One of the most distinctive birds in the world, the Spoon-billed Sandpiper hardly seems like an identification problem, but to pick one out of a flock of stints is really more difficult than you would think. Overall shape and size, color, and behavior are very similar to the stints. The spoon-shaped bill is surprisingly hard to […]
Identification of Spoon-billed Sandpiper Read More »
The Spoon-billed Sandpiper has one of the most striking and unusual bill shapes of any bird, but the function of the odd spoon-shaped bill has never been determined, and I was particularly interested in watching the birds in Thailand for any clues that might help solve this mystery.
Bill shape and foraging habits of Spoon-billed Sandpiper Read More »
My trip to Thailand (4-14 Feb 2010) was a great success, and I’ll be posting some observations, photos, and sketches here over the next few days. The known Spoon-billed Sandpiper site at Pak Thale was very reliable, with several individuals seen each day there, and up to six in view at once (7 and 10
Finding Spoon-billed Sandpipers in Thailand Read More »
I’ll be in Thailand for the next two weeks, hoping to fulfill a decades-long dream to see Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Like many birders, I have always been fascinated by shorebirds – their subtle and elegant shapes and colors, the identification challenges they present, and most of all by their powers of flight and their long migrations.
Off to chase Spoon-billed Sandpiper Read More »
minor updates 2 Mar 2010 Identifying female goldeneyes is extremely challenging. Differences are subtle, subjective, and inconsistent, but experienced observers still build up a “template” of expected impressions that allow them to identify the species with confidence. Describing these differences, and identifying individual birds from photos, can be very challenging because the process of identification
Distinguishing female Barrow’s and Common Goldeneyes Read More »
I’ve just posted a new page that lists some of my most-frequently-used online references about trees. You can find it here, and it is also linked on the Tree Info page.
New page on Tree references Read More »
Distinguishing Common and Barrow’s Goldeneyes is always a challenge, and particularly so when the bird is a female. One of the most conspicuous and easily judged differences is bill color – Common Goldeneye has a black bill with a small yellowish patch at the tip, while Barrow’s has the bill almost entirely orange-yellow. This works
Identification of (hybrid?) female Goldeneyes Read More »
I’m back to the website after a long holiday break, and I have a few things I’ll be posting over the next two weeks. For now, important news to report is that my seminar at the Yale School of Forestry has been postponed. Originally scheduled for Jan 20th, it will hopefully be rescheduled for the
This list covers changes (through Nov 2009) to the official names of birds as published by the American Ornithologist’s Union (AOU) in periodic supplements to the AOU checklist. The checklist and all supplements can be found here. Note that the names printed in the Sibley Guides have not been revised. These are the changes that
Updated bird names for The Sibley Guide to Birds Read More »
Stunning news from Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico: a female Sungrebe was photographed there on 13 November 2008, those photos here. It was correctly identified on 17 November from the photos, then refound and photographed more on 18 November. This is not only a new species for North America, but a whole new family. A
Sungrebe – New for North America! Read More »