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Tiny Asian bird discovered as sole member of ancient family. Who’s next?

10,000 Birds

Big news about a small bird broke earlier this month when bird researchers from several nations announced that the species formerly known as Spotted Wren-Babbler ( Spelaeornis formosus ) — a tiny, secretive bird of montane forests from the eastern Himalayas to southeast China — is not a Spelaeornis wren-babbler at all.

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Haiwaiian Honeycreeper Family Tree

10,000 Birds

The honeycreepers of Hawaii now have a family tree, with researchers from the Smithsonian having used DNA to map the entire family. Good news for an endangered family of birds!

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Here’s the new bird family tree. It’s amazing.

10,000 Birds

’s bird family tree in a new tab and follow along as you read. Follow him on Twitter — he’s regularly tweeting great highlights from the research project. In 2008, Nick Sly published a review of Hackett et al. titled Avian relationships – What do we know? Open Jarvis et al.’s Ratites, Tinamous, and Fowl.

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The Shorebirds of North America: A Natural History and Photographic Celebration–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

I did a little research and found plovers and snipe o n menus and in cookbooks of the time, though I still haven’t found recipes for Dunlin or Dowitchers. There are also introductions to a couple of related species within the family sections–Golden-Plovers and Willets. Dunne and Karlson live and work in Cape May, N.J.,

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The origins of tanagers, warblers, and sparrows are coming into focus

10,000 Birds

It also appears that at least one early radiation from North America into the Caribbean resulted in several relatively old island lineages, which the authors treat as four families, Nesospingidae, Spindalidae, Calyptophilidae, and Phaenicophilidae. The wood-warblers are coming into focus , and the sparrows are getting their own family.

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eBird and Urban Planning: City Green Spaces

10,000 Birds

Birders who submit their checklists to eBird likely know that their data may be used to conduct research on avian migration, range, or population. It has also been used by researchers from other fields, such as economists. I emailed the Dr. Lopez and asked about this research and the use of eBird data.

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Picathartes – Africa’s strangest birds

10,000 Birds

The family Picathartidae consists of two very unusual birds; White-necked or Yellow-headed Picathartes , endemic to the Upper Guinea forests of West Africa; and Gray-necked or Red-headed , restricted to Lower Guinea forests of Central Africa. However this classification is no longer widely accepted, and in my opinion quite correctly so.