Florence Merriam Bailey (1863–1948) was a life-long proponent of studying birds alive in the field instead of deceased in a lab or specimen drawer. She favored binoculars (what were then known as opera glasses) over the shotgun, and deplored the killing of birds for fashion and the millinery trade.
Native to montane habitats in the western United States, the Black Rosy finch, Leucosticte atrata, was first identified as a unique species by Robert Ridgway in 1874.
The Madagascar Jacana (Actophilornis albinucha) is an endemic Malagasy shorebird species in the family Jacanidae, one of eight living species in the family that typically colonize tropical and subtropical freshwater wetlands.
The Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) is the largest Neotropical raptor species and among the largest eagles in the world, capable of capturing full-grown sloths and monkeys weighing up to 14 pounds.
Here is a great interview in Spanish with our Collections Manager René Corado about his 30 years working at the WFVZ, our bird conservation project in Guatemala, and the efforts needed to save the Motagua River. The interview was conducted by the Guatemalan journalist Heidy Sandoval, for her blog called Entrevistas de Heidy. Aqui pueden…
Last breeding season (April-June), the WFVZ teamed up with Cooper Ecological Monitoring, Inc. (CEM) and the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) to collect distribution, occupancy, and nesting data on Ventura County’s resident Cactus Wrens (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus), which represent the western-most extension of the species’ range (see our previous newsletter for further details). Surveys…