Articles I Have Written – Page 3 – Beyond the Field Guide

25

Sep

Beak or Bill Is there a difference?

Beak or bill? Which is correct? Both are. When talking about birds, these words are synonyms. You can use either word for the structure around any bird’s mouth. However, what you might find is that many birders use the word ‘beak’ when talking about songbirds. Birds like robins, cardinals, Blue Jays, goldfinches. And it follows […]

19

Aug

Albinism and Leucism. When is a bird an albino? When is it leucistic?

What is albinism? What is leucism? From Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Albinism – exhibiting the traits of an albino. Albino – any creature who is congenitally (from birth) deficient in pigment and usually has a milky or translucent skin; white or colorless hair, fur, or feathers; and eyes with a pink or blue iris with a deep red […]

10

Jul

Habitats

What are some of the different habitats and how do they relate to each other? All creatures live in a habitat. And we human beings are part of this. We are fortunate in that we can live just about anywhere, in any habitat – and we do. Even habitats such as the moon or Mars […]

20

Apr

Purple Finches and House Finches

How to tell them apart? For a long time, this was difficult for me. At first, I tried to rely on the color of the males – the male Purple Finch is more of a raspberry color and the male House Finch more of an orange-red. But what I discovered is that in winter when […]

15

Mar

Hummingbirds – Gardens and Feeders

When we lived in West Virginia, Cleon and I maintained 2 hummingbird feeders. One feeder was on our porch and hanging next to a blooming honeysuckle vine they loved, and the other was on the opposite side of the house in our garden that was filled with flowers they regularly used. The rule of thumb […]