10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2023

Galápagos: A Natural History, Second Edition by John Kricher and Kevin Loughlin gives the traveling naturalist the tools needed to fully appreciate and experience the Galápagos Islands. Where once there were 13 species of “Darwin’s finches,” there are now 17. I wish I had read this book.

2006 257

2006 Tortoises Sea Lions Porpoises 257

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2022

In Costa Rica, we have our pewees, 6 species of them. Millions of pewees fly over and stop in Costa Rica on their way to and from South America. A common bird of hot, tropical habitats, it is very much an edge species. Eastern Wood-Pewee. The original pewee is one of the migrants that passes through in large numbers.

Costa Rica 269

Costa Rica Pennsylvania South America Panama 269

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2022

Or would be, had I encountered more of them – so far, I have seen only a very small share of the approximately 233 woodpecker species, and got decent photos of an even smaller number – not much more than 10% of all of them. So, writing a post about them is easy.

Woodpeckers 240

Woodpeckers South Africa China Singapore 240

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

He is also a serious birder (and a birding friend), and his birding observations and adventures are used throughout the book to introduce evolutionary questions and illustrate the mental interplay between personal experience and scientific curiosity. The book is smartly organized into 12 chapters. that’s three birds). ” (p.

Science 222

Science Albatross Research Owls 222

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2013

They packed up in June of 2013 and headed south from San Diego with the southern tip of South America as their destination. We hope that our journey will provide important information about many Neotropical bird species as well as inform conservation.” Very little is known about this enigmatic species.

South America 188

South America San Diego Mexico America 188

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2020

For, in birder lingo, a split occurs when subspecies are determined to be, in fact, entirely separate species. If you happen to have seen both species, your life list can increase without you even leaving the house. Two former species can also be joined into one, the same way. This Bullock’s Oriole migrated from up north.

San Diego 181

San Diego San Francisco Baltimore Mexico 181

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2014

What happens when you visit one of the best birdwatching sites in the region with the highest number of endemic bird species in the Americas in the world’s birdiest country? We spied 11 tanager species including the highly coveted Black-and-gold Tanager. Your mind gets blown. But the birds we did see were stellar!

Colombia 266

Colombia South America Birds America 266

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2024

Osborn, a passionate field biologist who participates to the core of her being three re-introduction projects aimed at saving three very different, endangered species: Peregrine Falcon, Hawaiian Crow (‘Alala)*, and California Condor. She crafts her prose with a visual immediacy that bring you directly into her experience.

California Condor 185

California Condor Falcons California Coyotes 185

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2013

The many islands of the Caribbean Sea are as unique a place to experience the amazing potential for speciation and diversity as the more famous Galapagos and Hawaiian islands are. As a hanger-on of my wife’s family I find myself this week in Aruba, one of the ABC islands just off the coast of northern South America.

South America 171

South America Netherlands America Sparrows 171

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2017

In a time of little published information about the rainforests of Central and South America aside from scientific journal articles and the works of 19th-century naturalists, the “little green book,” as it was called, became a must-read amongst nature-oriented travelers and researchers.

South America 158

South America Ecuador Reptiles America 158

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

In this first installment, I will focus on my impressions and experiences in the highlands portion of our tour. Many Nearctic species and families reach their southern terminus in the Northern Central American Highlands, such as Common Raven , Red Crossbill , Steller’s Jay , and even Brown Creeper. We were off to a great start.

Honduras 221

Honduras El Salvador Costa Rica Arizona 221

10,000 Birds

APRIL 24, 2014

The overall perception by birders and naturalists is that a visit to the rainforest of South America will yield a long bird list, and that the forest is teeming with birds. In fact many are never occupied by any of these species. He learned that species flocks occupy and defend a territory as a flock.

