10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2024

This was only my fourth encounter with the species (all on the east side). He should have visited my home last month, when both species were visiting my birdbath almost daily. He should have visited my home last month, when both species were visiting my birdbath almost daily. Two other birds, both residents, surprised us.

Mexico 240

Mexico Birds Raccoons Baltimore 240

10,000 Birds

MAY 25, 2022

It was an undeniably dank morning at the top of this island watershed, and even though we were able to discern some other species like Rufous-tailed Jacamar and the endemic Trinidad Motmot , activity was a bit slow. We were hoping for some of the more secretive species, however. From hidden perches, Blue-backed Manakins vocalized.

Trinidad 264

Trinidad Woodpeckers Ducks Abandoning 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 28, 2014

Among birds the Egyptian Vulture uses rocks to crack Ostrich eggs, the New Caledonian Crow and Woodpecker Finch (one of several Darwin Finches of the Galapagos Islands), uses sticks to extract grubs from inside a branch. This is similar to the fact that all birds, even first time breeders within a species build identical nests.

Fish 165

Fish Ostriches Woodpeckers Breeders 165

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2014

Now we gamble again (literally as well as figuratively – there’s a split-pot prize for predicting the dates of arrival, egg-laying, and other major events) on the hope that they will lay viable eggs and successfully rear young. The many eyes on this particular citizen-science prize have also yeilded other results as well.

Eggs 180

Eggs 2011 Falcons Science 180

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 25, 2024

With the lack of trees, it was a surprise that a woodpecker is still taking up space. In one stretch of rocky outcropping, a group of Ground Woodpeckers foraged along boulders searching for ants and as their name suggests, they forage on the ground in sparsely vegetated country.

Lesotho 246

Lesotho Sheep Groundhogs South Africa 246

10,000 Birds

JULY 13, 2023

Some 320 species have been recorded here, and in springtime it is possible to observe more than 150 bird species in a week. Due to heavy rains many clutches of Great Crested Grebes had failed, but we observed both nests with eggs (and left the area immediately) and adults with chicks, some of them piggy-backing their mothers.

Greece 246

Greece Pelicans Stray Dog Tortoises 246

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2012

They nest in cavities, created by woodpeckers, in large trees and snags. The pair may have to compete for nesting cavities with several other species including native Tree Swallows and Violet-green Swallows, as well as non-native House Sparrows and European Starlings.

Washington 204

Washington Eggs Israel California 204

10,000 Birds

JUNE 18, 2014

The featured image above shows a female incubating eggs from my first resident breeding pair back in 2007. Violet-green Swallows will nest solitarily or in colonies and in my experience seem much more mellow than other swallow species. The four to six eggs are white and unmarked. Click on photos for full sized images.

Eggs 170

Eggs North America 2007 Woodpeckers 170

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2013

The core of the book are the Species Accounts, 190 accounts by 52 authors, some names that readers will easily recognize, others birders and ornithologists well-known in Pennsylvania. You can see the Species Account for Henslow’s Sparrow above, in the banner photo. Pileated Woodpecker, for example.

Pennsylvania 257

Pennsylvania Breeding Sparrows Birds 257

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2020

Plus a few truly difficult species. Sure, it is an introduced species in Germany. But the Kentish Plover was sheltering its young under its body, and the Little Ringed Plover was incubating an egg — right in the middle of downtown Madrid! Iberian Green Woodpecker, Madrid, Spain. Mandarin Ducks, Munich, Germany.

Austria 179

Austria Spain 2019 Germany 179

10,000 Birds

JULY 26, 2013

Project Nestwatch elaborates: “Violet-green Swallows nest in cliff crevices, natural tree cavities, woodpecker holes, in old nests of Bank and Cliff Swallow, under the eaves of buildings, and in nest boxes.” In fact, it seems like Violet-green swallows will nest anywhere they can fit in an egg and someone to incubate it.

Montana 166

Montana Woodpeckers Eggs Raised 166

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2014

I spent this past weekend in Saugerties at my folks’ house in order to look for Easter eggs, let Desi enjoy time with his cousins, and generally have a good ol’ time with family. I had no luck with the rails or bitterns but I did manage to see quite a few species, including some that were very cooperative.

