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Many species build nests of sticks or mud or spit on human-made structures , or in houses we’ve constructed specifically for their use. Taxonomically, swallows are one of the few families of birds that has seen little change in its ranks. The family is global in its distribution, with 83 species of around 19 genera.
And now we enter into a family of birds more or less unknown to non-birders. And truth told, over the years they’ve been something of a square peg for ornithologists too, not fitting precisely into any of the known families of birds. I would never have believed it, but if the science says so who am I to argue otherwise?
The smellier the better, particularly as, unusually for birds, many species can boast a robust sense of smell. In any case, our hang-ups with vultures clearly stem from our own issues rather than any inherently bizarre trait of the species themselves. Vultures famously feed on carrion. Dead things. millions years ago.
First, we had our five-week trip to Spain, Turkey and Jordan in September and October. Then we threw together a semi-planned family-related trip to the States in early December. There were Yellow Warblers , a species I always seem to see among willows in lakeside parks. I assured him then, and assure you now, that I am fine.
My wife and I had the privilege of visiting Mexican friends in Jordan in early October. Even upon our departure from Jordan, I was informed that my ever-so-dangerous binoculars could not go in my carry-on bag. However, Bethany-on-the-Jordan, the site of Jesus’ baptism, was my first shot at some real habitat.
The first, the much caricatured hard-nosed lister who stops at nothing to get just one more bird, and the second, the deep-patch birder who just wants to hang around the common species. Take, for instance, the Lesser Black-backed Gull I happened upon on the recent Jordan Lake Christmas Bird Count. 500 miles inland? County tick!
Some of this tourism occurred because we were supposed to visit Jordan, but recent geopolitical events have made Americans rather unwelcome in that corner of the world. Fortunately, two species of Mergansers sometimes stray to Cuba, and so my friend suggested, correctly, that ours was a female Hooded Merganser. But which one?
It may be as sick as deliberately targeting an endangered species for death. Birders know that the light’s not always perfect or even particularly good when you’re trying to tell one species from another. Speculation is useless in acts of vandalism. It may be as simple as trying to hit the big white one. The big white one. It flies on.
Mostly the ducks were Red-breasted Merganser and Greater Scaup , the two most prevalent species on the pond, but there were a few other birds mixed in as well. … Tags: ducks , features , jamaica bay , migration , queens • Camping tents - Check out our pop up tents , family tents , and more! What a spectacle indeed.
In the end, it gave me 44 lifers: 10 from Turkey and 8 from Jordan, which I had not visited before, and 26 from Spain, which I had visited previously, but in which we spent much more time. Among these, one must certainly include the New World-only hummingbird family. Most reach peak bloom as the rains end, in September or October.
I briefly entertained the idea that I had found a rare species never before seen in New York but quickly came to my senses and realized that I was dealing with a leucistic individual. What I am getting at here is that I have seen lots and lots of Ruddy Ducks at Jamaica Bay but never one that looked like this particular individual.
My best bird of the year is based on the sighting rather than the species. Obviously my best bird of the year is going to come during this trip, what with several species of endemic pitta and broadbill possible, not to mention 8 species of hornbill and numerous babblers, storks, kingfishers, trogons and even the endemic Bornean Bristlehead.
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.
And it’s no wonder, considering how millions of years of evolution have bred species with the capacity to command a room well before they enter it, if you know what I mean! Not only is Toco the largest member of the toucan family, but it is erroneously reputed to have the biggest beak relative to its body of all the world’s birds.
That family name Troglodytidae has now come to mean a barbarian, but way back when it just meant “cave-dweller” This is another reference to their more or less reclusive nature and tendency for the birds to forage in dark places and crevices. But for those of us in the Americas, the cup runs over with species of Troglodytes.
In southern Africa, there are two species. … Tags: south-africa , Spotted Dikkop , stone curlews , thick-knees • Camping tents - Check out our pop up tents , family tents , and more! I too am fascinated by the name of this species. Larry Jordan Mar 21st, 2011 at 12:31 am Awesome photos Redgannet!
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