A new episode of OutBirding is available for subscribers - Tales of the Two Topaza with Bret Whitney.

Despite being among the largest, loudest, and downright fanciest hummingbirds in all of South America, the two species in the genus Topaza—Crimson and Fiery Topaz—are remarkably poorly known.  In this episode of OutBirding, Bret Whitney takes us back to the central Amazon basin to learn more about the distributions of the two Topaza, what habitats are favored by these blackwater beauties (hint-hint), and what ID features to look for if you’re lucky enough to find them in the field.

On April 8th, we published our 78th episode of OutBirding: Meet the Motogypsy: an Interview with Janelle Kaz (Part I).

Jesse Fagan brings us Part I of an engaging interview with Janelle Kaz, a.k.a Motogypsy. Janelle shares stories of her life in education, journalism, fighting the illegal trade in wildlife, and motorcycle exploration in Asia and South America.

Our short trailer offers a first look at the new episode from OutBirding with Field Guides. Please subscribe for the full episode and our complete video library.

On March 30th, 2021, a wonderful new natural history book from Knopf began hitting bookstores everywhere - Jonathan Meiburg’s A Most REMARKABLE Creature, the Hidden Life and Epic Journey of the World’s Smartest Birds of Prey.  It’s everything caracaras, and so much more, as Jonathan and Bret Whitney take us on a journey through 65 million years and tens of thousands of miles of South American landscapes.  We learn a great deal about this odd group of New World raptors, most closely related to falcons, as we accompany Jonathan from the remote outer islands of the Falklands group, where he studied Striated Caracaras, through the Andean altiplano and Amazonia to the ancient Guianan Shield.  Many colorful personalities populate his pages, from such early caracara contemplators as...