Every bird watcher and nature observer has his or her "lists." Here are mine for Birds, Insects, Mammals, Plants, Reptiles, and Crustaceans, complete with pull down menus.
BIRDS
Categorized by genus/species, placed chronologically by common name
American Coot
American Crow
American Flamingo*
American Goldfinch
American Kestrel
American Robin
American Tree Sparrow
American White Pelican
Bald Eagle
Baltimore Oriole
Barn Swallow
Belted Kingfisher
Black-Capped Chickadee
Black Vulture*
Blue Jay
Blue-Winged Teal
Bobwhite
Brown Creeper
Brown-Headed Cowbird
Brown Thrasher
Bufflehead
Canada Goose
Canvasback
Cedar Waxwing
Chipping Sparrow
Common Grackle
Common Goldeneye
Common Redpoll
Cooper's Hawk
Dark-Eyed Junco
Double-Breasted Cormorant
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Goldfinch - See American Goldfinch
Eastern Kingbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Towhee
Eurasian Coot*
European Starling
Fox Sparrow
Golden-Crowned Kinglet
Gray Catbird
Graylag Goose
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Greater Flamingo*
Hairy Woodpecker
Harlequin Duck
Hermit Thrush
Herring Gull
Horned Lark
House Finch
House Sparrow
House Wren
Indigo Bunting
Killdeer
Lesser Scaup
Lincoln's Sparrow
Mallard (Domestic)
Mallard (Wild)
Mourning Dove
Northern Cardinal
Northern Flicker
Northern Rough-Winged Swallow
Northern Shoveler
Orange-Crowned Warbler
Palm Warbler
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Red-Breasted Nuthatch
Red-Headed Woodpecker
Red-Tailed Hawk
Red-Winged Blackbird
Ring-Billed Gull
Ring-Necked Duck
Rock Pigeon
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
Scarlet Tanager
Solitary Sandpiper
Song Sparrow
Spotted Sandpiper
Swamp Sparrow
Tufted Titmouse
Turkey Vulture
White-Breasted Nuthatch
White-Crowned Sparrow
White-Throated Sparrow
Wild Turkey
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker
Yellow-Rumped Warbler
INSECTS, ARACHNIDS, MYRIAPODS & GASTROPODS
Categorized by family, placed chronologically by common name
This week’s theme is “I Love _____.” Well, when I started birding, I disliked sparrows because they seemed plain and all looked the same. Now, I truly appreciate the small differences between the sparrows and I can say that I “love” them.
From top to bottom, Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana), Lincoln’s Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii) [photo missing], and Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia). I always had a tough time distinguishing these related sparrows (still do), but this post should help. They all have a similar head (at least to the amateur, like me), but the Swamp Sparrow has the plain chest, Lincoln’s Sparrow has the chest stripes but no spot, and the Song Sparrow has the chest stripes and the central chest spot. Another way to distinguish the Lincoln’s and Song Sparrow is that Lincoln’s upper breast is buff colored, while the Song Sparrow’s upper breast is white.
amazing sparrow pictures! Was going through my RSS feeds that have not posting anything in a while and found you have moved! I have made the updates and now I can enjoy your photos again!
That happened to me, too! I went to the Audobon spring count and would begin to yawn when they talked sparrows (I was only along for photos and ignored sparrows). But then I got a couple of sparrow shots and realized I knew nothing and there were so many. There are different seasons and climates and habitats for them. Now I am becoming obsessed with them. I got a ton of sparrow shots in New Haven in October and noticed that different species hang together like they are kin. I have starred this post for future identifications.
Stumbled on your blog via a link exchange, BlogMad I think, and I just love it. Wonderful bird photos…the sparrow comparison is great. I bookmarked you for future visits. Thanks
Great photos as always, there are some interesting native sparrows out there which most people are not even aware of, all they know are the English and house sparrows.
I must join the photo hunt one of these days, it looks like so much fun!
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WOW!!! Great shots here! Happy Weekend:)
November 16th, 2007 at 8:35 pmThe winged creatures are beautiful. :)
Great shots. :)
Happy Hunting.
November 16th, 2007 at 9:07 pmwhat a beautiful take on this weeks theme!! Very unique!
November 16th, 2007 at 9:19 pmamazing sparrow pictures! Was going through my RSS feeds that have not posting anything in a while and found you have moved! I have made the updates and now I can enjoy your photos again!
November 16th, 2007 at 9:45 pmThose are beautiful shots. I hope you have a pleasant
November 16th, 2007 at 9:47 pmweekend.
Lovely shots. I love sparrows. They are so simple yet so precious.
November 16th, 2007 at 10:31 pmBeautiful shots! My photo hunt is up too! :)
November 16th, 2007 at 10:32 pmGreat choice. I can relate to you. I’m breeding African Love birds and Finches. Have a happy weekend!
November 17th, 2007 at 2:25 amWow, beautiful photos! Happy weekend!
November 17th, 2007 at 2:30 amAs always, grateful to you for sharing. Lovely, professional and beautiful.
November 17th, 2007 at 5:41 amLovely pictures, one and all! :)
November 17th, 2007 at 6:11 amGreat shots. I can’t differentiate nor distinguish those sparrows (i mean which is which) ;)
November 17th, 2007 at 9:02 amThat happened to me, too! I went to the Audobon spring count and would begin to yawn when they talked sparrows (I was only along for photos and ignored sparrows). But then I got a couple of sparrow shots and realized I knew nothing and there were so many. There are different seasons and climates and habitats for them. Now I am becoming obsessed with them. I got a ton of sparrow shots in New Haven in October and noticed that different species hang together like they are kin. I have starred this post for future identifications.
November 17th, 2007 at 9:36 amStumbled on your blog via a link exchange, BlogMad I think, and I just love it. Wonderful bird photos…the sparrow comparison is great. I bookmarked you for future visits. Thanks
November 17th, 2007 at 12:33 pmWhat a lovely choice for the theme, beautiful pictures as always…
November 18th, 2007 at 2:58 pm:)
Thank you for all the comments!
November 18th, 2007 at 8:24 pmGreat photos as always, there are some interesting native sparrows out there which most people are not even aware of, all they know are the English and house sparrows.
I must join the photo hunt one of these days, it looks like so much fun!
November 21st, 2007 at 9:56 pmI hate to say it, but your “Lincoln’s Sparrow” is actually a Song Sparrow.
Cheers,
November 23rd, 2007 at 9:45 amNick
Hmmm, the photo I had up… you may be right. So I changed it to more obviously a Lincoln’s Sparrow. Thanks!
November 23rd, 2007 at 10:10 amI like the detail on this birds plumage. sara from farmingfriends
November 23rd, 2007 at 12:02 pm