New York 197

New York Birds Ducks Blackbirds 197

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2019

The lengthy Introduction gives both a personal history and a global history of birds and art, including brief profiles of John James Audubon and the far lesser known Genevieve Estelle Jones, who conceived of a book eventually called Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio in the late 19th century.

Birds 188

Birds Eggs Laws Oregon 188

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 13, 2022

The Oriental Scops Owl is possibly my favorite of all bird species (though I may have said that about other species as well) – so, here’s a post with just some photos of this owl taken this autumn migration season. As an added bonus, they make the owl look even more cat-like than some other owl species.

Owls 162

Owls Eggs Woodpeckers Cats 162

10,000 Birds

JUNE 19, 2013

The Black Swift is considered a Species of Special Concern in California. Plus the fact that they only lay one egg per season which is incubated for about four weeks and the chicks don’t fledge for another fifty days gives you some notion as to why these birds are a Species of Special Concern.

California 238

California Costa Rica North America Niger 238

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2021

Pough “with illustrations in color of every species” by Don Eckelberry, Doubleday, 1946. The National Audubon Society Birds of North America covers all species seen in mainland United States, Canada and Baja California. The press material says it covers over 800 species, so you know I had to do a count.

North America 279

North America America California Condor Birds 279

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 29, 2014

That’s when the state and feds demand that we fill out complicated forms detailing every bird we’ve taken in during the year, supposedly using the North American Ornithological Society’s abbreviation for each species. Upon arrival, each bird receives a chart, which is soon filled with hieroglyphics.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 259

Wildlife Rehabilitation Wildlife Mice Vet 259

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2019

Nor are there any birding authorities requiring folks to identify, count and document the nuthatches, titmice and Downy Woodpeckers that come to their backyard feeders. “Pinto” is rice and beans and comes with your choice of eggs, breaded Tilapia, chicken or other options. Check out the toucanets. Northern Emerald Toucanet.

Costa Rica 244

Costa Rica Cooking Birds Chickens 244

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 8, 2017

Project FeederWatch data prove that woodpeckers are at the top of the backyard bird feeder pecking order. If you’re a cuckoo or cowbird hoping to pawn off your parenting duties on another species, new brood parasitism research shows you’ll have better luck if the eggs you deposit in their nest are blue-green instead of brown.

Massachusetts 100

Massachusetts Eggs Falcons Bears 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2015

Every spring I look forward to monitoring my bluebird trails when I not only get to watch Western Bluebirds develop from eggs to fledglings, but other cavity nesters as well. You will also hear many other bird species in the background including Ash-throated Flycatcher, California Quail, Eurasian Collared-Dove and Acorn Woodpecker.

Tenant 162

Tenant Farming Illinois North America 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2023

This area offers Mexico’s greatest concentration of endemics, as well as very few species an American birder might have already seen up north. And for the first time, I saw a Bronzed Cowbird (which lays its eggs in other birds’ nests) checking out one of these nests. The same could be said about so many other species.

Mexico 182

Mexico Oregon Squirrels Falcons 182

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2022

I saw two Pitta species at Hongbenghe, both among the slightly less glamourous among the pitta family: The Blue-naped Pitta … … and the closely related Rusty-naped Pitta. It seems that this is another species for which the standard phrase of scientists anywhere, “more research needed”, applies.

Myanmar 147

Myanmar Birds China Chicago 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2019

beats have still managed to share 82 checklists and accounted for 737 species. Black-cheeked Woodpecker – Melanerpes pucherani. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh.

2019 133

2019 Jamaica Eggs Woodpeckers 133

10,000 Birds

MARCH 7, 2011

This happened to me recently on a birding trip, with somewhat egg-on-the-face results. We were driving up to northwestern Michigan from our homes in Ohio (me) and West ByGod Virginia (Geoff) in search of a bird species that would be a lifer for both of us: the Bohemian Waxwing. I was on a birding quest trip with my friend Geoff Heeter.

2011 243

2011 Michigan Birds Ohio 243

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2018

Birds are able to fly away, but their nests and eggs can be destroyed. Vicki states that fire benefits several bird species, like the Black-backed Woodpecker which feeds off the bark and wood-boring beetles that lay eggs in the charred trees. Fire can also cause wildlife to be burned, dehydrated and malnourished.

