We now interrupt all talk about birds and migration to consider dragonflies. And damselflies. Together they comprise Ondonata, an order of insects that, like birds, are beautiful in flight and challenging in identification. Unlike birds, they do not vocalize; unlike butterflies, they are totally predatory, not a vegetarian amongst them. When I was a kid, [...]

Specialization is not always aesthetically appealing to the generalist scavenging creatures who have so effectively taken over the planet – aka, all of us. For instance, despite my well-documented personal admiration for them, many people think that Black Skimmers look goofy. Ditto Roseate Spoonbills; ditto vultures of all kinds. Bird first, metaphor second. The same [...]

How to Be a Better Birder is a very different kind of birding book, and, once you think about it, the perfect book to be written at this particular moment in the birding universe. Reading it might take a little bit of adjustment, because for many of us, being a better birder has meant perfecting [...]

This is going to be a rave review. I like Julie Zickefoose’s art, her writing, her blog, her blog posts here on 10,000 Birds, and, of course, I like birds. So a book about birds by Julie Zickefoose, featuring her writing and art, some of which has been featured in different forms on her blog, [...]

I’ve spent the odd hour sea-watching from both land and sea. I’ve sea-watched with some very experienced birders whose ability to identify species almost at the edge of visibility has left me questioning my optics, my eyesight, my ability and quite often my sanity. I’ve listened and learned and gone back to listen and learn [...]

When Corey and Mike asked if I wanted to review this book, I cautioned them that I am far from an expert in seabirds (my friends know that if you want to see my face turn green, just say the word “pelagic”), but would happy to review it from the perspective of a seabird beginner [...]

I’ve just finished reading THE PLUME HUNTER (Torrey House Press, December 2011) by Renée Thompson. In this captivating book, Thompson explores the motivation behind hunters who shot birds to sell feathers for women’s hats at the turn of the nineteenth century.  Set in the marshes of the Malheur and Lower Klamath regions of 1890’s Oregon, [...]

Sherrida Woodley’s Quick Fall of Light is based on an intriguing premise – what if the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon was somehow linked to the 1918 influenza epidemic? What if, in turn, the discovery that the species was not truly extinct held the key to saving humanity from another, even more devestating flu outbreak? [...]

It’s my fantasy and it’s yours: Quit the job, say good-bye to the family, and bird. Just bird. It’s what I dream of every Monday morning. British birder Chris Gooddie, my new birding hero, not only dreamed the fantasy, he lived it. And, to give his dream year a little more oomph, he created a [...]

Putting nature on TV is a tricky business. First there is the inherent irony of getting people to sit on their butts in front of a screen in order to show them the vast and beautiful world outside said screen. On top of that, every editorial choice not only says something, but says a million [...]

Since the day that we announced the release of the EL42 Swarovision, people have been asking when a 32mm version of the Swarovision binoculars will be available. These are hard questions, because being really passionate about the binoculars we are developing (our babies), I really want to be able to blab about how cool they [...]

I must say that I never expected us at 10,000 Birds to receive an email asking us if we wanted to review a DVD made from a company dedicated to producing “children’s nature resources (from a Creation perspective).” After all, my views on creationism are pretty darn clear. Nonetheless, I thought it might be interesting [...]

It’s tough being a New Jersey birder. Jersey has always gotten a bad rap in general (the smells of the turnpike, the Jersey shore, the governor), and in the world of birding, the state often seems to be symbolized by two words: Cape May. And yes, Cape May is incredibly wonderful, with its hawk watch [...]

Be warned, The Atlas of Birds is not a map book, though it does contain maps, lovely orange and purple and green bird distribution maps. It is not an encyclopedia, though it does summarize research, explain basic concepts, and ends with a section on bird statistics. And, it is not a coffee table book, though [...]

Can you believe that it hasn’t even been a year since Richard Crossley and Princeton University Press unleashed The Crossley ID Guide: Eastern Birds on the birding public? Actually, a fair accounting of this innovative book’s already storied history must include many months of fervent speculation. I recall the words “game-changer” and “unprecedented” bandied about as enthusiasts across North [...]

Have you ever looked to the sky and seen a high-flying hawk and wanted to know what it was?  Do you wish you could tell an eagle from a hawk?  Do you know your raptors but wish that you had an easy reference for all the raptors of North America? Never fear, David Allen Sibley [...]

Anarchy – discontent – upheaval! Desperate fights over territory, water, and food! Poisoned air! Unhappiness! I fear we are lost. We must do something! -Peter Sis in The Conference of the Birds The Conference of the Birds, an amazingly well-illustrated adaptation of the twelfth century Persian poet Farid Ud-Din Attar’s epic poem, is well worth the [...]

Recently, I’ve reviewed a number of well-designed and interesting books on birds. Today, I bring you an equally lavish look at a group bipeds that are perhaps a little more confusing: people. People who are into birds. The Birding Life is another coffee-table-worthy affair, rich with color photographs and brief vignettes that encourage browsing. As [...]

I confess, I don’t always love hawks.  Sure, they’re beautiful and powerful, a reminder of the feral freedom of the skies. They’re also confoundingly difficult to identify, the eternal inscrutable spot in the distance.  This is probably why I number so many hawk books in my collection. There’s the slim Hawk Watch: At Guide for [...]

The Big Year was alright.  It was neither horrible nor outstanding, neither fully factual nor completely made-up, neither completely engaging nor totally alienating.  I would give it a solid “B-” as a birder whether I was grading on a curve or not.  If you are a birder you should, of course, see the movie.  If [...]