Category: Birdwatching

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

The Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus) is a raptor that breeds in Arctic and high subarctic regions around the world, migrating to more southerly regions each year to delight intrepid winter birders. The name “Rough-legged” refers to this raptor’s fully feathered legs, a feature shared by the Ferruginous Hawk and Golden Eagle.

Besides its feathered legs, the Rough-legged Hawk also has a noticeably small beak. These features illustrate a biological principle known as Allen’s Rule, which states that the appendages of endothermic (warm-blooded) animals in colder climates are relatively smaller than

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

The Bell’s Vireo (Vireo bellii) is a small, active species that birder and author Pete Dunne describes as “a brush-hugging gremlin in vireo’s clothing.” Widely distributed across the central and southwestern United States, this busy denizen of the underbrush, like its close relative the White-eyed Vireo, is more often heard than seen, betraying its presence with incessant, chattering songs and calls. A quick glimpse of the singer reveals a drab-colored, short-winged little bird with a relatively long tail that always seems to be in motion.

Four subspecies of Bell’s Vireo