Category: Birdwatching

_{This YouTube video was produced by the American Bird Conservancy.}

Although gulls are widely regarded as super-abundant (sometimes even characterized as pests), the handsome Lava Gull is a rare exception and is a sought-after sighting among avid birders.

The use of “lava” in this bird’s common name refers to the dark basalt lava rocks of its favored coastline habitats. This dark-plumaged “dusky gull” (a former nickname) can only be found in the Galápagos Islands. The Lava Gull is closely related to the Laughing Gull, a species common along beaches throughout the Americas. The Lava Gull, like the Laughing Gull and

_{This YouTube video was produced by the American Bird Conservancy.}

The handsome little Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) is a common and conspicuous flycatcher of the western Americas, typically seen near the water, singly or in pairs. Like its close relative, the Eastern Phoebe, it perches in an erect posture and frequently pumps its tail in an up-and-down motion.

Black Phoebes associate closely with water, whether it be slow-flowing streams, rushing rapids, ephemeral or permanent ponds, ocean and lake shores, irrigation ditches, or even water tanks.

The Black Phoebe belongs to the largest bird family in the Americas, the Tyrannidae, or