I was recently studying and sketching the three species of American scoters in Revere, Massachusetts, and I was struck by the differences in head and body shapes. I thought those differences deserved to be highlighted in some new sketches, which are shown below. If you enjoy quizzes, you can try to identify the three species,
Identifying scoters by shape Read More »
In two previous posts (The two faces of Downy Woodpecker and More false faces in birds) I’ve talked about the false faces created by feather patterns on birds. In the months since those posts I have seen and photographed more examples of these patterns, and I present some of them here.
Still more examples of false faces in birds Read More »
This post accompanies: Is the Brown Creeper more than one species? The songs of Brown Creepers do vary regionally, but the variation is subtle and complex and not very obvious (at least to our ears). Regional differences in song may offer the strongest support for splitting Brown Creeper into multiple species, but remain virtually unstudied.
Variation in Brown Creeper songs Read More »
Brown Creeper is such a familiar and easily-identified bird that few birders really study it closely. Slight regional differences in plumage and song have long been known, but recent DNA research (Manthey et al., 2010) has shown that these subtle outward differences go much deeper. (David Callahan summarizes the research at Birdwatch). There is a
Is the Brown Creeper more than one species? Read More »
The painting shown here is currently available at auction (see box at right, revised on 24 Jan) with 100% of the proceeds going to support the efforts of the Bird Conservation Society of Thailand. Or you can make a donation through Audubon (see below). Funds will go to an information center at Pak Thale, Thailand,
Donate to help Spoon-billed Sandpiper Read More »
In December 2010 I had the privilege of birding in Kenya with the incomparable Brian Finch, and on 14 December we stumbled upon an interesting small sandpiper at Lake Nakuru. We had talked about the possibility of Dunlin (only a few Kenya records) and were looking through the many Ruffs, Curlew Sandpipers, and Little Stints
Possible hybrid sandpiper in Kenya Read More »
A shrike present on Long Island NY October-November 2010 was originally (and understandably) identified as a Northern. it received wider attention after Shai Mitra questioned the ID in late November, and for several days generated quite a bit of debate over its identification. Most concurred that it was a Loggerhead, but the reasons were mostly subjective
A perplexing shrike Read More »
There are five subspecies of White-crowned Sparrow, and in most parts of North America it is possible to see more than one subspecies during part of the year. Identification of subspecies is covered in the Sibley Guide to Birds and in Dunn et al. 1995. Maps of band recoveries (from the Canadian Atlas of Bird
White-crowned Sparrow subspecies – Where? Read More »
The European Starling is often ignored, or worse, by North American birders, but if you can get past the fact that it’s aggressive, very good at living with humans, and has been in North America “only” since 1890, it’s a fascinating bird. As I looked up some other maps in the Canadian Atlas of Bird
Questions about Starling migration Read More »
In the Sibley Guide to Birds I illustrated Pacific and Atlantic/Gulf populations of Brown Pelican, showing different colors on the throat pouch (red on adult Pacific and olive on immature Pacific; always dark gray on Atlantic birds) and suggesting that these colors could identify the two populations. It turns out that Brown Pelicans in Texas
Red pouches on Brown Pelicans Read More »