10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2020

What this translates to is an array of bird families that are very similar to that on the mainland – motmots, toucans, jacamars, and antpittas to name a few – but each family is limited to one or two representatives. There is simply not enough real estate for multiple species of toucans for example. Golden-headed Manakin.

Trinidad 264

Trinidad Family America Species 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2021

There’s a ( Eurasian) Blue Tit ( Cyanistes caeruleus ) flitting around some flowers and butterflies, while what is likely another European member of the family Paridae – possibly either a Willow Tit ( Poecile montanus ) or Marsh Tit ( Poecile palustris ) – seems to alight on the letter “T” in “Natura”.

2020 263

2020 Chile Bald Eagle Europe 263

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2023

I am puzzled as to why Gulls and Terns are almost passed over, with less than two pages of text devoted to a family description and only six species accounts (four gulls, two terns). Family follows family with no page break, making this section a little dense. Woodpeckers are a family of focus for Tuttle-Adams.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 287

Wildlife Rehabilitation Family Birds Collecting 287

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2021

For the purpose of this post being of a reasonable length, I’m only going to touch on members of the Tyrannidae family of New World Flycatchers which can be found in the cocoa estates of Trinidad and Tobago. There are of course, many other birds which feed on flying insects, such as jacamars and trogons.

Trinidad 256

Trinidad Abandon Abandonment Abandoning 256

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2012

There are few families of birds as bewitching as the birds-of-paradise. There are, however, two species that are more accesible than the rest of the family. I’ve written before about how satisfying I find locating new families , and this was a pretty sweet new family to get. www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VGongXYDGo

Indonesia 223

Indonesia Guinea Australia Cooking 223

10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2021

We’re still far from peak passerine passage, but getting closer every day… I had to move my bird feeder from its perfect position this weekend, because of–of course–squirrels. Corey enjoyed getting out on birding outings both mornings of the weekend, and was out in nature with his family both afternoons.

Squirrels 263

Squirrels Louisiana Birds Family 263

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2021

They may well have all been from the same family. Black-breasted Buzzards are a lot more distinct in flight with their wing panel pattern than on the ground, unless of course they spread their wings! They all came together in one area close to the water and wandered around on the grass. Black-breasted Buzzard interaction.

2015 262

2015 Eagles Family Birds 262

10,000 Birds

JUNE 5, 2024

During the rainy season the Rupununi River shares a watershed with the Amazon and is connected to several other water courses via flooded plains. A Jabiru disappeared up a small stream around one corner, another corner was attended to by a small family of Amazon Kingfishers.

Guyana 244

Guyana Otters Trinidad Bats 244

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2022

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. The male Grey-winged Blackbird is similarly attractive.

Horses 235

Horses Family Blackbirds Species 235

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 13, 2011

Which is why, upon meeting new people, we want to know where they’re from, who their family is, what they “do,” or two or three other things, depending upon our cultural values. Of course, none of this solves the taxonomy and systematics problems we face with the modern-day Hoatzin. We’ll go with gaggle.)

South America 244

South America Africa America Namibia 244

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2022

Over the course of the following hour or so we observed many different species *coincidentally* alight on the wall near to the body of the fallen yellowlegs. Did the Black-bellied Whistling Duck represent his family, “showing face” as we say here in the Caribbean? Pectoral Sandpiper (L) and White-rumped Sandpiper (R).

Elephants 278

Elephants Ducks Humane Family 278

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2021

Of course, plenty of non-endemics also turned up to have their picture taken. Here in Michoacán, we have four different species from the Myiarchus genus of the Tyrant-Flycatcher family. Of course, to say they are “different” is incredibly generous of me. Great Kiskadees are common (and noisy) residents of the area.

Woodpeckers 259

Woodpeckers Hunters Falcons Breeding 259

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2022

While the entire Tyrannidae family of Tyrant Flycatchers is massive, the Myiarchus group of those recorded on these two islands comprises just three species. The perfect situation of course is for the birds to vocalize, as each is quite distinct. Simple and straightforward enough, right?

