Bird of the Week

Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Tringa melanoleuca and flavipes Bill Rowe It’s May, and millions of birds are pouring through the central United States right now, some of them stopping here for the summer to nest, others heading farther north and found here…

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Polioptila caerulea Bill Rowe It’s hard to find a bird more charming, by human standards, than the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, a woodland sprite that rivals the kinglets for its hyperactivity and its tiny size. By overall length, as stated in…

Hermit Thrush, Catharus guttatus Bill Rowe The genus Catharus includes four closely-related thrushes, brown above and spotted on the breast, that migrate through Missouri. All are rather shy forest birds, but as migrants they may show up anywhere, from the woods to your…

Common Grackle, Quiscalus quiscula Bill Rowe The icterids (blackbirds and their relatives) are a large family that is unique to the New World. This week’s bird, the Common Grackle, is one of the most numerous icterids—actually one of the most numerous…

American Kestrel, Falco sparverius Bill Rowe This week we introduce the falcons, a distinctive world-wide group whose relationships to other birds have been in flux for decades. Recently, DNA analysis has finally produced a firm conclusion: that falcons are not just…

American Golden-Plover, Pluvialis dominica Bill Rowe A stunning bird in breeding plumage, the American Golden-Plover makes an equally stunning migration flight each year, from its breeding grounds on the Arctic tundra of Canada and Alaska to its wintering range on the…

Horned Lark, Eremophila alpestris Bill Rowe Wide-open agricultural fields, especially those that are mostly bare soil, may seem to be the least likely places to find birds—yet this is standard habitat for one of our widespread North American species, the Horned…

Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor Bill Rowe In these first weeks of spring migration, with some birds beginning to filter back to us from farther south, we are likely to see some Tree Swallows in the vanguard, among the earliest of our…

Belted Kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon Bill Rowe Hang around a lake, creek, river, or marsh long enough, and eventually you are sure to hear the loud harsh rattle of a Belted Kingfisher patrolling its territory. This is an all-American bird, for its breeding…

Hooded Merganser, Lophodytes cucullatus Bill Rowe Along with the flocks of geese migrating north in February and March come 20+ different kinds of ducks, nearly all headed to the northern prairies, the lakes of the Canadian forest, or even the Arctic.…