Red-headed Woodpecker - Photo Album

Red-headed Woodpecker

Antarctic Wildlife: A Visitor's Guide

James Lowen is the author of Antarctic Wildlife: A Visitor’s Guide.
He has in a very smart way compiled a plethora of information about wildlife in the form of birds and mammals that thrive in the remote locations of Antarctica, also known for being one of the coldest places in the world.

Antarctic Wildlife: A Visitor's Guide

This book is a genuine true guide for any person interested in wildlife for that part of the planet.  He has identified and categorized the different species and described with great precision not only the species in question but provides also the locations where to find them whether it is any bird or any mammal. This makes it a no guessing situation for any traveler. I must say that I was very impressed with the excellent photography and the digital work done for this book. I believe that is was a good idea placing images of species next to each other digitally, offering the reader a great sense of scale and way for size comparison. Very smart idea indeed.
After reading about all these icy remote places where you brave such low temperatures I couldn’t help but to think:Thank you Mr.Lowen for being so brave and endure such harsh environment to provide us with this great guide. I will recommend it to all my friends, in Peru, Argentina and Chile as well as in the USA. They’ll be thrilled to read it.
Review made by: H.J. Ruiz “My Winged Pals” - May 2011
Book published by: Princeton University Press

Birds flock to the shores of the Sahara Desert - © BBC

Eared Dove

Eared Dove - Spec. Name: Zenaida Auriculata

Eared Dove

This is a New World tropical dove. It is a resident breeder throughout South America from Colombia to southern Argentina and Chile, and on the offshore islands from the Grenadines southwards. It may be a relatively recent colonist of Tobago and Trinidad. It appears to be partially migratory, but details are little known, although migration may be driven by food supplies.

It is a close relative of the North American Mourning Dove. With that species, the Socorro Dove, and possibly the Galápagos Dove it forms a superspecies. The latter two are insular offshoots, the Socorro birds from ancestral Mourning Doves, the Galápagos ones from more ancient stock.

The Eared Dove is 8 inches long with a long wedge-shaped tail, and weighs normally about 112 g. Adult males have mainly olive-brown upperpart plumage, with black spots on the wings. The head has a grey crown, black line behind the eye, and the blue-black on the lower ear coverts. These black markings give the species its English and specific name. The underparts are vinous, and the tail is tipped with cinnamon. The bill is black and the legs dark red.

Photograph taken in Lima, Peru © H.J. Ruiz - "My Winged Pals"