Birds 173

Birds South America Peru Experience 173

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2014

They packed up in June of 2013 and headed south from San Diego with the southern tip of South America as their destination. We hope that our journey will provide important information about many Neotropical bird species as well as inform conservation.”. Not just any old ant though, you are on the lookout for army ants.

San Diego 191

San Diego South America Costa Rica America 191

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2015

These arid hills, cloaked in a mosaic of deciduous scrub and desert vegetation, form a northern outpost for several Neotropical species while also harboring several key endemics and southwestern Nearctic species. I had point blank life views of this tricky species from within a few feet.

Mexico 197

Mexico Costa Rica Arizona Bats 197

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2011

They are species that breed in the US and then spend the winter in Central and South America, eating what’s avialable–especially fruit. Nyjer (aka Thistle) for goldfinches was introduced from Nigeria–someone had to experiment with that. Grape jelly for orioles was an experiment too.

Nigeria 250

Nigeria Belize Birds South America 250

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2018

It actually makes a lot of sense, the geographic features of the isthmus between North America (including Mexico, because Mexico is part of North America) and South America cut across political lines, as do birds. In addition, 67 species are listed in a chapter entitled “Marginal, Dubious, and Hypothetical Species.”

America 214

America El Salvador Costa Rica Honduras 214

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2013

They packed up in June of 2013 and headed south from San Diego with the southern tip of South America as their destination. We hope that our journey will provide important information about many Neotropical bird species as well as inform conservation.”. What an amazing experience!

San Diego 164

San Diego Mexico Costa Rica South America 164

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 24, 2015

I didn’t realize how many new species I would see within the city itself! It’s a strange experience looking up from a city street to gaze at birds native to South America; even more ironic considering humans drove the only native parrot/parakeet species, the Carolina Parakeet , to extinction.

Austin 112

Austin Texas Mississippi Non Human 112

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2012

The dichotomous republic of Trinidad and Tobago may be something of a cipher to anyone unfamiliar with the point where the Caribbean ends and South America begins. I actually turned down an opportunity years ago to see this species in Ecuador because I wanted the Dunston Cave birds to be my first.

Trinidad 248

Trinidad South America America Ecuador 248

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2015

Florida is perhaps the one place in the United States where you can rack up a pretty great list of birds, including some of North America’s most impressive species, simply by walking down the sidewalk for an hour or so. That was largely due to the vagaries of a single rental car and two young children, but it wasn’t so bad.

Florida 181

Florida North America Neglecting South America 181

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

Grant McCreary of The Birder’s Library , who shared the experience with me, probably has pretty much the same problem. Purple Gallinules live in marshes in the southeastern United States, Central America, northern South America, and the Caribbean. What do you do with hundreds of picture of Purple Gallinules ?

United States 185

United States Florida South America Europe 185

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

Experiments in the field (the famed Asa Wright Nature Center veranda) involving Bananaquits and bananas came up with numbers ranging from 7 to 16, but a tanager always came along to interfere with Bananaquits’ noisy appreciation of their namesake fruit. (2) Which hummingbird was more beautiful—Tufted Coquette or Ruby-topaz Hummingbird? (3)

Trinidad 201

Trinidad South America Birds 2011 201

10,000 Birds

MAY 20, 2014

They packed up in June of 2013 and headed south from San Diego with the southern tip of South America as their destination. We hope that our journey will provide important information about many Neotropical bird species as well as inform conservation.”. Their first contribution to 10,000 Birds is here.

Guatemala 165

Guatemala San Diego Mexico South America 165

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 16, 2012

The idea is that some finches from what is now Ecuador ended up on the Galapagos Islands, and subsequently diversified into a number of different forms … they speciated … filling various niches that on the mainland would have been filled by a number of different species. I’d like to outline what a couple of these things are.

Tortoises 205

Tortoises South America Panama Culling 205

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 28, 2017

We might not get the variety of a New Jersey autumn but we do get major numbers of species that winter in South America. Most of them fly on the Caribbean side, especially along the coast south of Limon, and that’s why I guided the Birding Club of Costa Rica down that way this past weekend.

