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Barbets are a group of medium sized, chunky, generally colorful, frugivorous, hole-nesting near-passerines, that are popular targets for anyone birding in the tropics. They occur in three biogeographic regions; the Neotropic, Afrotropic and Indo-Malaya ecozones, basically tropical South and Central America, Africa south of the Sahara and tropical Asia. Originally they were all placed in [...]

In New York, as is the case across most of the area where the “eastern” wood-warblers migrate, there are four species that are almost always the first to appear. Palm Warblers, with their tail-pumping and low-foraging habits, tend to get much of the attention. The Louisiana Waterthrush announces itself with loud chip notes and a [...]

On Wednesday morning I had a meeting in Bayonne, New Jersey for my job and as is my wont I left my house in Queens early to beat the traffic and therefore found myself with a little over an hour to kill before my meeting. Rather than do my usual stroll on the Hudson River [...]

I am not an ornithologist but this albino finch got my attention.  I suspect that it is an incomplete albino since there is some pigmentation near the face, beak, and feet.  I suspect that this finch belongs to the Woodpecker family from the shape of the beak but I welcome any other comments. I first [...]

Central Park, Manhattan, April 2010 I have spent many of my lunch hours over the last several months in Central Park.  As spring has sprung and the sun has come out and the weather warmed I have been in the park almost every day, scarfing up spring migrants like a starving man who finds himself [...]

Last week a mystery bird from New Jersey rightly caused a fair bit of confusion among birders of the Garden State and beyond.  The bird was a sparrow, that much was clear, but it didn’t seem to fit any of the easily boxes the other North American sparrows can be fairly easily sorted into.  Superficially, [...]

This week I find myself writing about Colombia again. But this should not come as a surprise as the country really is almost fathomless when it comes to delicious bird content. This post relates to a delightful Colombian endemic called the Grayish Piculet. Woodpeckers are phenomenally well-represented in Colombia and the country holds anything from [...]

Birding has been an all-consuming interest for Patrick Cardwell since boyhood days spent in a wildlife-rich environment. When he isn’t snapping photos in the field, training local bird guides, or supporting seabird-related conservation initiatives, he runs Avian Leisure, a birding and wildlife safari company out of Cape Town established in 1998, with his wife, Marie-Louise. [...]

I was thrilled to be seing warblers so early in March, until I remembered that Townsend’s Warblers can be seen along the west coast during the cold months. This didn’t detract from the pleasure of finding one of North America’s most strikingly marked wablers. A quick search in the archives here at 10,000 Birds found [...]

If you see shorebirds on a coastal beach in North America they are most likely Sanderlings (Calidris alba).  If they are running back and forth as the waves ebb and flow they are almost assuredly Sanderlings.  They are the “clockwork toy” birds according to Sibley, “The Bird That Plays Tag with the Waves” according to [...]

Last week Corey wrote about appreciating our local birds before the migrants arrive and it made me reflect on how easily we look past the familiar as we seek out new experiences. I’ve been meaning to start a series addressing the wonders of the common and familiar. Hopefully it can illustrate how the world unfolds [...]

Upland Sandpipers are one of the coolest and most awkward-looking of our continent’s birds. See, it’s not so scary! Photographed at Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge, MT. Birders are a timid bunch. They are scared of all sorts of things. The thought of identifying certain groups of birds can incapacitate them. They are fearful of [...]

The Long-billed Curlew’s (Numenius americanus) bill is best adapted for capturing shrimp and crabs living in deep burrows on tidal mudflats or burrowing earthworms in pastures (click on photos for full sized images). They are entirely carnivorous, feeding on terrestrial insects, marine crustaceans and invertebrates as well as some small vertebrates. As you can see, [...]

At the end of a half-morning’s birding I stopped at the south end of the Cross Bay Bridge, just north of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens, New York. It is a spot known for nearly tame Pale-bellied Brant* and roosting gulls, and once in a while something really good appears. I figured I would pull [...]

We have just returned from a three-week trip to Sydney, which was primarily to help out where needed with a house move and to ensure that both houses were occupied until settlement. My sister and family were not moving far, so commuting between houses was not hard and our two nephews have settled into their [...]

Queens, NY, March 2010 For some reason, maybe because of the heroic effort I have made of late to get our new apartment completely unpacked and set up, Daisy agreed to let me out of the house for a few hours Monday morning to take what is perhaps my favorite walk in Queens, which is [...]

The most common owls in the world are also in the Galapagos Islands and are considered subspecies that only occur in Galapagos, so one could almost say they are endemic subspecies. The Barn Owl subspecies is the Tyto alba punctatissima and can be found on Isabela, Santa Cruz, Fernandida, Santiago, San Cristobal, Pinta, and maybe [...]

The most mystical birds we all long to see and know well are most often the most difficult to find. It is part of their biology that makes not only plumage, but behavior, cryptic. These adaptations for avoiding predators has allowed most species of owls to flourish in their own habitat albeit, with reclusive habits. [...]

Colombia is not only home to nearly 20% of all avian life on the planet but this birding mecca also accommodates an incredibly high percentage of highly sought after species. Nearly 80 species are endemic and found nowhere else in the world. Moreover, Colombia remains the best destination to see many species that are very [...]

Buteo lineatus, the Red-shouldered Hawk, is a gorgeous bird. Before January I had come across the very red birds of the western United States and the “normal” birds in the eastern part of the country but when I first laid eyes on the pale form of Florida I felt like I was seeing a whole [...]