-rumped Tanager ), and guans ( Horned Guan ). This is a fascinating area of transition. In short, the mountain birding in Honduras promised a slew of cool new birds. Stay tuned.

Honduras 254

Honduras El Salvador Costa Rica Arizona 254

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2021

Here’s another female Broad-billed Hummingbird , and a Dusky Hummingbird for comparison. Just to confuse things even more, many other “ Emeralds ” are also in the same family and tribe, but belong to, according to current taxonomy, up to 8 different genera.

Mexico 264

Mexico Species America Family 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2012

I had hoped to have some Semipalmated Plover chick photos for comparison but as of last night they seem to be still at the egg stage. They are everywhere right now, as the families make their way from uplands down to the water’s edge. So you’ll just have to make do with these… See, little balls of puffy down.

Eggs 247

Eggs North America Breeding Europe 247

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2022

For comparison, here is a photo of the same species taken at Nanhui, Shanghai, far further east. Confusingly, while there are more than 50 species in the fantail family, the Yellow-bellied Fantail is not one of them. Instead, it is a member of the family of fairy-flycatchers, which sounds vaguely homophobic but probably is not.

Litter 264

Litter China Abandon Abandoning 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2013

I was particularly excited to visit this site as it had listed on its website a few species that I had not seen in over a decade, and a few I also happened to need for my year list (which is only low in comparison to the fanatics that work on this site, who also happen not to live in such a species poor place as New Zealand).

New Zealand 197

New Zealand Sanctuary Mammals Wildlife 197

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2014

Twelve family accounts have been added. It is 72 pages longer than the first edition. An undisclosed number of family and species accounts have been updated. Doing these comparisons can get a little confusing.). This is where the photograph appears, a representative member of the family. Karlson, and Brian E.

North America 215

North America America Family Falcons 215

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2016

And, that falcons are about as far away from hawks as a bird family could get. David Sibley notes in the Introduction that the order has been changed in some places so similar species could be placed next to each other for comparison purposes. The Quick Index of bird families (Albatrosses, Ani, Auklets, etc.)

North America 189

North America 2003 Birds America 189

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2024

Other notable expressions include the lowing of a cow or a distant chainsaw, these along with various iterations of kaks and warks pale in comparison to the most realistic “ graaaaaaaaaaoooooooooooooo ” – without any doubt the strangest sound I’ve ever heard made by a living creature while still fully alive.

Guyana 246

Guyana Parrots Trinidad Monkeys 246

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2015

This year, what with family plans and other commitments, I didn’t get out on the pond until later than usual but it was worth the wait. Here a Semipalmated Sandpiper helpfully provided a comparison shot with the White-rump. It being mid-August in New York City there is one place where I have to be as often as I can.

Jamaica 162

Jamaica Wildlife New York City New York 162

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2024

This is the home of the Rusty-naped Pitta , admittedly one of the less glamorous of the family, particularly the subspecies found in Yunnan, but still a nice sight and still a pitta. No doubt, the Lesser NLT will be relieved not to be bossed around by its erstwhile bigger family member anymore.

Burma 246

Burma India Thailand Indonesia 246

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2015

Similar comparisons can be made with other bird features such as how their hips work. The genetic pathway found in Alligators and birds and everything within the containing family tree of Alligators and birds was messed with, and the result was the loss of bird-osity and thus reversion to alligatorness. Here’s the thing.

Alligators 267

Alligators Chickens Reptiles Birds 267

10,000 Birds

APRIL 22, 2021

Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago describes all 1,456 bird species (39 species more than in the first edition) within 107 bird families known to occur in the region, including 628 endemics (27 endemics more than in the 1st edition) and 10 species yet to be formally described (down from 18 in the 1st edition).

Indonesia 264

Indonesia Timor Brunei Guinea 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

For example, on finding gulls: Close study of gulls is not for everyone, and birders shouldn’t feel obligated to get deep into it if you prefer colorful, less-confusing, families of birds. Most of these photos are by photographers associated with the USFWS and Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources and by Nate.

North Carolina 263

North Carolina Birds North America Owls 263

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

The Peterson Reference Guide to Seawatching offers two types of information: Species Accounts–descriptions of 112 birds within 15 families as they appear over and on the water, and Where to Watch, brief descriptions of 47 sites on the North American eastern coast and interior recommended for seawatching.

Ducks 247

Ducks Groups North America North Dakota 247

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2023

comparison tables!) A map of Ontario is reproduced on the inside front covers and the Quick Index, a one-page listing of bird families, is on the back inside cover. 2012), and (4) Waterfowl of Eastern North America, 2nd ed. 2020, all also published by Firefly); children’s books and books on bird feeding. by 1 by 7.5

North America 246

North America Birds Owls Canada 246

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 21, 2017

While in Belize for my family vacation one of the birds I most wanted to see was a Jabiru. That might not sound scary but when your whole family is tooling along in a golf cart and a giant dump truck comes roaring up behind you and overtakes it is a bit unsettling. Here it dwarfs a Snowy Egret.

Belize 140

Belize Trafficking Family Turkey 140

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2018

Three helpful sections precede the Introduction: Photo and silhouette comparisons of gulls that breed in North America (see illustration above), Basic Anatomical Terms illustrated with four diagrams, and a very selective Glossary. Comparisons are made with similar gulls and other birds throughout.

North America 214

North America El Salvador America Nicaragua 214

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Both Puerto Rico and the USVI have active birding communities that are currently excluded from full membership in the ABA family. All Americans Should be Full Members of the ABA Family. Adding Puerto Rico and the USVI would largely achieve the goal of bringing all Americans into full membership of the ABA family.