Costa Rica 165

Costa Rica Parrots Farming Birds 165

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2011

Most of these birds are small, finch-like species with thick, conical bills for cracking seeds or eating insects. Odd little grassquits singing from power lines in South America’s great cities. ” For these reasons, it is perhaps no surprise that bird bills have played a prominent role in their classification. (PDF:

2003 217

2003 South America Sparrows Family 217

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2011

On a trip to Suriname to find and film some of these spectacular species I was blown away by the birding. Suriname has approximately 735 recorded species, with many more to still be added to its total list. The surrounding grounds are a great introduction to some common, but nonetheless interesting, species.

Suriname 219

Suriname Guyana Birds South America 219

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. I live in the southeast of Europe, for a while lived in the south of Africa and also have extensively birded western and central India. I am talking 600 or 700+ bird species.

Sri Lanka 257

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 257

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

Found throughout South America in ever-dwindling numbers these extremely beautiful birds – threatened by habitat destruction and collection for the wild bird trade – are often difficult to see and hard to find. The experience is one of the ornithological highlights in the world. That’s right – birds eating clay.

Peru 255

Peru Parrots 2011 Deer 255

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2014

The island contains 80,000 breeding Sooty Terns, in addition to 4,500 breeding Brown Noddies and another 100 breeding pairs of the huge Magnificent Frigatebirds, not to mention pelicans, herons, Black Skimmers , other tern species, and so much more. Turning to face the wind, I gently tossed the birds into the air.

Florida 181

Florida Birds Groups North Carolina 181

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

processed the entire genomes of 48 bird species and compared nearly 42 million base pairs of DNA (Hackett et al. Now we move on to the Neognathae , which also has two very deep branches that lead to all the other living species of birds. Erich Jarvis discuss key findings. ). were revolutionary for using 32,000 base pairs!) This is why.

Family 279

Family Parrots 2014 Birds 279

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

When I got back into birding about six years ago, I would not have predicted the personal bonds a birder can form with certain species. While all birds bring us joy, and we certainly want to see as many as we can, some species just seem more… special. I’ll start with two species that are especially hard to find.

Mexico 159

Mexico South America Birds Turkey 159

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2022

But it wasn’t the day’s first FOY species. As it turned out, these were not the only bad photos to help me flesh out my 2022 year list that day (species 201-211, on February 12th). But previous experience with Ejido Triquillo taught me that another species might turn up during the spring.

Mexico 188

Mexico Guatemala South America United States 188

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2023

That’s 18 species in one book. This is more than a collection of species accounts. There are also two pages illustrating the “Holistic Approach,” silhouettes of each species (Western birds on the left, Eastern birds on the right), that allow for comparison of structure, size, and shape. known-identity).”**

Los Angeles 219

Los Angeles North America America Mexico 219

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2019

While the jays did catch our attention by way of a smart crest and different shades of blue and gray punctuated by a black necklace and mascara, they were part of our common natural experience, their existence was taken for granted. These are the six species that occur in Costa Rica: Yellow-throated Toucan (Ramphastos swainsonii).

Costa Rica 182

Costa Rica Panama Eating Eggs South America 182

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 12, 2014

Lovely Cotinga is the flagship species at Pico Bonito, where it is perhaps easier to see than anywhere else within its range. More than 400 species have been recorded at the lodge to date. Central American Pygmy-Owl is another key species at the lodge. However, for me, there were birds to be seen. Photo by James Adams.

Honduras 163

Honduras Monkeys America Birds 163

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2011

We will have posts on a variety of individual species of wood-warblers, wood-warbler taxonomy, searches for difficult-to-find wood-warblers, and a host of other topics. Many other non-migratory wood-warbler species are living their lives across the neotropics, doing their best to survive and pass on their genes.

United States 187

United States South America Cooking 2011 187