Review: The Unfeathered Bird
Feathers. We see birds as collections of feathers. The majority of our identification tools are based on the feathers of a bird. We note the feather color, structure, and location of almost every bird we see, almost unconsciously . We even pay considerable attention to which feathers are missing as a result of the molting process. But […]
Beach Boys and the Birds of Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire
Sometimes I dream about escaping the lingering flurries and barely tolerable temperatures of February in Montana. I want to feel sand filtering its way through my toes as the tropical sun ever so gently radiates upon my shoulders (maybe even a little sunburn). I start thinking of Jack Johnson and the Beach Boys tunes – oh yeah, […]
Owls of the World – Hey, It’s Owling Season
I have been on an absolute owl tear lately. I have found and photographed Northern Pygmy Owl and Great Gray Owl along the Bitterroot River. I accompanied owl researcher Denver Holt on one of his owl trapping/banding field days where I got up close and personal with a Long-eared Owl. All of these experiences have serviced to […]
Birds of Melanesia: Tropical warmth for the chilly birder
The temperature has climbed to nearly 25 degrees F this afternoon as the sun finally broke throw the dense inversion layer. Over the Bitterroot, a lone Belted Kingfisher rattled its call as it hovered above the ice-free center of the river. With a quick dive, it captures a hapless minnow. Bursting from the river with […]
Himalayan Dreams – Birds of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives.
I have often dreamt of leaning against a giant rhododendron on some isolated hillside in the Kingdom of Bhutan while Rufous-necked Hornbills and Beautiful Nuthatches appear within the orbital sphere of my binocular vision. The entire Indian Subcontinent is filled host of both familiar avian shapes and those that seem foreign to this New World-centric birding mind. Culturally India […]
The Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive
The fames Handbook of the Birds of the World series of wonderful volumes is coming online. You can almost hear the glee. Glee, that’s not very manly. How about my brutal grunts of approval.
Review: Birds of Central Asia
The Stans (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan)…those mysterious enclaves in the heart of the Asian continent have been somewhat of a natural history mystery for ages. Communism, radical jihad, conflicts, and just plain tribal shenanigans have all conspired to hindered the unfettered access of those wishing to chronicle the region’s unique wildlife and […]
Review: Petrels, Albatrosses & Storm-Petrels of North America
Here in Montana, petrels and albatrosses are not usually on the birding radar. Their foreignness and distance have only served to intrigue me. I imagine a giant albatross dynamically soaring amongst of crowns and troughs of mid-ocean swells. I can almost feel the salt-laden mist needling at my face. Heck, I might even be a […]
Review: The Atlas of Birds
I rushed into the Lolo post office to receive a parcel from Princeton University Press. It was my review copy of The Atlas of Birds: Diversity, Behavior, and Conservation. I raced home and tore open the box, and fished the text from a sea of packing peanuts. The first thing that leapt out at me […]