The Sibley eGuide to Birds app for iPhone has been updated. This update adds thumbnail images of every species in the scrolling list and in search results, the option to display common names in French, Spanish, or Latin instead of English, the latest AOU taxonomy including splits of Scripps’s and Guadalupe Murrelet, new audio for […]
Updated app for iPhone Read More »
Backyard Bird Discoveries While watching a small flock of juncos at my bird feeder on December 17, 2012, I noticed one particularly brownish female. Considering subspecies and watching it a little further I noticed that it seemed more active and alert, darting around quickly and holding its body more upright than the other juncos. Could this
Posture and shape distinguishes male and female Dark-eyed Juncos Read More »
One of the biggest challenges of identifying a Cackling Goose is just finding one, especially in the east where the species is rare and occurs mostly as single birds (of the relatively large and pale Richardson’s subspecies) among big flocks of Canadas. The photos below show one Richardson’s Cackling Goose among Canadas. See if you
Can you find the Cackling Goose? Read More »
Almost every Rusty Blackbird that I see in the eastern United States is in flight, so the simple trick is to look up. In order to do that you need to know what to look for: I use sound to know when to look, then look for flying blackbirds that are solitary or in small
My trick to finding Rusty Blackbirds Read More »
With the publication of the revised edition of Hawks in Flight, I wanted to post a little bit about my drawing technique with pen and ink. I’ve always enjoyed black-and-white drawing. I remember being in third grade and spending hours looking at Earl Poole’s ink drawings in James Bond’s “Birds of the West Indies”. A few
My Pen-and-ink technique Read More »
Join me on a WINGS/Heritage Expeditions cruise 21 June to 4 July 2013 to search for nesting Spoon-billed Sandpipers in Siberia. I’ve always been fascinated by Siberia. Growing up in the lower 48 states I dreamed of seeing birds like Steller’s Sea-Eagle, Siberian Rubythroat, even Middendorff’s Grasshopper-Warbler, and the crowning jewel of the Siberian specialties
In search of Spoon-billed Sandpiper Read More »
Most Passerines only hold juvenal plumage for a few weeks, quickly molting to a more adult-like plumage soon after they fledge and before fall migration. It’s a plumage that is seen almost entirely on the breeding grounds, but the breeding grounds (and fledging time) of many birds overlaps broadly with the fall migration of others,
Juvenal plumage of songbirds: Gray Catbird Read More »
These are the only regularly occurring herons that are truly difficult to identify, as immatures of these two species are variable in bare-parts color and distinguishing them can require very careful study. The best clue is foraging posture, which can be seen at any distance and is very reliable. Most individuals are fairly easily separated
Distinguishing immature (white) Little Blue Heron from Snowy Egret Read More »
First Glance A quick judgment of the ground color of the breast and eyebrow stripe will separate most waterthrushes: bright white on Louisiana, yellowish on Northern. A yellowish waterthrush is definitely a Northern, while a whitish bird could be either species. Next look at the shape of the eyebrow stripe, which broadens to the rear
Identification of Waterthrushes Read More »
Identifying the white herons and egrets can be a challenge. We must rely mainly on structure, behavior, and the color of bare parts like bill and legs, because plumage offers very little in the way of field marks. One aspect of plumage can be very helpful, however. By looking at the shape and condition of
Determining the age of white egrets and herons in late summer Read More »