10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

Here are ten titles (it could have been more) selected for their uniqueness, excellence in writing and research, and giftability. Lees and Gilroy delineate vagrancy status and trends for every bird family worldwide, highlighting examples, synthesizing research, and framing it all with their own thoughts and conclusions.

Sri Lanka 212

Sri Lanka Malaysia Suriname Malawi 212

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

He also believes that we are living in an era of incredible scientific research, one in which new genetic technology and findings from diverse scientific disciplines have turned assumptions upside down, opened up new lines of thought, and provided answers, or at least probable answers, to many of our questions about why birds do the things they do.

Science 201

Science Albatross Research Owls 201

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 278

North America America California Condor Birds 278

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 218

Woodpeckers South Africa China Singapore 218

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2022

Not bad given that the 5 families in the inner circle of the laughingthrush family have a combined number of about 68 species. ” Fortunately, most of these researchers could be taken off their antidepressants after proper sound recording was invented. This post shows some of them.

San Diego 196

San Diego Malaysia China Zoos 196

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

This is “the deep cradle of Western ornithology: the birthplace of bird study,” he tells us as he writes about gazing at the 8,000-year old depictions of “flamingos, herons, raptors, avocets and many other species” (p. Common Guillemot research at Skomer Island, Wales.

Dissection 206

Dissection Birds Europe Eggs 206

10,000 Birds

APRIL 30, 2017

Way back in the days when blog posts still got a lot of comments, I wrote a piece on why field guides that arrange species in a more or less strict taxonomic order regularly frustrate me. Taxonomy is constantly changing and so does the order of species in field guides. Order of bird families, non-songbirds. I see a problem.

Brunei 148

Brunei 2009 2014 2016 148

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2020

That’s pretty amazing–Bolivia has more bird species than India! The source of this ranking, BirdLife International, lists Bolivia as currently having 1,439 bird species, including 18 breeding endemics. The guide covers 1,433 species, the number of birds documented at the end of 2014, the cutoff point for the book.

Bolivia 167

Bolivia Birds Brazil Switzerland 167

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2017

The guide presents 69 species and 1 subspecies, from “NEW WORLD VULTURES: Cathartiformes” to “OSPREY: Pandioninae” to “FAMILY: Accipitridae” (Kites, Hawks, Eagles, Hawk-Eagles), to “FALONIDS: Falconidae” (Falcons, Forest-Falcons, Caracaras, Kestrels, Merlin). That’s a lot of visual information!

Mexico 152

Mexico America North America Falcons 152

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2014

It’s relatively easy to classify birds into family groups based on physical characteristics. We view them as our enemies when they eat our crops and as an extension of our family when we see them at our feeders. Jonathan Elphick and John Fanshawe provided “specialist research” and support.”

Egypt 202

Egypt Birds Albania Eagles 202

10,000 Birds

JULY 13, 2016

Every time I travel into a new area, I try to do my due diligence and have a pretty good idea of what bird species I might expect to find. A few weeks ago, when we traveled to Guadalajara, Mexico, I researched the many different species, especially the hummingbirds. In mid June, the sun was out, and it was a beautiful day.

Reptiles 103

Reptiles Mexico Dogs Eggs 103

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2022

If I was an ornithologist aiming for a grant, I would now definitely highlight the need for more research on this topic. The Grey-Streaked Flycatcher looks only marginally more interesting, and while the Latin species name griseisticta sounds vaguely mysterious, it only means grey-spotted.

Mountain Goats 147

Mountain Goats Singapore Giraffes Birds 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2015

I’m happy to say that Laura Erickson and Marie Read have written a book, Into the Nest: Intimate Views of the Courting, Parenting, and Family Lives of Familiar Birds , that is not too cute and that does not anthropomorphize. Some chapters focus on one species (Yellow Warbler), some on several related species (Chickadees and Nuthatches).

Eggs 263

Eggs 2006 Family New York 263

10,000 Birds

JULY 27, 2013

In the new world all meadowlarks and blackbirds, along with grackles, cowbirds, orioles, oropendulas, and some others, are members of the family Icteridae , the New World Blackbirds. It was on the island of Trinidad, at the Aripo Agricultural Research Station, where all of these photographs were taken. female Red-breasted Blackbird.

Blackbirds 166

Blackbirds Trinidad Costa Rica Nicaragua 166

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2015

Birding by Impression is a conscious, deliberate method of identifying and recognizing birds based on the study and evaluation of “distinctive structural features and behavioral movements” and comparison with nearby and similar species. It is not a handbook, though it approaches species from a collective viewpoint. .* So say Kevin T.

New Jersey 168

New Jersey Birds Science New York City 168

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

MAY 6, 2016

Once you eliminate the risque jokes (I know, I know, but it’s a family blog) the Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet might have the most comical name in American birding. The tyrant flycatchers, in turn, derive their name from the first member of the family to land a Latin name, the Eastern Kingbird. Please do not yell at me.

Costa Rica 102

Costa Rica 2014 Family Collecting 102

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. There are certainly some stunners involved.

Africa 200

Africa Somalia Mozambique Pelicans 200

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. Color markings on the legs and head are to identify individuals for research purposes). You don’t really know a bird until you’ve studied it on its breeding grounds.

Eggs 267

Eggs Venezuela Porcupines 2008 267

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. Please–do not read this section only!

