Bird of the Week: Chipping Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) Sparrows are a diverse and ubiquitous family of birds with over 30 species found in the US.  With some practice, you can move beyond calling them…

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Bird of the Week: Northern Mockingbird

“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing…

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Bird of the Week: American White Pelican

American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) It’s extremely easy to distinguish the American White Pelican from the more commonly seen Brown Pelicans. Color and size are the biggest differences. The American…

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Bird of the Week: Eastern Bluebird

Adult male Eastern Bluebird. Photo Credit: Keith Kennedy.   Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) The Eastern Bluebird is common in most of North America and is present year-round in Texas. They…

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Bird of the Week: Greater Roadrunner

Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) Despite popular depictions, there are no documented cases of a Greater Roadrunner being pursued by a coyote who is riding an ACME rocket, and their call…

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Bird of the Week: Turkey Vulture

Turkey Vulture, Cathartes Aura “…murderous aspect–the very look of a professional assassin, and yet a bird which does no murder.” Mark Twain, Following The Equator (1897) Above the…

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Bird of the Week: Orange-crowned Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler (Leiothlypis celata) This tiny songbird is most common in our region from October through March, though its camouflage makes it…

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Bird of the Week: American Oystercatcher

American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliates) American Oystercatcher. Courtesy of Jeanette Larson. Readily identifiable by its bright orange beak and red-yellow eyes, the…

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Bird of the Week: Bewick’s Wren

Bewick’s Wren (Thryomanes bewickii) If you’ve ever been on a bird walk and heard someone pishing* to attract birds, the sound they are making is very similar to the alarm…

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Bird of the Week: Whooping Cranes

Whooping Crane, Grus americana   Eighty years ago, you would have been hard pressed to see a Whooping Crane. Although these cranes have existed for millions of years, by 1938 there…

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Bird of the Week: Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Polioptila caerulea Blue-gray Gnatcatcher breeding male. Photo Credit: James A. Giroux Flitting…

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Bird of the Week: Lesser Goldfinch

Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria) This handsome (and tiny) bird lives year-round in central Texas eating seeds from plants in the daisy family – and sometimes eating insects. They are especially…

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Bird of the Week: Verdin

The tiny, active, and vocal Verdin might be thought of as the Southwest’s answer to the chickadee–in fact, its scientific name (Auriparus flaviceps) means “the yellow-headed golden chickadee.” Get…

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Bird of the Week: Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

When trees begin to bud and temperatures rise, most ducks flee central Texas for cooler climes (as most of us would like to do). Not the Black-bellied Whistling-Duck–but then…

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Bird of the Week: Hooded Merganser

The Hooded Merganser is another entry in the Bird Name Hall of Shame, where can be found such inaptly-named birds as the Orange-crowned Warbler, the Red-bellied Woodpecker, and the…

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