10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2011

Fluttering Shearwater ( Puffinus gavia ) Flesh-footed Shearwater ( Puffinus carneipes ) Buller’s Shearwater ( Puffinus bulleri ) Along with these three were Two further species, also both familiar to North American birders, Sooty Shearwaters and Short-tailed Shearwaters. It is also restricted as a breeder to the north of North Island.

New Zealand 183

New Zealand Albatross 2011 Cooking 183

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2011

In addition to this tight clustering of related parakeets, the genus also had two species in the far-flung Society Islands (now in French Polynesia). These species, recorded by early European explorers, are now sadly extinct, but the disjunct distribution is something of a mystery. of the Yellow-crowned Parakeet.

New Zealand 163

New Zealand Fiji Parrots Tonga 163

10,000 Birds

JUNE 15, 2011

I mentioned last week, while talking about rails and the Pacific, that Tonga is not a particularly birdy birding destination. Tonga is still a fun place to visit, particularly if you’re a poor PhD student anxious to escape the Austral winter. Further down the coast Grey Noddies and Brown Boobies nest on the cliffs.

Tonga 190

Tonga Fiji New Zealand Parrots 190

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2011

The world of birding is filled with challenging groups well known to all, birds like gulls , Empidonax flycatchers or cisticolas that require attention to the tiniest details in order to assign an individual to a specific species (if it can be done at all). Above we have an example of the species. Subspecies sacer , ‘Eua, Tonga.

Samoa 195

Samoa Vanuatu United Arab Emirates Tonga 195