10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2020

Local guide and birder David Mora Vargas has been spending much of his time at his family’s farm in the Sarapiqui lowlands. With around 400 species recorded for the area, yeah, it’s where we might all like to quarantine for a bit! A Fantastic Day of 200 Plus Species. An adult Tiny Hawk from another day and place.

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Costa Rica Birds Thailand Farming 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 13, 2011

Originally considered monotypic, two species are now recognized. Drakensberg (or Orange-breasted) Rockjumper is a Drakensberg Mountain species whose range is shared with the tiny landlocked kingdom of Lesotho. Males of this species are more brightly colored in their non-breeding winter plumage. the Rockjumpers.

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South Africa Lesotho Swaziland Africa 258

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2014

Tropical birding demands tropical birds, those families and genera unique to their latitudes rather than shared via migration across various climate zones. Sometimes, they even have the same species… I’m looking at you, House Wren ! Sometimes, they even have the same species… I’m looking at you, House Wren !

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Colombia South America Argentina Ecuador 245

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2012

The wonderful family Meropidae contains 27 dazzling species, of which Africa is endowed with no less than 20 species, the balance occurring across Asia and with one as far afield as Australia. We have both resident and migratory species, and this post will briefly discuss each of the 20 species of African bee-eaters.

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Africa Gabon Uganda South Africa 266

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 29, 2022

The stars of the bird world take many forms and fame is often related to location but some species, some cool groups of birds are accorded priority no matter when or where they are seen. One such star avian family is the Setophagidae, the birds known as wood-warblers. Yes, you read that right. Violet Sabrewing.

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Costa Rica Nashville Tennessee Turtles 290

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).

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Eggs Family 2006 New York 263

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2021

A typical description of the family is that of “a tropical African and Asian songbird that typically has a melodious voice and drab plumage”, another is “small, dull-colored passerine birds of Asia and Africa”, yet another states that they are “often rather plain” Individual species get even harsher reviews.

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South Africa Malaysia Africa China 278

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2015

However, there are those species which have a hard time bringing attention to themselves such as Yellow-shouldered Blackbird , Giant Nuthatch , and Vinaceous-breasted Parrot. Regardless of their popularity, these species and the threatened ecosystems they inhabit are equally spectacular. Curassows are such stately birds.

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California Condor Brazil Parrots Texas 240

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2022

As is my self-declared tradition of speaking of groups of birds within the species gamut of Trinidad & Tobago, allow me to introduce you to yet another group of three. While the entire Tyrannidae family of Tyrant Flycatchers is massive, the Myiarchus group of those recorded on these two islands comprises just three species.

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Trinidad ALA Groups Family 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2021

Where a birder goes in the Caribbean determines which birds are seen including toy-like todies, Carib hummingbirds, cool pigeons, quail-doves, unique avian families and outrageous woodpeckers. One such special place is the Centro Manu, a small family run reserve that features several star bird species of Costa Rica’s Caribbean lowlands.

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Costa Rica Puerto Rico Birds Owls 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2013

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. Pied-billed Grebe , photo by Steve Tucker. Not enough for you?

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Jordan Guatemala South America Birds 245

10,000 Birds

JULY 27, 2024

This seems like a strange – but welcome – turn of events after having failed to see this species several times in the region. Funny how sometimes you search for birds for ages and when you’re in the right area, or by chance, they are almost too easy to see.

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New Zealand Rabbits Adoptable Family 246

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

They are one of the most famous families of birds, and for good reason. Trinidad and Tobago has historically had seventeen species on record, sixteen on Trinidad and six on Tobago. Oftentimes even the uncommon to scarce residents play nice, one can easily view fifteen species on a single visit to the twin island republic.

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Trinidad South America Venezuela 2019 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2019

That fallacious family name seems to have encouraged all manner of knaves, dunderheads, and miscreants when time came to label species. Most of the warblers south of the border escaped this ignominy; those Basileuterus and Myiothlypis species generally appear exactly as advertised. NAMED FOR PEOPLE. NAMED FOR PLACES.

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Rights Connecticut Tennessee Nashville 113

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2021

When you travel north along the highway from Broome towards Willare and Derby you come to a wide bridge with a sign that says “Cockatoo Creek” I would highly recommend that you pull up on the right after you have crossed the bridge and park where the plaque is for the official opening of it. There was also a Black-necked Stork.

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Cattle Ducks Zebras Australia 299

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2018

At last count, there are 25 species of birds named for U.S. But only two states have more than one bird named for them: Hawaii and California, with nine and seven extant and eponymous species, respectively. Sand Point Family Vineyards: Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 (Lodi Appellation). Good birding and happy drinking!

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2015 San Diego California Condor Family 113

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2011

This has happened before, Archaeopteryx and the bird family tree have had an often tenuous relationship. The trait must then be identifiable as to whether or not it exists in a certain species. That’s what Archaeopteryx is. Recently, the news came out that beloved Archaeopteryx is not really a bird ancestor.

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Mammals Europe Groups Family 267

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 16, 2020

In late July, I travelled a half hour north of Morelia to Lake Cuitzeo (kweet-SAY-oh) to see if our two inevitable first migratory species from up north, Baird’s Sandpiper and Wilson’s Phalarope, had begun arriving. At that point, neither species was yet present, and there wasn’t much of a lake, either. So trusting.

