10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2014

I didn’t know what species of woodpecker it was, but I knew it was just in the clearing on the other side of the road. Black-backed Woodpeckers are non-migratory, although there have been documented intermittent irruptions of the species outside their normal range. Click on photos for full sized images. Siegel and, D.

Woodpeckers 225

Woodpeckers California South Dakota Chad 225

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 27, 2021

That time when if you were keeping track of the bird species you had identified, and wanted to reach a certain number, you better come up with some strict birding strategies. As of today, with my year list standing at 664 species, I suppose I still do have a chance but only if I get moving! How am I going to do it? Cano Negro.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Chile Birds Owls 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 8, 2021

One of the nice things about winter finch irruptions is that they usually take place across two calendar years, allowing ardent listers to tick the very same species in January for their new year lists as they saw in the final weeks of the previous year. After all, it could be years before some of them come back again.

2018 263

2018 Italy North America 2020 263

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2024

Award-winning free-lance science journalist Nicola Jones , most noted for her work on climate change and environmental issues, ventured into the book world with a picture book on the wildlife rehabilitation efforts for one of North America’s most endangered bird species, the Northern Spotted Owl.

Owls 246

Owls Wildlife Rehabilitation Endangered Species Protection 246

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2014

I was happy to read that the wood stork ( Mycteria Americana ), a bird near and dear to me, was down-sited from the status of endangered to threatened species. Fish and Wildlife Service is down-listing the wood stork from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). As a biologist working for the U.S. Photo: U.S.

North Carolina 250

North Carolina Bald Eagle South Carolina Florida 250

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

Starvation and predators make it hard to grow up, and birds have evolved a lot of strategies to give (at least some of) their chicks the best chance in life. One strategy that varies among birds (and other animals) is the number of offspring. Seabirds are one group of birds that go for the latter strategy.

Eggs 210

Eggs Puffins Breeding Albatross 210

10,000 Birds

JUNE 28, 2011

Strategy, economy, and design stem from the understanding of such principals as applied to a specific context. The folks at Brome Bird Care, located in Knowlton, Quebec, are also students of strategy, economy, and design. The basic strategy of the feeder is the use of a spring and outer shield to create a weight sensitive barrier.

Squirrels 228

Squirrels Investigation Ethics Groups 228

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2023

This species is not common in low-lying grassy fields typical of grassquits, but tends to gravitate toward more wooded areas, feeding on grass seeds in clearings and forest edge habitat. Sooty Grassquit , employing an effective strategy to strip grass seeds. Sooty Grassquit , female.

Trinidad 263

Trinidad Venezuela Brazil Groups 263

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2012

It has recently been reclassified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List; this category is reserved for only the most threatened species in the world. If this bird did become extinct, it would be the first pheasant species to have been lost in the 400 years since proper records began.

Vietnam 200

Vietnam 2000 Germany Asia 200

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

The species that manage to colonize these islands evolve in competition with relatively few other species, developing survival strategies based on interdependence, co-evolution, and mutualism rather than adapting to deal with a broad range of predators and competitors. A species, wiped off the earth, never to exist again.

Cuba 259

Cuba Parrots Columbus DC 259

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2013

The 1,500 km route included a great diversity of habitat types, elevations along the west and east facing slopes of the Andes, jaw dropping landscapes, contrasting microclimates, cultural diversity and a potential list of well over 1,000 species. The competition turned tight and every species counted. Photo: Trevor Hardaker.

Peru 259

Peru South Africa United Kingdom Birds 259

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

In the pelagic ‘deserts’ of Florida, as in deserts on land, specialist bird species manage to carve out an existence. This species also has a noticeably stronger and direct flight pattern, which can be very helpful when identifying individuals from a distance on a boat.

Florida 210

Florida United States Fish 2005 210

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 10, 2011

One habitat that is particularly valuable to Tennessee Warblers on their wintering grounds is shade-grown coffee plantations, at least according to the Migratory Bird Center : During the winter months, this species is found in a wide range of tropical forest habitats, but is particularly well-known for a strong affinity to coffee-growing areas.

Tennessee 247

Tennessee Ecuador South America United States 247

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. It initially ran off, but then adopted a different strategy by crouching on the ground and relying on its camouflage, its big eyes looking up at me.

New Zealand 246

New Zealand Rabbits Adoptable Family 246

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.

California Condor 240

California Condor Brazil Parrots Texas 240

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2013

Ocean-going species often seem to have more overt adaptations for success than landlubbers, perhaps that’s because the ocean is such an unforgiving ecosystem. The order Suliformes, within which boobies and gannets are ensconced consists of several aquatic species with totipalmate feet, which means that all four toes are webbed.

Birds 254

Birds Buffalo Pelicans 2012 254

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 6, 2012

SUPER STARLINGS Tanzania plays host to a wide variety of Starlings, over twenty species in fact. Singularly beautiful as individuals but glared at by many a birder for their stubborn survival streak which can play havoc with the delicate nesting strategies of pre-established locals.

Tanzania 236

Tanzania Chickens Blackbirds California 236

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 2, 2011

10,000 Birds writers have previously featured 2 of the 7 species (Renato’s post on Rufous Potoo and Corey’s post on Great Potoo ) and now you’ll meet a third, the “Patoo with the long bill&# as it is called by the Jamaicans or the Northern Potoo , Nyctibius jamaicensis.

Costa Rica 260

Costa Rica Jamaica Eggs Cooking 260

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2024

My client has a healthy watersheds strategy and I was going to Sevilla and Jaen for the first steps of the program. I was going on a quest for a single species – something I normally just don’t do. It’s not officially inside the National Park, but access is easier and the species tally isn’t too shabby, not at all.

