Bird of the Week

Sabine’s Gull, Xema sabini Bill Rowe This week we introduce a bird that is a rarity in the Midwest: a handsome little Arctic gull named after a distinguished Irish scientist and naturalist, Edward Sabine, who apparently pronounced his name to rhyme…

Eastern Phoebe, Sayornis phoebe Bill Rowe So far, this series has included three of our common flycatchers, or “tyrannids” (family Tyrannidae), each representing a different genus. Another common one, representing a fourth genus, is the Eastern Phoebe, a plain but distinctive…

Chestnut-sided Warbler, Setophaga pensylvanica Bill Rowe The Midwest is rich in warblers: besides the ones that nest here, there are many more that occur only on migration, spring and fall, as they pass through en route to their breeding grounds farther…

Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis Bill Rowe Missouri is home to over 400 species of birds, nearly all of them native to this continent, along with a handful that were introduced by humans for one reason or another. This week’s bird, however,…

Blue-winged Teal, Spatula discors Bill Rowe Birders often identify ducks the easy way, by looking for the males, which tend to show bold patterns and colors for much of the year; they are more obvious and distinctive than the females, clad…

Prothonotary Warbler, Protonotaria citrea Bill Rowe Out of the 35 species of warblers that we see regularly, fifteen are breeding birds—that is, they stay here in the summer to nest in larger or smaller numbers. One of these is the Prothonotary…

Least Sandpiper, Calidris minutilla Bill Rowe Shorebirds are back now, though “back” simply means passing through again on their return trip south from Canada and Alaska, where they nested. For most of them, this occurred on the Arctic tundra; they have…

Bank Swallow, Riparia riparia Bill Rowe Of our six common swallows here in eastern North America, five are small birds, more or less sparrow-size (the Purple Martin is larger), but when they are lined up side by side on power lines,…

Blue Grosbeak, Passerina caerulea Bill Rowe As June transitions into July and then August, most songbirds gradually stop singing, but some keep up the effort longer than others and can be heard later in the summer. One of these is…

Least Tern, Sternula antillarum Bill Rowe Of all the gulls and terns that show up on Missouri’s waterways, the handsome little Least Tern is the only one that nests in our state. Its story, in recent decades, is really positive but…