Burgess Bird Book
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The Great Backyard Bird Count
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Redhead, the Red-headed Woodpecker
Our last Burgess Woodpecker is the Red-headed Woodpecker, a striking bird dressed in deep red, white and black. This is a good time to ask and answer the question, why do woodpeckers drum on wood? When I was growing up I believed that the reason was limited to their search for food, insects living in…
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Downy and Hairy
When we started The Burgess Bird Book, I just couldn’t wait to get to Chapter 11, Drummers and Carpenters. I knew that’s where Peter Rabbit would learn the difference between a Hairy Woodpecker and a Downy Woodpecker. I fought the temptation and was able to wait patiently for the day when we would read it…
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Yellow Wing, the Northern Flicker
What comes after Red Wing in The Burgess Bird Book? Yellow Wing of course! Yellow Wing is a Northern Flicker, an absolutely beautiful bird. Thornton W. Burgess describes him like this: The sides and throat were a soft reddish-tan and on each side at the beginning of the bill was a black patch. The top…
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Redwing
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Teeter, The Spotted Sandpiper
While reading The Burgess Bird Book, I realized very quickly that I have a soft spot for small birds with long legs. I could watch them for hours. When we lived in Dubai, my husband and I loved to spot Plovers, watching as they circled and diverted our attention, protecting their young. You may not…
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The American Woodcock, Longbill
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Eastern Wood-Pewee
“A little bit bigger than his cousin, Chebec, but looked very much like him,” Peter thought about Pewee, the Eastern Wood-Pewee. He loves to repeat his name. “Pee-wee! Pee-wee!” Give him a listen: Pewee is called the Wood-Pewee because you’ll most often find him in the forest. Allaboutbirds.org highlights that “when several flycatcher species live…
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Cresty, a Lover of Snake Skin
The Great Crested Flycatcher. I love the way that allaboutbirds describes this bird: “A large, assertive flycatcher with reddish-brown accents and a lemon-yellow belly is a common bird of Eastern woodlands. Its habit of hunting high in the canopy means it’s not particularly conspicuous – until you learn its very distinctive call, an emphatic rising…
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Scrapper, the Eastern Kingbird
Tough name, right? Scrapper is the Eastern Kingbird in Thornton W. Burgess’ “Burgess Bird Book.” So why is the Kingbird called Scrapper? It seems that they are always looking for a fight with bigger birds who try to prey on smaller birds. Hear how Burgess describes this fellow: A white-throated, white-breasted bird, having a black…