Puerto Rico 202

Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Hawaii United States 202

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2018

Within families, the species are arranged less taxonomically and more in line with “design and space considerations,” (Introduction), and on the plates themselves, species are arranged to facilitate comparison. So, I did some visual comparisons. Text is on the left, plates are on the right. Do I need new glasses?

America 214

America El Salvador Costa Rica Honduras 214

4 The Love Of Animals

MAY 16, 2010

Here are the tips and stats that they sent us: Nearly 2,900 letter carriers were bitten by dogs last year, yet that pales in comparison to the 4.7 Your dog’s instinct is to protect the family. They are working hard to help spread that word about how to prevent dog bites. million Americans needlessly victimized by dog bites each year.

Dogs 100

Dogs Tethering Neutering Spaying 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 30, 2018

And that begs the question, anthropocentric comparisons aside, what makes a bird a jerk? Hummingbirds, on the other hand, just can’t seem to pass more than a few minutes without going into a rage and attacking the nearest fellow member of their avian family. Maybe even pyschos. I’m pretty sure they are!

Humane 189

Humane Neglecting Investigation Woodpeckers 189

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 6, 2015

Species Accounts in both titles are arranged loosely in ABA Checklist order, with some flipping around of order within each family. inches, the books can be easily carried in a large pocket or small backpack. This is clearly done to allow readers to view similar species opposite each other.

Colorado 267

Colorado Florida New Jersey North America 267

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2016

My librarian self is partial to a more strict taxonomic organization, but with no hope that the constant shifting of families will end in the near future, this type of sequence is making more and more sense. The book’s organization reflects the authors’ goal of making this a guide accessible to birders of all levels and skill.

Ireland 203

Ireland Birds Falcons Turtles 203

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2024

Birds & Flowers: An Intimate 50 Million Year Relationship is to highlight other bird families that pollinate. In this regard Europe is a distinct and strange outlier in comparison to other continents, for some reason still to be discovered.

Denmark 264

Denmark Pythons Europe Birds 264

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

Each family is given a double-page spread. For easier comparison, confusingly similar pairs are shown on the same page, side by side. Weighing 2.88 pounds, it is a hefty book, not something you would want to carry on foot, but rather leave at home or in your car. But first and foremost – it is a beautiful book.

Europe 264

Europe Asia Cyprus Turkey 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2020

They portray the nesting cycles of Mallard, Red-tailed Hawk, and American Robin, illustrating the various ways in which birds create families. Do they have families too and do they take care of them? Some of the chapters focus on a specific bird, most are about bird families like hawks, tanagers, wrens, etc.,

2020 264

2020 Birds North America Sparrows 264

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2020

And, the One-page Index, a quick reference to locating major bird families, is placed in two locations–the front and the back of the book. Family groups are briefly introduced with descriptions of their shared characteristics. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this before! The text pages have a lively look.

North America 264

North America America Hawaii Birds 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2013

Comparison species are treated in depth for each species in The Warbler Guide. This is the case here; this Comparison Species page is from the “Blackburnian—Drab Birds” section. Each species account features sonograms of the species’ songs and a comparison with sonograms of similar warbler songs.

United States 279

United States North America New York Species 279

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 21, 2014

Here is a little comparison (Black Mamba courtesy of Tad Arensmeier and Wikipedia , and excuse the horrible prinia crop): Disturbing, right? Just don’t try this with a Brown Prinia, unless you have life insurance and a family in need. Look at the colour of the mouth: it is pitch black! Now, what does that remind you of?

Burma 203

Burma Laos Cambodia Indonesia 203

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2017

Considering this adherence to scientific accuracy, it is intriguing that the authors have put aside a taxonomic form of organization and have instead opted for “a pragmatic field guide sequence… that groups bird families according to the broad biomes in which they are most likely to be encountered—marine, freshwater and terrestrial…” (p.2).

Australia 160

Australia Penguins Birds New Zealand 160

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 18, 2016

Primates are exceptional among the mammals, living amphibians (which represent only a small part of the original amphibian family tree) are pretty noisy too. Except, of course, there are, or should I say, there is one , so far, to make that comparison. Very few other vertebrates use sound so socially and so critically.

Primates 207

Primates Groups Collecting Bats 207

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2022

Comparison species are treated in depth for each species in The Warbler Guide. This is the case here; this Comparison Species page is from the “Blackburnian—Drab Birds” section. Each species account features sonograms of the species’ songs and a comparison with sonograms of similar warbler songs.

United States 264

United States North America 2013 Species 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2020

Didn’t every household have a copy of a Peterson Field Guide on the shelf, maybe a third or fourth edition that family members grew up with, which they could quickly consult to see the arrow pointing to that belly band? It’s interesting, at least to me, to make comparisons. Where were their field guides?

North America 246

North America America 2020 Hawaii 246

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2022

Masked Lapwing is a very easy bird to identify, so there is a question about how the Compact Guide works in the field when trying to identify trickier birds, like Honeyeaters, a family totally new to many North American birders. I found it extremely easy to use in the few days I was able to take it out in the field without a guide.

Australia 278

Australia 2017 Birds New Zealand 278

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2022

A family motel and passion for responsible ecotourism brought her home to the Oregon Coast where she and her husband, Erik, adventure and record a podcast ( Hannah and Erik Go Birding ), created in an effort to inspire others to get out and bird. Marion has a fascinating history with invasive species.

South Africa 264

South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 264