Bird of the Week

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.…

Cooper’s Hawk, Accipiter cooperii Bill Rowe In November, we described a prototypical big hawk of the genus Buteo—the Red-tail. This week we look at a member of Accipiter, a world-wide genus of raptors that used to be saddled with adjectives like “stealthy” and…

Snow Goose, Anser caerulescens Bill Rowe Right now, in the most frigid part of the year, it hardly seems right to think about spring migration—but in fact it is under way. The waterfowl (i.e., ducks, geese, and swans) are collectively our…

Rusty Blackbird, Euphagus carolinus Bill Rowe Unlike our other blackbirds, the intriguing, mysterious Rusty nests far to our north, in the boreal forest of Alaska, Canada, and northernmost New England. In fall it comes down to spend the winter in the…