Of all the subtle shades and tones of the natural world, one of the most dominant yet least recognized colors has to be buff. Located in virtually every terrestrial habitat and adorning multitudes of animals, buff is featured prominently in nature’s palette This soft, subtle color walks a fine line between yellow and brown, often [...]

Birding shares an inextricable connection to ornithology and taxonomy. Once you endeavor to put a species name to each avian face, the full weight of the Linnean hierarchical naming structure, with its hydra-headed orders, families, and genera, will eventually come crashing down on you. Armed with this collection of the taxonomic tags birders use to [...]

When I demanded of my friend what viands he preferred, He quoth: “A large cold bottle, and a small hot bird!” – Eugene Field, The Bottle and the Bird One needn’t be restricted to the culinary arena to enjoy the pairing of wine and bird. I recommend that you start looking outside your kitchen for [...]

The first two months of 2007 have showered one spectacular bird species after another upon a deserving New York Metro region. While this time of year can often seem slow from a birding perspective, twitchers have been racing across the Empire State trying to keep up with each new sighting.  I’ve intimated recently that I’m [...]

There are sulphur-colored birds, and hideous intestines hanging over the doors of houses that I hate – Pablo Neruda, Walking Around Depending on the direction towards which your inner compass points, the word sulphur might conjure images of the Periodic Table of Elements, lit matches, bubbling hot springs, or even butterflies. You may even stop [...]

Although many of the terms used to denote color in birds may be unknown to apprentice observers of avifauna, most learn the meaning of the word cerulean rather quickly. The ready recognition of this word in the Americas stems specifically from one winning wood warbler, the Cerulean Warbler. This species’ exceptional coloration, blue where so [...]

It may have taken until February, but winter has hit New York City hard. We don’t have snow, but temperatures have plummeted to presposterous lows. Forget birding…most of us just want to settle in, bundle up, or bed down until the weather warms up. Pity the poor birds who stuck around. A multitude of our [...]

Of all the classifications for chromaticity in the common names of birds, violaceous is certainly one of the most colorful. This word conjures images of the sultry Neotropics, where assorted trogons, euphonias, turacos, quail-doves, and jays parade about in their purple majesty. Violaceous is simply a fancy term for violet. Most of our violaceous avians [...]

Another interesting, some might say antiquated color choice employed by those who get to name birds is plumbeous. Plumbeous refers to a heavy, leaden gray. Those of you with an education in chemistry probably spotted the origin of this word, from the Latin “plumbum” for lead. The word plumbeous may also be used to mean [...]

Some fortunate folks have been endowed throughout history with the awesome responsibility of ascribing common names to newly discovered avian species. Often, perhaps too often, these eloquent souls went above and beyond the call of duty in describing the palette of colors confronting them. That’s why we nature lovers have to go above and beyond [...]

Yellow-rumped Warbler The term may strike fear in the hearts of those dreading a nuclear winter, but for bird watchers, it evokes all the adreniline-fueled excitement of a kid in a candy store. What exactly is a fallout? A fallout is, in the birding sense of the word, a mass of birds, exceptional in both [...]

Did you know that this Sunday, October 8, is the 14th annual Big Sit! (exclamation point added by the organizers, not me.) The Big Sit! is an event that centers around spotting as many species as possible in 24 hours. In this way, it is similar to other big birding events. What makes The Big [...]

Descriptions of birds having cryptic coloration can seem confusing or even macabre to those who only know the word “crypt” as a synonym for sepulcher.  The word “cryptic,” descended from the Greek kruptikos, means concealed, hidden, secret, or occult.  While the funeral industry may concern itself more with the latter definitions, zoology focuses on the [...]

This weekend was supposed to mark the Core Team’s first pelagic birding trip until high seas scuttled the expedition. What exactly does ‘pelagic’ mean, and what’s the big deal anyway? Our birding word of the day, pelagic, means of, relating to, or living in open oceans or seas rather than waters adjacent to land or [...]

While writing up yesterday’s post, my inherent weakness for alliteration got the better of me. I eagerly described the season’s bounty of warblers as a “procession of precious passerines.” Now, it is definitely not my style to insert the word “precious” into a conversation, but it seemed to fit with the surrounding words. Yet, when [...]

This winter, we’ve been blessed with an abundance of owls. In 2003, a veritable horde of Common Redpoll invaded the U.S. It seems that, every year, another bird species floods our forests and feeders, carried on the wings of an irruption. But what kind of bizarre volcano spits out birds? Our birding word of the [...]

Many birds, especially those higher up on the food chain, are fiercely territorial. When a bird of a different species intrudes on contested ground, a defender may take it upon himself to gently chastise the trespasser. If necessary, many birds will go so far as to kindly escort the interloper to a more propitious locale. [...]

The highlight of spring migration is without a doubt the return to northern climes of dazzlingly-colored warblers, flycatchers, and tanagers. These thrilling little critters aren’t waterfowl or raptors or waders. Instead, they are part of a club that can hardly be called exclusive. After all, about 5,400 species enjoy membership. These are what we in [...]

Central Park is an exciting place to go birding, and not just because of the muggers. So many different birds stop in the park during migration that one never knows what species will pop up. Unfortunately, to spot the odd rarity, one must wade through countless common species, what some refer callously to as trash [...]

The Winter 2004 issue of Birdscope, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology newsletter, highlights some fascinating facts about the Cedar Waxwing. This attractive avian is described as “one of the most frugivorous birds in North America.” Frugivorous, you say? That’s a mouthful. When a word like frugivorous enters a room, people sit up and take notice. [...]