Spain 246

Spain Ducks Morocco Europe 246

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2020

It is interesting to see the different evolutionary strategies of closely related bird species – the various snow-white egrets with their “I don`t give a damn who can see me” attitude contrasting with the ridiculously well-camouflaged yellow bitterns. So, here are some of the species living in Nanhui, Shanghai.

Singapore 249

Singapore Fish Cattle Breeding 249

10,000 Birds

MAY 28, 2016

In the northern hemisphere, the combination of migrants, resident species, and higher frequency of bird song makes it much easier to identify more birds, compared to say, August, so if you want to get really crazy and go for a Big Day record, spring is the time to go for it. They got all three potoo species in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica 100

Costa Rica Birds Israel Species 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 17, 2019

This bird species is usually the first in our garden each morning and the last to leave at the end of the day! The Bar-shouldered Dove is one of the larger of the dove species around Broome. The strategy is not successful and it is quite common for Bar-shouldered Doves to hit our windows in a panic. Bar-shouldered Dove.

Species 200

Species Birds Australia 200

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

However, this is a watershed moment for this species of bird in the US. This species is in trouble. In my lifetime, prairie chickens have declined from stable populations which co-existed with agricultural practices of the day to a species marginalized and exterminated from even those areas. Today in Illinois, 68 males survive.

Chickens 260

Chickens Illinois Nebraska Iowa 260

10,000 Birds

APRIL 17, 2011

On the first day of the Great Texas Birding Classic , the Swarovski Roadside Hawks racked up over 180 species on the Upper Coast. The team decided on an ambitious strategy that placed us in the Upper Rio Grande Valley before sunrise so we drove through the night, stopping only for showers and snipes.

Texas 190

Texas Falcons Farming Mexico 190

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 15, 2020

Cuckoo species (common?): A clever strategy to specialize on something that everybody thinks is disgusting. And of course, there are all kinds of insects, spiders, dragonflies, caterpillars, etc. I wish I could be more precise about them, but I am not an entomologist. Tiger Shrike. Black-winged Cuckoo Shrike.

Fish 272

Fish Rodents China Vegetarian 272

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.

South Africa 278

South Africa Malaysia Africa China 278

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 279

Penguins Georgia Albatross New Zealand 279

10,000 Birds

JULY 15, 2024

Somewhat strangely, the HBW calls it a “small grey to yellow babbler” – while the species indeed has some grey parts, that is not the color that sticks to mind when seeing or remembering the bird. Plus the sibia apparently plays an important role in the pollination of one endangered rhododendron species ( source ).

Eggs 246

Eggs Birds Japan Myanmar 246

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2013

The group has a worldwide distribution; 28 species living and two additional extinct. Both extinct species were island-dwelling and flightless, suggesting a propensity of the group to disperse over long distances , a characteristic that any birder in late summer is familiar with. Scarlet Ibis , photo by Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela.

North America 250

North America Charlotte Birds Miami 250

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2013

Because this group is so rich in species, so readily able to exploit a wide range of environments and food sources, debates about how to classify these birds have smouldered for decades. Above is a beautiful member of this group, the Painted Redstart ( Myioborus pictus ), a warbler. Thraupidae : tanagers. Barker et al. I think so.

Family 237

Family Blackbirds Groups Sparrows 237

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

Both the male and female of the species have a bright red crown. The result of this cooperative breeding strategy is that fledging success increases with group size and survivorship is also significantly higher for all birds living in these larger groups 1. Click on photos for full sized images.

Woodpeckers 233

Woodpeckers Breeders North America Groups 233

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2013

It is one of three species of ani ( Groove-billed and Greater Anis are the other two) and together form a unique branch in the cuckoo family. In addition to having a communal nesting strategy, anis also spend a significant amount of time allopreening, huddling together, and sunning themselves together on exposed branches.

Florida 235

Florida Virgin Islands Miami Breeders 235

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2022

.): The Amazing Lives of Migratory Birds (“Author Scott Weidensaul talks about the millions of birds flying unseen over our heads in the night sky, how the bar-tailed godwit can fly more than a week over water without stopping, and how new tracking technology may help with strategies to keep them alive.

Zoos 264

Zoos 2020 Massachusetts 2015 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2012

But the honeyguides, indigobirds, and a single species of duck all do the classic cuckoo strategy (obligate interspecific brood parasitism) as well. Nowadays, folks at least recognize that the survival strategies of the honeyguides have no relevance to their own personal Freudian issues, but a visceral distaste often remains.

Eggs 178

Eggs Neglecting Adoptable Hunting 178

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2014

The birds were too far away to identify, and I know more than one species does this, but if I had to guess they were starlings. One group is trying to make a better list of which species of birds to pretend to be doing something about vis-a-vis imminent extinction using a unique approach: Identifying the most genetically unique species.

Bald Eagle 239

Bald Eagle Zoos Philippines Birds 239

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2011

Robins aren’t the only bird species to do this, a quick google image search will find several species fighting reflections on car windows and mirrors including Northern Cardinals , Indigo Buntings , Northern Mockingbirds and Yellow-rumped Warblers. The robin was fighting its reflection against the van windows.

Minnesota 253

Minnesota Birds Science Woodpeckers 253

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2011

It often seemed like we had more Flickers come into the center than any other species of bird. Flickers have other strategies. But the all-time favorite flicker strategy is to scream like a slasher movie victim and fly straight at the person’s head. . “They’re a little spastic,&# one of the rehabbers told me.

Woodpeckers 250

Woodpeckers Wildlife Rehabilitation Seattle Wildlife 250