Fork-tailed Palm Swift (Tachornis squamata) - 09Feb2026

This is one of the most wide-spread swift species in South America, being found at lower elevations throughout the entire Amazon Basin.  I got my first good looks at them on my second trip to Brazil which focused on the Northeast of that amazing country.  It apparently does not overlap in range with the other two species in this genus (Tachornis), the Antillean Palm-Swift or the Pygmy Swift.  I don't know if this is accurate, but the Wiki page says they construct their hanging nests by stealing feathers off other birds and pasting them with saliva.  This is called Kleptoptily.  This species of Palm Swift has been seen aggressively dive-bombing Parrots, Pigeons and Woodpeckers and literally plucking feathers directly off their backs while in flight.

Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) - 01Feb2026

 This "invasive" species from South Asia normally lives across most of the Indian Sub-continent and into some neighboring countries like Burma.  It has been labeled as invasive because a few populations were introduced to some islands in the South Pacific and also Australia/NZ where it caused considerable damage to local ecosystems by stealing resources and out-competing native species.  I saw mine in Houston, TX where a small population exists.  It is surmised that the small population in Houston has not been a problem because they were restricted from expansion by large highway systems that act as deterrents.  The Houston birds have been present since the 1950's and are considered "countable" in the ABA area.  This one was in at the Botanical Gardens in the center of Houston.

Sprague's Pipit (Anthus spragueii) - 31Jan2026

This Grasslands specialist of North America breeds in the far northern Great Plains of the US and southern Canada, and then heads down to spend its winters in Texas and Mexico.  It had eluded me for far too long, so when I had a long layover in Texas on my way to Brazil, I made a special effort to visit some agricultural fields where they had been reported recently.  It didn't take long to find a couple although it was a little tricky because they were loosely mixed in with American Pipits.  They differ from the American Pipit in that they like longer grass and have a textured backs.