South America 141

South America Ecuador Reptiles America 141

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2018

There are over 11,000 species of moths in North America. I have a hard enough time with the 1,103 bird species on the ABA Checklist. The Southeastern guide doesn’t; I imagine this was to save space in a book with 300 additional species. This is the first thing we learn in the Introduction of each guide. Let that sink in.

North America 100

North America America Oklahoma Missouri 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2020

The book is divided into three parts: “Introduction,” “Avifaunal Overview,” and “Species Accounts.” Most birders will go straight to the “Species Accounts.” It’s important to note that the 301 species selected for this section are those of historical and current importance to the core study area, the northwest Bronx.

New York City 144

New York City New York Birds Breeding 144

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2011

It is not an encyclopedia, though it does summarize research, explain basic concepts, and ends with a section on bird statistics. It is a fascinating book that teaches while it entertains, that offers research-informed arguments for bird protection and conservation in the guise of vibrant design. We are a BirdLife Species Champion!)

Albatross 190

Albatross Campaign Protection Birds 190

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2015

Navarro’s exceptional drawings illustrate the species accounts. Forty-eight species. Compare, for example, the species account illustration of the Cuban Trogon with the photo that opens up the introductory chapter. The luxury of space means that each species can be shown from various angles and in distinctive poses.

Cuba 221

Cuba Birds 2000 United States 221

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

Which is why I am so excited about the publication of the Peterson Reference Guide to Seawatching: Eastern Waterbirds in Flight , by Ken Behrens and Cameron Cox, the latest title of the Peterson Reference Guides series published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. In all, the book covers 112 species divided into 14 sections.

Ducks 222

Ducks Groups North America North Dakota 222

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

Artists rendition of Inkayacu paracasensis There are 17 living species of penguins, which make up their own Linnean family (Spheniscidae), which is the only family in the order Sphenisciformes. Penguins are flightless, but some species locomote over long distances on antarctic ice to travel between breeding grounds and the sea.

Penguins 187

Penguins Seals Peru Sharks 187

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2012

Or, one of the 145 species of Glass frogs living in the Cental and South American rainforests, I could look through the transparent skin on their undersides and see their internal organs. All species of frogs and toads share the fact that they are amphibian creatures, they have two types of skin gland, four legs, and, well, they jump.

Reptiles 181

Reptiles Madagascar Family New York City 181

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2011

Collectively, they’re referred to as the Herring Gull complex. Among these white-headed/dark-winged gulls formerly lumped into the genus Larus , there were 18+ recognized species the last time I checked, sharing similarities that make telling them apart for the amateur birdwatcher very difficult. This wiki looks good too.]

2011 157

2011 Cyprus Deer Breeding 157

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2020

It’s the bird family that most people don’t know is a bird family. The speaker turned out to be Tim Laman, and the topic was the incredible research he and Ed Scholes had spent years doing on birds of paradise in New Guinea. For many years it was thought the two bird families were related taxonomically.

Guinea 259

Guinea Papua New Guinea Birds Family 259

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2022

At the very least appreciated for their hard-shell adaptation, the way they quietly survive in ponds, rivers, oceans, islands, forests, even, for a few species, deserts, and, if you are of a certain age, their cultural depiction as ninja warriors. Or that tortoises and terrapins are considered part of the turtle family.

Turtles 186

Turtles Tortoises Family Terrapins 186

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2021

If you had your choice of one bird family to pursue, to seek out and observe and photograph and kvell over, which one would you choose? A passion for one bird family is also very useful. Hummingbird species, on the other hand, number in the hundreds. So, when British natural history writer Jon Dunn (not to be confused with U.S.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Brazil Bolivia Ecuador 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2015

The Refuge is now home to nearly 200 species of birds, over 50 species of mammals, 25 species of reptiles and amphibians, and a wide variety of insects, fish and plants. The refuge offers opportunities for hiking and biking trails, canoeing and kayaking on Swan Lake, bank fishing, and family friendly programs and events.”

Fish 142

Fish Wildlife Hunting Louisiana 142

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2020

This is a delightful book, large (8-1/2 by 11 inches), filled with Sibley’s distinctive artwork and an organized potpourri of research-based stories about the science behind bird’s lives. Most importantly, this section provides an entry point to the major Portfolio of Birds section; each fact is followed by a page reference.

2020 261

2020 Birds North America Sparrows 261

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

Ackerman’s new book is about owls and owl research–the knowledge recently and currently being discovered through DNA analysis, new-tech tracking and monitoring, and old-fashioned fieldwork under the auspices of organizations like the Global Owl Project and the Owl Research Institute.

Owls 197

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 197

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2023

After she died, William decided to stick with the family and married the widowed daughter-in-law of Sarah Amherst and like Sarah, a dowager countess of Plymouth (it took me a while to figure out what this means, but then my parents always had difficulties explaining to me at family gatherings who was related with whom).

China 217

China Zoos India Research 217

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

I’ve been fortunate to see two Penguin species in the wild (African and Galapagos) and have dreamed of seeing more–maybe even all!–especially The goal of Around the World For Penguins is simple: Describe the 18 species of penguin and their breeding grounds “from the perspective of a traveller.”

Penguins 276

Penguins Georgia Albatross New Zealand 276

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2022

It’s a unique bird, even its scientific name is wonderful, so it’s not surprising that Gerard Gorman, Woodpecker Expert Supreme, has written a book all about the species. But they are woodpeckers: the genus Jynx of the subfamily Jynginae of the Picidae family. They are beautiful, but in a different way.

Woodpeckers 220

Woodpeckers Hungary Thailand Europe 220