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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…

Orchard Oriole, Icterus spurius Bill Rowe While birding around the edge of a woods, along a hedgerow, in streamside willows, or among old fields with scattered small trees, you may hear a fast, disjointed burst of song coming at you from…

Summer Tanager, Piranga rubra Bill Rowe Last week’s article began “On any summer hike through the woods…” and led one to the Eastern Wood-Pewee calling among the trees. This week we take the same hike and discover a more colorful…

Eastern Wood-Pewee, Contopus virens Bill Rowe On any summer hike through the woods, even in the midday heat, you will surely hear the Eastern Wood-Pewee plaintively singing its name. One of our most numerous forest birds, the pewee wears the modest…

Red-shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus Bill Rowe Back in November, we headlined the Red-tailed Hawk as our most widespread and best-known member of Buteo—the genus of large, wide-winged hawks that divide their time between perching and soaring. Now comes our second, and second-best-known,…