Wildlife 109

Wildlife Sacramento Shelters Connecticut 109

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2018

There are important details within that dictum that we will ignore here, but this has to do with knowing when a characteristic doesn’t really tell you about the relative position of species on a “tree of life” vs when the characteristic works for that purpose. Rather, cladistics is a way of looking at the process of evolution of species.

Monkeys 172

Monkeys Gorillas Whales Whaling 172

10,000 Birds

MAY 25, 2017

Yet, in the north, they occupy Black Woodpecker cavities, and BWs are becoming ever more numerous here and adapting to disturbed habitats. Even if you know nothing of this species, you can tell the eaglets from their parents: youngsters have black hair, while their parents are all grey by now. Are Goldeneyes adapting, too?

Montenegro 122

Montenegro Serbia Eagles Eggs 122

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2011

The most common species we see are the Stoke’s Sea Snake Astrotia stokesii , Dubois’ Sea Snake Aipysurus duboisii and the Olive Sea Snake Aipysurus laevis. Speaking of pregnant snakes, do sea snakes lay their eggs ashore like sea turtles or do they keep them internally until the young are ready to hatch/ be born, like some sharks?

Australia 163

Australia Sharks 2011 Deer 163

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

With a hardiness that belies their delicate looks (but helps explain their phenomenal success), these pioneering pigeons are already sitting on eggs at at least one location in Montana. Especially of all the species that had been introduced to the US. So right now I’m feeling pretty good about Eurasian Collared-doves.

Montana 155

Montana 2011 Bahamas Deer 155

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2022

The Eurasian Wryneck is the woodpecker that doesn’t look like a woodpecker, the bird with the portmanteau name that is also a medical condition (and which may remind some people of a Nora Ephron essay). But they are woodpeckers: the genus Jynx of the subfamily Jynginae of the Picidae family.

Woodpeckers 264

Woodpeckers Hungary Thailand Europe 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2024

Kind of an innocent version of tropical China, but I guess that is a rather naive view … Most birders coming here presumably do not have babblers as their main targets, even though there are quite a few species here, and some of them are quite attractive as well. Take the Scaly-crowned Babbler , with its chestnut crown.

Vietnam 246

Vietnam Birds Woodpeckers Bangladesh 246

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2023

I also only managed to see rather common bird species at Shennongjia, a nature reserve in Hubei province, China. In the past, Great Spotted Woodpeckers mostly lived off renting out their old apartments to other species. Fortunately for the Great Spotted Woodpecke r living in Shennongjia, this has not happened here yet.

China 214

China Eggs Birds Woodpeckers 214

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2023

Shockingly, the Ashy-throated Parrotbill apparently is a species heavily hunted for bird fighting in Guizhou Province, China ( source ). Apparently , they use the presence of their own eggs as a cue for recognizing parasitic eggs – so without the presence of their own eggs as a template they fail to recognize a parasitic egg.

Eggs 203

Eggs China Mammals Birds 203

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2011

In southern Africa, there are two species. As I watched, it slowly moved into a patch of dried vegetation and I noticed that it was settling over a single egg. Two or three eggs may be laid and either bird may incubate. I too am fascinated by the name of this species. How do we know this? I am around to learn more.

2011 194

2011 Deer Africa Peru 194

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2012

The IOC world birdlist recognizes 90 species that bear the name “weaver” or “malimbe” Not all of these are true weavers as we will discuss below. There are currently 64 recognized species in this genus, a remarkable number indeed, and this includes the 5 Asian and 2 Malagasy species.

Tanzania 256

Tanzania Buffalo Kenya Namibia 256

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2012

This bird represented only the second documented record of this species in Florida. 2012 has certainly been a bumper year for me with an estimated year list of around 3,000 species after extensive travels to South Africa, Ethiopia, South Korea, Indonesia, the Russian Far East, United Kingdom, Peru, Guatemala and Panama.

2012 183

2012 Guatemala Birds Florida 183

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2018

Basically, this species is so dimwitted, it doesn’t know how to survive. Because, Pink Pigeons are not capable of doing the tasks required to create and bring up children of the species. These endangered birds have trouble producing a fertilized egg and, even worse, they don’t even know how to build a nest so the egg survives?

Mauritius 107

Mauritius Stud Zoos Eggs 107