Tag: american bird conservancy

_{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

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

The lively little Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) is a welcome sign of early spring, bouncing through the burgeoning trees with a quick-flicking tail and wheezy, high-pitched calls. A glimpse of this bird reveals a slender, blue-gray sprite with white eyerings and a long black tail edged in white.

Most members of its genus, Polioptila (the name combines the Ancient Greek words for gray and plumage), are resident in Central and South America. These small, active birds are related to wrens, such as the Carolina Wren and Northern House Wren.

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