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Ducks 2020 Eggs California 322

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Yet they also bring up questions, which I’m going to talk about right now before diving into the specifics of the guides themselves. An associated issue is that the Belize and Costa Rica guides share many of the same descriptions of species, written by Howell. Other species are splits and lumped and have had their names changed.

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Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 246

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2011

By age 2 she could identify over 10 species of birds in our Johannesburg, South Africa, yard by call alone. Astounding because she picked up birding before she could speak and surprising because this ability was definitely not inherited from anyone in my family, myself included. And perhaps 20 others by sight. BIRD FEEDERS.

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Birds Game South Africa Wildlife 279

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 26, 2013

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.

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Jordan Iowa Birds Connecticut 237

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2014

It devotes two pages to each bird, a full-page drawing of the bird on the left, a description of the bird, including singing and nesting behavior, on the right. A little research revealed that these are old names of birds that have been split into different species. Plain Titmouse became Oak Titmouse and Juniper Titmouse in 1996.

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2006 2014 Connecticut North America 249

10,000 Birds

APRIL 20, 2014

While I was on a call with Corey, what should fly into the tree right outside my window but a Yellow-throated Warbler ? This species is quite rare during migration in my area and this bird was, in one sense, way too early but, for my purposes, right on time.

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2014 Birds Family Rights 232

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2021

The Trogon family (and order, since the order only includes one family) is quite widespread, being found in all the tropical (and some subtropical) regions of the world. It is also fascinating to see how similar Old World trogons look to their New World relatives, right down to the same flamboyant color patterns.

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Mexico Indonesia Arizona North America 251

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2014

Few if any species are as emblematic of the Neotropics as Ramphastidae, the family that includes the toucans, toucanets, and aracaris. On the trip to Costa Rica that I just returned from I was pleased to see both of those species as well as Black-mandibled Toucan and Keel-billed Toucan. Yeah, it was a heck of a trip.

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Costa Rica Horses Farming Collecting 247

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 31, 2011

They are part of a family of New World Quail which includes Gambel’s, Mountain, Scaled and Montezuma Quail, as well as the Northern Bobwhite. The family stays very close to cover for several weeks, getting bolder as the young develop. The family group pictured below has been visiting my yard recently.

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California Gophers Rattlesnake Eggs 262

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2020

Hey, in 1959 Walt Disney set up a studio on the island and filmed Swiss Family Robinson there! By late March, hordes of Laughing Gulls and multiple species of pelagic terns gather for their turn. It was this post right here on 10,000 Birds I ended up bookmarking as the definitive source for ID’ing these two species.

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Fish Rights Breeding Species 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2022

So, the basic idea is to show 15 species of Australian birds in each post and give you the usual trivia about them. This species has also eliminated the need for childcare – the chicks emerge from this pile on their own and never even get to see their parents. Similarly, the Grey Shrikethrush is neither a shrike nor a thrush.

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Australia Koalas Parrots Birds 254

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 15, 2020

Even photos of the rarest of birds can be found, even heart-wrenching images of bird species that are no longer with us. Species like the Gyrfalcon , the aerial powerhouse of the tundra, of stunning, breeding-plumaged May warblers. These are all of the toucan species that occur in Costa Rica.

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Costa Rica Birds Woodpeckers Species 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

One of the less well remembered awful things that happened in the Second World War (a six year period of history filled with an uncountable number of awful things) is that war’s direct role in the extinction of two species of rail. The loss of these two species was, in fact, no aberration, except in how late the extinctions were.

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Hawaii Guam Mammals Fiji 253

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2011

And wouldn’t you know it, I was right. The Green Heron ( Butorides virescens ) is a spectacular species familiar to anyone who pays attention to the places where water meets land. One could dwell on how convoluted its family tree is… the Butorides complex, as it’s called, is surprisingly complex.

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Jamaica Fish Adoptable Ducks 259

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2021

But when I felt familiar with perhaps half of the species around my town, I started to feel that my field guide is now too bulky and too hefty to carry, and that was the era before smartphones and phone apps. of January 2019, which resulted in 10,711 species, 40 orders, 246 families and 2,313 genera. Subspecies are not included.

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Botswana Africa Birds Ecuador 264

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.

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North America America California Condor Birds 279

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2022

At this moment, Baihualing is the eBird hotspot in China which has by far the largest number of species – 486. With 398 species, Nanhui is trailing far behind despite being covered by a much larger number of checklists (2225 compared to 608). So, it is certainly justified to cover this spot in more than one post.

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Litter China Abandoning Abandonment 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2022

But it wasn’t until 2021 that I figured out where they are most common: right around our church! I had only seen this species once here, in 2018. Virginia Warbler: The Virginia Warbler is a common species in the thorn forest of the Balsas River Basin, so I had seen it often. I have seen them fairly often over the years.

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Mexico Virginia Barn Owls Birds 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 12, 2017

The Birder’s Guide to Africa was written by Michael Mills (left) and illustrated with photographs by Tasso Leventis (right). Family accounts for all 142 bird families recorded from the region. Species accounts for all 2,792 bird species. The next one is as exciting as the country accounts – the species accounts.

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Africa Botswana Nigeria Namibia 219

10,000 Birds

APRIL 24, 2024

Visiting Guyana brought with it the unavoidable expectation of seeing some mind boggling species – some endangered, some emblematic, others downright bizarre. Before we boarded the flight to Guyana we already knew that probabilities of seeing one of the target species was slashed to near zero. Which birds? And waited.

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Guyana Brazil ALA Eagles 246