Category: Birdwatching

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

A common and conspicuous bird across much of North America west of the Mississippi River, the Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) was first officially described in 1805 by the famed explorer Meriwether Lewis. However, because this yellow-chested, ground-nesting bird looked so similar to the Eastern Meadowlark, it was not officially recognized as a distinct species until almost 40 years later, when painter and explorer John James Audubon proposed that the Western Meadowlark was a separate species based on its very different vocalizations. Audubon gave the bird its Latin species name neglecta,

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

Hundreds of thousands of seabirds are the victims of unintentional bycatch each year when they are hooked or ensnared in fishing lines or nets. Different fishing techniques require different fixes, but the problem of bycatch can be solved. Sometimes there are simple, yet innovative, tools that help prevent birds from accessing fishing lines. They often involve stopping seabirds from spotting bait on hooks in the first place by operating at night, increasing the speed of the deployment and sink rates of hooks, or using deterrents to keep birds clear of

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

The Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum) is unusual among the Western Hemisphere’s wood-warbler family. While the majority of warblers are sexually dimorphic, with males noticeably brighter in the breeding season, the male and female Palm Warbler are nearly identical, and can be impossible to tell apart. Warblers, in general, spend a majority of their time in trees and shrubs, but the Palm Warbler is quite comfortable on the ground. Rather than hopping like their arboreal relatives, these birds take to walking or running. Like other warblers, the Palm Warbler often joins