The Bird World

From back yard birding to long distance birding, Americans continue to pass down their interest in birds from generation to generation.

Bird Albums Types of Birds American Dipper Bushtits Cormorants Ducks Flycatchers Goldfinch Herons Hummingbirds Icterids Kinglets Mockingbirds and Thrashers Pelicans Phainopepla: Silky Flycatcher Raptors Shorebirds Sparrows Stilts Verdin Warblers Water and Wading Birds Woodpeckers Wrens

Some people may have a limited acquaintance with birds, knowing less than a handful of species, or the species that visit their yard. Specialists might be able to identify birds by the thousands of species.

Even if it's only a mascot for a sports team, almost everyone can count at least one bird identification success.

Knowing your state bird is also an identification success. The cardinal, for example, is the most popular state bird in the United States. Seven different states, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia, named it their state bird.

For all bird identification enthusiasts, the bird albums in the box on the right present pictorial essays covering around one hundred different species of birds found in the Western United States.

More detailed information and news about different bird families and species can be found in the following articles.

Acid Rain and Wood Thrush Populations
Recent research by scientists from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology provides stronger evidence that acid rain contributes to declining Wood Thrush populations.

American Bald Eagle: Endangered Species Success Story
The American Bald Eagle was removed from the endangered species list.

Birding at Cabrillo National Monument
The monument is a very popular birding destination.

Eurasian Wigeon Hybrid Controversy
At the BirdForum members are debating whether or not the slight green eye patch on the Eurasian Wigeon denotes a hybrid, or if it is a common feature of some Eurasian Wigeons.

Types of Ducks This is a pictorial essay covering the five duck subfamilies.
Types of Raptors presents a general overview of different raptors.
Woodpeckers reviews the status of some woodpecker species in the United States.

The few remaining articles cover more general birding topics.

Bird Photography Tips
This is a five page article covering bird photography topics such as chosing a camera, shutter speeds, bird blinds and lighting issues.

Bird ID Quiz
Test your knowledge of birds with this fun quiz.

How To Be A Birder
There are no hard and fast rules for being a birder. It's all about the birds.