Mid-March is when the first northbound Fox Sparrows show up in Massachusetts, and it’s always a pleasure to see this burly, richly-colored sparrow. I’ve been working on some new illustrations showing the variation among the birds in my yard this week. Regional variation in Fox Sparrow is extensive, and gets a lot of attention, with […]
Variation in eastern Fox Sparrows Read More »
Here is another recent project: I’ve been working on new and improved illustrations of Redwing for the bird guide and app, showing the differences between the two subspecies. The Redwing (Turdus iliacus) is a thrush common across Eurasia, from Iceland to Siberia. It is a very rare visitor to North America, mostly in Atlantic Canada
Distinguishing the subspecies of Redwing Read More »
Here’s a new illustration I’ve done as part of some work on distinguishing the two subspecies groups of Sandhill Crane. Six subspecies of Sandhill Crane are generally recognized, but for field observers it’s more practical to assign birds to two subspecies groups: Lesser and Greater. The Greater subspecies group includes five of the named subspecies,
Distinguishing subspecies of Sandhill Crane Read More »
Pine Siskins – streaky relatives of goldfinches – are so distinctive as a species that we tend to overlook their considerable individual variation. Siskins are unusual among the small finches in that males and females look nearly identical. Subtle individual differences in the amount or intensity of streaking, or in overall color, have no bearing
Variation in Pine Siskins and the so-called “green morph” Read More »
One of the great pleasures of birding is that you can run into something new and unexpected anytime, anywhere. This summer (June and July 2020) I’ve been birding around my local neighborhood in Deerfield, MA, and even though I’ve lived here for three years now, every day still brings new discoveries. A recent morning produced
Scarlet Tanagers are bright red – but this one is yellow Read More »
This recording includes one song of Cerulean Warbler and one of Black-throated Blue Warbler. Can you tell them apart? Distinguishing Black-throated Blue Warbler and Cerulean Warbler by song is usually not too difficult, even though both have buzzy songs with a more or less rising trend. The typical songs of both species are distinctive, and
A Cerulean-like song variant of Black-throated Blue Warbler Read More »
I always enjoy studying Herring Gulls, just looking at variation and trying to categorize the birds into age, sex, and regional groups. Last winter I was watching the gull flock at Turners Falls, MA, paying special attention to when the adults molted into breeding plumage. My thought was that the early-molting birds would be from
The head shape of Herring Gulls seems to change seasonally Read More »
In early December 2016, David Pierce of Wildwood, Missouri, noticed an odd woodpecker at his feeder and took some really nice photos. I always marvel at the path these kinds of stories follow: Dave had to be looking carefully enough to notice the slight differences in this bird, make the effort to take some good
A melanistic Downy Woodpecker Read More »
Thank you to the birders of Mississippi for a wonderful weekend April 28-29 around Oxford. Special thanks to the MOS, Delta Wind Birds, The Strawberry Plains Audubon Center, Wild Birds Unlimited of Jackson, and the other sponsors for making it all possible. The birding was excellent, as passing thunderstorms pushed migrants down and kept birds
The Mississippi Ornithological Society meeting Read More »
While I was at Great Gull Island, New York, July 3-5, two different Peregrine Falcons were passing through the tern colony. I never saw one catch a tern, but they were definitely hunting as they rocketed over the island low and fast with about a hundred screaming terns right behind, then turned and made another
Peregrine Falcon raiding the tern colony Read More »