Trinidad 254

Trinidad ALA Groups Family 254

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 10, 2020

Of course, sometimes Dunlins are awake as well. While Long-tailed Shrikes are the second hand car dealers of the Nanhui bird world, some of the other members of the shrike family are a bit more subtle. Male and female Japanese Thrush , rather elegant members of the family. A Black-winged Kite is doing slightly better.

Stray 264

Stray Asia Family Industry 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 4, 2015

Of course, Corey wasn’t actually the one to spot it. No, he just brought his family to the area he knew one was hiding and waited for Daisy to make the discovery. I hit Lake Ontario for winter birds this weekend and walked away with a trio of Red-throated Loons.

2015 199

2015 Owls Birds Family 199

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

As we walked up the “beautiful river” (which is what “Río Bello” means) Nacho pointed out trees from the dogwood, holly, and linden/basswood families. You might not guess this Lobelia is from the same family as the popular bedding flower with that name — until you see the individual flowers close-up.

Birds 244

Birds Mexico Cooking Family 244

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2024

I have encountered a few of the more quirky members of the family, including the brilliant and aptly-named African Emerald Cuckoo, India’s ultra-shy Sirkeer Malkoha, and the fascinating Lesser Ground Cuckoo in Costa Rica. It reminded me of a Roadrunner, which is, of course, also a member of the cuckoo family.

Cyprus 245

Cyprus Africa Europe Asia 245

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2021

Of course, I also go there several other times each year; I have, after all, seen 160 species at this endemic-rich site. And we do, in fact, have some scrawny members of the family here in Morelia, but they hardly deserve the name. Not that I measured him, of course. But I never, ever miss a February and July in Paso Ancho.

Nicaragua 264

Nicaragua 2015 2016 Mexico 264

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 18, 2022

According to the whisky’s packaging, “the distillery has been watched over by a family of rare eagles, since 1898.” Presumably, this sentinel duty has involved many generations of watchful eagles – unless, of course, this aquiline family has been blessed with the unusual longevity of Pale Male.

Eagles 237

Eagles Ireland Deer 2014 237

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2021

The best test of that proposition, of course, is to repeat it to any one of the hundreds of thousands of birders who have, say, a family. The popular stereotype of birders is that we’re obsessives, focused only on the feathered to the exclusion of anything else.

New Jersey 246

New Jersey Guatemala France Birds 246

10,000 Birds

JULY 2, 2021

The bird is, of course, none other than the Common Blackbird ( Turdus merula ), the original blackbird of European folklore and nursery rhyme fame, better known to North American birders as the Eurasian Blackbird and unrelated to those “blackbirds” of the family Icteridae found in the New World.

2019 264

2019 Blackbirds Portugal Bats 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2022

The exploration of triads within the avifauna of Trinidad and Tobago has taken me through various families and species groups on this blog. On the topic of patience, the Plain-brown Woodcreeper follows rivers of army ants as they course through the forest floor, much like antbirds do. It’s taken a life of its own to be honest.

Woodpeckers 264

Woodpeckers Trinidad South America Hunting 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 14, 2022

Of course, a land of beefeaters needs butchers. In fact, the family name Lanius derives from a Latin word for “butcher”, though the “butcherbird” was a butcher long before humans even developed the language to describe these activities.

2019 258

2019 Butcher Livestock 2006 258

10,000 Birds

MAY 9, 2024

Back when I was a kid growing up in California’s San Mateo County in the 60s and 70s, my family would occasionally drive 45 minutes west and south to Bean Hollow State Beach. Why, Bean Hollow, of course. Of course, I had known none of this when the day began. and my first member of the auk/puffin family.

California 232

California Sea Lions Marine Life Puffins 232

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2012

While eating lunch with Daisy and her family at a picnic area in Joshua Tree National Park the other day a small chipmunk-looking creature ventured out of the rock formation we were eating next to. The cute little critter was clearly looking for a handout which we did not provide.

