Bird of the Week

Red-headed Woodpecker, Melanerpes erythrocephalus Bill Rowe The stunningly handsome Red-headed Woodpecker has been a favorite American bird for as long as anyone has kept written records, and no doubt for millennia among indigenous peoples. It is very much a bird of…

Brown Creeper, Certhia americana Bill Rowe If you happen to see what appears to be a mouse on a tree trunk, keep looking: if it’s going up the trunk, spiraling around, and then, as it gets near the top, dropping…

Northern Harrier, Circus hudsonius Bill Rowe Our first bird of the New Year is one of North America’s most widespread raptors, apt to be seen virtually anywhere in open country at one time of year or another—farther north in the breeding…

Varied Thrush, Ixoreus naevius Bill Rowe Check any bird guide, and you’ll see that this handsome robin-like bird nests in western coniferous forests, from Alaska and the Yukon down to coastal Oregon and northernmost California; in winter, it moves farther down…

Common Goldeneye, Bucephala clangula Bill Rowe Common Goldeneyes are handsome ducks that spend their summer nesting in hollow trees by remote lakes in the midst of the boreal forest, i.e., in Canada and Alaska, or, on the other side of the…

Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos Bill Rowe The New World family Mimidae—called the “mimids” and including thrashers, catbirds, and mockingbirds—does indeed contain some species that are remarkable for their mimicry, none more famous or versatile than our familiar Northern Mockingbird, which makes…

Lapland Longspur, Calcarius lapponicus Bill Rowe Have you ever heard of a Lapland Longspur? Maybe not, if you aren’t yet an intense birder, and there are some good reasons for that, starting with the fact that its breeding grounds lie…

Downy Woodpecker, Dryobates pubescens Bill Rowe Wherever there are trees, there are woodpeckers, pretty much the world over. And in every region, there will be one or more very small ones—like the Downy Woodpecker, here in North America. In the western…

White-crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys Bill Rowe The North American sparrows are one of our most diverse groups: we have about 21 regular species in Missouri, with several more that have occurred as vagrants from the West. So far, however, we have…

Short-eared Owl, Asio flammeus Bill Rowe Wait…there’s an owl that lives in grasslands and nests on the ground? Yes, indeed—it’s called the Short-eared Owl. On our own continent, this widespread bird breeds in Alaska, Canada, and some of the northern and…