Hundreds of birdwatchers from all over England and even mainland Europe recently descended on the tiny island of Bryher on the Isles of Scilly (pronounced si-lee) southwest of Cornwall, England, to catch a glimpse of a tiny bird from the U.S. which has rarely been seen in the U.K. In Mid-October, 2022, “twitchers” arrived in …
Well, election season is upon us and poll takers abound, asking questions about people’s political leanings. The word “poll” arose around 1300 from the word polle, meaning head or top. Later its meaning extended to individuals, like people or sheep. By 1620 it meant the counting of heads or votes, as in an election. By …
Just returned from a cruise on the North Atlantic. There are a number of seabirds nesting on cliffs during the short summer season such as murres, guillemots, gulls, kittwakes, and the colorful Atlantic Puffin. But getting away from the shoreline and traversing the open ocean there are fewer but perhaps more interesting birds like shearwaters, …
As it walks in its marshy habitat, its ungainly stride makes it look as if the bird is limping, hence the common name of Limpkin. Aramus, the genus name, comes from the Greek meaning sword and the species name guarauna from a Tupi (Brazilian) language and meaning marsh bird. And indeed the Limpkin is a …
Attractive birds of the tropics of Asia, Africa, South America, and Australia, Jacanas sprightly move over the tops of lily pads and other floating vegetation with ease. They are weak fliers and go aerial for only short distances, but they can swim underwater to avoid predators and remain in the water for long periods with …
The order Caprimulgiformes includes four families of birds with not only odd appearances but odd names. Commonly called nightjars, the order is comprised of about 120 species of soft-plumaged and cryptically colored birds including nighthawks, potoos, frogmouths, poorwills, owlet-frogmouths and oilbirds. Resembling strange owls, nightjars lack the talons and strong beak; in fact their feet …
In the fall of 2021 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared the Ivory-billed Woodpecker extinct as there have been no reliable sightings of the bird since 1944. But individuals and groups have occasionally asserted that they have seen an individual or two deep down in the forests of Louisiana. The latest declaration is from …
The family Turdidae contains the true thrushes of the world, although there are birds in other families some of which are called thrushes. Turdidae derives from the Latin word turdus, meaning thrush. The familiar American Robin is Turdus migratorius, the wandering thrush. The 88 species of true thrushes, Genus Turdus, have a cosmopolitan distribution across …
Bluebirds, family Turdidae, belong to the genus Sialia, from the Greek meaning “a kind of bird.” Not a very helpful description. The three Sialia species, all North American, are the Eastern Bluebird, Western Bluebird, and Mountain Bluebird, semi-descriptive but not very imaginative names. At 7 inches long with a 13 -inch wingspread, they are small …
I saw a few Cedar Waxwings the other day, such elegant and poised birds. In their small genus Bombycilla are two other waxwing species: the Bohemian and Japanese Waxwings. Similar in size and shape, all waxwings possess a tapering crest, a black stripe through the eye extending over the beak, usually waxy-appearing tips on the …