Squirrels 230

Squirrels Chipmunks Idaho Mammals 230

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

Of course this is nonsense, and they are clearly close to swifts, but with a hind toe that lets them perch like a swallow, they sit outside the family as well, in their own, rarely thought about, family. There are four species in the family, ranging from India to the Solomon Islands. Whiskered Treeswift.

Solomon Islands 169

Solomon Islands Singapore India Family 169

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2012

More importantly, I know which groups/families occur in these regions, which ones resemble each other, and where to find them in my books even in cases where similar groups are found in different segments of my field guide because they are not closely related to each other. This means I know my birds quite well.

Indonesia 257

Indonesia Family Asia Groups 257

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2021

A typical description of the family is that of “a tropical African and Asian songbird that typically has a melodious voice and drab plumage”, another is “small, dull-colored passerine birds of Asia and Africa”, yet another states that they are “often rather plain” Individual species get even harsher reviews.

South Africa 268

South Africa Malaysia Africa China 268

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2021

The egret family were represented by the Great Egrets , Intermediate Egrets and a lone Cattle Egret. We have observed the arrival of the Dollarbirds , Channel-billed Cuckoos, a male Pacific Koel, which is a rare visitor to Broome nowadays and of course all of the migratory shorebirds. There was also a Black-necked Stork. Cattle Egret.

Cattle 297

Cattle Ducks Zebras Australia 297

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 17, 2011

If you are a birder you should, of course, see the movie. The interplay between birders and their non-birding loved ones ring true, especially between the Steve Martin character and his family. It was neither horrible nor outstanding, neither fully factual nor completely made-up, neither completely engaging nor totally alienating.

Colorado 257

Colorado Geese Family Owls 257

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2012

Getting intimate with a species over the course of the breeding cycle is one of the more rewarding aspects of birding, and field research too. Over the course of three months of field work I monitored dozens of parrotlet nests from start to finish, taking care to snap some pictures now and again.

Eggs 269

Eggs Venezuela Porcupines 2008 269

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2013

Of course Africa could not to be left out of the pink weekend so I have researched all African species whose official or alternative names include the word “pink”. Its mostly found on the ground in thickets or the edges of dense vegetation and usually in small family parties. Of course not! Pink-throated Twinspot.

Africa 243

Africa Somalia Mozambique Pelicans 243

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 11, 2024

Of course, for even the biggest listers among us, it’s not just the number of species, but also their beauty and personality. There were lots of Hammond’s Flycatchers around… along with 11 other members of the Tyrant Flycatcher family. Of course, you go birding, and you see other beautiful things.

Mexico 244

Mexico Birds Woodpeckers Sparrows 244

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2021

The raucous Spotted and Gray-barred Wrens are in the Cactus Wren family. And when you do get it to come within sight (alas, with playback, always), it can be as bold as any other member of this cocky family. But, since I know this is my one place to find this Wood-Wren , I of course went looking for it.

ALA 197

ALA United States Mexico Family 197

10,000 Birds

APRIL 24, 2024

Bright, but not the correct shade or combination – or even family. There were other birds, of course – Brown-throated Parakeets that flew past low and quickly threw us for a heart-pounding loop. But there were no parakeets, only a healthy helping of Sun. Brown-crested Flycatcher partially hidden in the roadside vegetation.

Guyana 243

Guyana Brazil ALA Eagles 243

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2011

Most famous for the great wildebeest migration, a phenomenon of 2 million wildebeest, zebra, gazelle and eland seasonally moving across the plains and woodlands following an ancient course charted by seasonal rainfall. And of course the big game is an added bonus.

Tanzania 246

Tanzania Africa Stud Leopards 246

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 21, 2015

Don’t be put off by the moldy sign, that’s par for the course when you pour 12 feet of a rain on it per year. In Costa Rica, there are lots of little, family-owned diners like this one. If you see “bar” and “restaurant” on the same sign, it’s because they have a liquor license.

Costa Rica 242

Costa Rica Fowl Cooking Woodpeckers 242