Robert Cushman Murphy (1887-1973) was a prominent American ornithologist, particularly well-known for his works on seabirds, including the classic 1936 two-volume Oceanic Birds of South America. But he also carried out research on other ornithological topics, writing many books and over 600 scientific papers! For all that effort, he only got one bird named after… Continue reading Wing runners off Haida Gwaii
Out of Africa in Morocco
I was in Africa in April/May 2025 on a birding tour, but I felt like I was Out of Africa. Was it Morocco’s architecture? The overall déjà vu recalling recent travels to southern Greece and Italy? The food? No, the reason was the alphanumeric codes! Each time I mention an ecoregion in a blog or anywhere… Continue reading Out of Africa in Morocco
House sparrows in the Tyrrenhian-Adriatic Sclerophyllous and Mixed Forests
My previous blog was from a sclerophyllous (“hard leaves”) ecoregion of Greece; this one is from the Tyrrenhian-Adriatic Sclerophyllous and Mixed Forests (PA1222), the similar ecoregion of southern Italy and Malta, rounding out our recent trip to the Mediterranean. Because there is so little original vegetation left in the areas we visited, its hard to… Continue reading House sparrows in the Tyrrenhian-Adriatic Sclerophyllous and Mixed Forests
Gods and Goddesses in the Aegean and West Turkish Sclerophyllous and Mixed Forests
In Plato’s famous Allegory of the Cave (written in Athens, about 400 BC), he posits that when we perceive people or objects and think they are real, we are in fact only seeing reflections of a true form or ideal. We can be compared to a lifelong prisoner in a cave who has only ever seen the… Continue reading Gods and Goddesses in the Aegean and West Turkish Sclerophyllous and Mixed Forests
Banded Antbirds of the Southwest Amazon Moist Forests
Between Thursday and Monday I went from a World Bank workshop in Lima on deforestation to 900 km away, slogging my way along rainforest trails next to the upper Madre de Dios River, contemplating the impact of deforestation on Banded Antbirds. OK, that may be a bit contrived, even for me! Let me take a… Continue reading Banded Antbirds of the Southwest Amazon Moist Forests
The Uncommon Raven of the Northern Canadian Shield Taiga
I’ve just made my first trip to the Northern Canadian Shield Taiga Ecoregion (NA0612), specifically a winter visit to the capital city of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. France and I were searching the skies for the famed Aurora borealis and on our last day we did indeed see a great show, standing on a frozen lake… Continue reading The Uncommon Raven of the Northern Canadian Shield Taiga
Unwelcome to the Malheur Visitor’s Centre
Supposedly Oregon’s Malheur River was so named in about 1825 because during a Hudson’s Bay Company expedition, a cache of hidden furs had been stolen. A “malheur” in French is a hardship, disaster, or ordeal. I haven’t yet found the proof, but my alternative theory is that the first French-Canadian to “discover” this area, so… Continue reading Unwelcome to the Malheur Visitor’s Centre
Joshua Trees in the Mojave Desert
I have previously written a blog on the sloth-loving President of the United States. Last week France and I visited the Mojave Desert Ecoregion (NA1308), in the vicinity of Las Vegas, NV and Death Valley National Park, CA. Curiously, sloths were again on my mind, as we drove through patches of striking Joshua Trees. The… Continue reading Joshua Trees in the Mojave Desert
Darwin Mockers on the Galapagos
My father died last month. During our last visit, I told him that France and I would shortly be heading to the Galapagos, which he had never been able to visit. He reminded us he had a copy of The Voyage of the Beagle. Just two months before, I had read to him the introductory… Continue reading Darwin Mockers on the Galapagos
Magnificent Frigate Pelicans of the South Florida Rocklands
As a lonely speck in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, the Dry Tortugas are a godsend to tired northbound spring bird migrants, crossing from South America. These famed islands are one of the extremities of the United States – a few tiny coral islands in the Gulf, about 90 km west of Key West,… Continue reading Magnificent Frigate Pelicans of the South Florida Rocklands