Jewelweed (wikipedia link) is a common plant in the northeastern US, where its late summer flowers are very popular with bees and hummingbirds. Its most notable feature, however, is its seed pods. When the tiny pods are ripe the slightest touch causes them to snap open, flinging the seeds in all directions (scroll down to …
For North American birders the most consequential change in the 2021 AOS Checklist supplement is the split of Mew Gull into two species – Short-billed Gull and Common Gull. For most birders this simply means changing the name of the species on your list from Mew Gull to Short-billed Gull. The North American population, common …
Mew Gull is now two species! How to identify Common Gull and Short-billed Gull Read More »
I was fortunate to be able to spend ten days in mid May 2021 on Great Gull Island, an American Museum of Natural History research site at the eastern end of Long Island Sound, New York. The island is occupied in summer by a very large colony of Common and Roseate Terns (among the largest …
This is a helpful alert to anyone still using the original Sibley Birds app, which was has not been maintained or updated since it was replaced by the Sibley Birds V2 app in 2018. Some users are reporting that the app will not open after the latest iOS update (June 2021). If you are still …
We begin to say a final goodbye to the original Sibley Birds app… Read More »
Prompted by a couple of recent records of Cave Swallows in the northeastern US, I’ve taken a fresh look at subspecies and done some new illustrations. In April 2021 Cave Swallows have been found in New Jersey and Massachusetts. Both have been identified as the Caribbean subspecies group. Since the 1990s Cave Swallow has been …
Mid-March is when the first northbound Fox Sparrows show up in Massachusetts, and it’s always a pleasure to see this burly, richly-colored sparrow. I’ve been working on some new illustrations showing the variation among the birds in my yard this week. Regional variation in Fox Sparrow is extensive, and gets a lot of attention, with …
Here is another recent project: I’ve been working on new and improved illustrations of Redwing for the bird guide and app, showing the differences between the two subspecies. The Redwing (Turdus iliacus) is a thrush common across Eurasia, from Iceland to Siberia. It is a very rare visitor to North America, mostly in Atlantic Canada …
Here’s a new illustration I’ve done as part of some work on distinguishing the two subspecies groups of Sandhill Crane. Six subspecies of Sandhill Crane are generally recognized, but for field observers it’s more practical to assign birds to two subspecies groups: Lesser and Greater. The Greater subspecies group includes five of the named subspecies, …
Pine Siskins – streaky relatives of goldfinches – are so distinctive as a species that we tend to overlook their considerable individual variation. Siskins are unusual among the small finches in that males and females look nearly identical. Subtle individual differences in the amount or intensity of streaking, or in overall color, have no bearing …
Variation in Pine Siskins and the so-called “green morph” Read More »
On sale 17 November 2020 from Clarkson Potter – a new Backyard Birds Jigsaw Puzzle for $19.99 A 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle featuring 49 species of familiar North American birds, with original artwork by David Sibley. A fold-out poster of the puzzle image is also included!