News and Updates to BNA Online

Update (November 2009) New Fully Revised Species Account-- Snowy Plover. Revised by Gary W. Page and Lynne E. Stenzel.

Update (October 2009) New Fully Revised Species Account-- Seaside Sparrow. Revised by William Post.

Update (October 2009) New Fully Revised Species Account-- Razorbill.  Revised by Jennifer Lavers, Mark Hipfner and Gilles Chapdelaine.

Update (October 2009) New Fully Revised Species Account--Laysan Albatross. Revised by Jill Awkerman and David Anderson.

Update (September 2009) New Photos Added-- Amazing life history and behavior images of many raptor species, as seen by photographer Nick Dunlop. Updated species galleries include: Golden Eagle, Bald Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Prairie Falcon, Ferruginous Hawk, Merlin, Cooper's Hawk, Northern Harrier, White-tailed Kite, Great Horned Owl.

Update (September 2009) New Fully Revised Species Account-- Louisiana Waterthrush. Revised by Brady J. Mattsson, Terry L. Master and Robert S. Mulvihil.

Update (September 2009) New Audio Added from Macaulay Library-- Updated species galleries include: Least Sandpiper, Black-crested Titmouse, Belted Kingfisher, Franklin's Gull, Least Flycatcher, Mexican Jay, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Savannah Sparrow, Tundra Swan, Western Bluebird, and Common Yellowthroat.

Update (September 2009) New Video Added from Macaulay Library-- updated species accounts include: Ivory Gull, Mexican Jay, Black-crested Titmouse, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Belted Kingfisher, Tundra Swan, Western Bluebird, Franklin's Gull, Least Sandpiper and Savannah Sparrow.

Update (August 2009) New Fully Revised Species Account-- Yellow-billed Magpie, revised by Walter Koenig.

Update (August 2009) New Fully Revised Species Account-- Vermilion Flycatcher, by Kevin Ellison.

Update (July 2009) BRAND NEW SPECIES ADDED TO BNA ONLINE! -- Ringed Kingfisher. Written by Timothy Brush.

Interested in learning more about the additions of new species to BNA Online? Wondering what qualifies adding a new species to our resource?  Read more about these choices, our criteria, and future species additions to BNA in this note from our editor, Alan Poole.

Update (July 2009) New Fully Revised Species Account-- Gull-billed Tern. Revised by K.C. Molina.

Update (June 2009) New Photos Added-- New life history photos added by Gerrit Vyn. Updated galleries include: American Tree Sparrow, Black Turnstone, Common Eider, Northern Waterthrush, Rock Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, and Yellow Wagtail.

Update (June 2009) New Fully Revised Species Account-- Bronzed Cowbird. Revised by Kevin Ellison and Peter E. Lowther.

Update (June 2009) New Photos Added-- Over 100 new life history photos added by Vic Berardi, Ray Whitt, Craig Gibson, Amber Burnette and others. Updated galleries include: Mississippi Kite, Red-tailed Hawk, American Oystercatcher, Common Tern, Orchard Oriole, Pileated Woodpecker, Whiskered Screech-Owl and many others.

News-- PLANNED OUTAGE NOTICE. BNA will be upgrading its database on Friday, June 12th from 4:30am--8:00am EST.  You will not be able to access the site during this time, so please plan your research needs accordingly. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

Update (June 2009) New Fully Revised Species Account--Red-tailed Tropicbird. Revised by Betty Anne Schreiber.

Update (June 2009) New Fully Revised Species Account-- Black Tern. Revised by Shane R. Heath.

Update (May 2009) New Audio Added-- Over 70 new songs and calls added. Updated galleries include: Gyrfalcon, Red Crossbill, Rock Ptarmigan, Mourning Dove, Red-shouldered Hawk, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Glaucous-winged Gull, Black-footed Albatross, Blackburnian Warbler, White-breasted Nuthatch and White-winged Scoter.

Update (May 2009) New Photos Added-- New life history photos by Gerrit Vyn. Updated galleries include: Greater Sage-Grouse, Whooping Crane, Lesser Prairie-Chicken, Blue-headed Vireo, Snow Goose and Grasshopper Sparrow.

Update (May 2009) New Fully Revised Species Account-- Red-tailed Hawk, revised by C.R. Preston and R.D. Beane.

Update (May 2009) New Fully Revised Species Account-- Least Bittern, revised by Alan F. Poole and Peter Lowther.

Update (April 2009) New Fully Revised Species Account-- American Goldfinch, revised by Kevin J. McGraw.

Update (April 2009) New Fully Revised Species Account-- White-tailed Hawk, revised by Craig Farquhar.

Update (April 2009) New Photos Added-- New photos by Brian Sullivan, Craig Gibson and others.  Updated galleries include: Pacific Golden-Plover, Bushtit, Gyrfalcon, Little Blue Heron, Snail Kite, White-breasted Nuthatch, Green-tailed Towhee, Franklin's Gull, Greater Scaup, Ross's Goose and White-tailed Hawk.

Update (April 2009) New Fully Revised Species Account-- American Bittern, revised by Peter Lowther and Alan F. Poole.

Update (March 2009) New Fully Revised Species Account-- Masked Booby, revised by Jacquelyn Grace and David J. Anderson.

News-- PLANNED OUTAGE NOTICE. BNA will be upgrading its database on Thursday, March 19th from 6am-9am EST.  You will not be able to access the site during this time, so please plan your research needs accordingly. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

Update (March 2009) New Audio and Video added-- New audio added to Red Crossbill and Gyrfalcon. New videos added for Mourning Dove, Glaucous-winged Gull, Gyrfalcon, Orange-crowned Warbler, Red Crossbill, Red-shouldered Hawk, Rock Ptarmigan, and White-breasted Nuthatch.

Update (March 2009) New Photos Added-- New photos by Tom Haglund, Steve Zamek, Craig Gibson, and Gerrit Vyn.  Updated galleries include White-tailed Kite, Black-crowned Night Heron, Red-breasted Merganser, Gila Woodpecker, Sanderling, Horned Grebe.

Update (March 2009) New Fully Revised Species Account--Franklin's Gull, revised by Joanna Burger and Michael Gochfeld.

Update (Feb. 2009) New Fully Revised Species Account-- Black-legged Kittiwake, revised by Scott A. Hatch and Gregory J. Robertson.

Update (Feb. 2009) New Photos Added-- Over 150 new photos added from the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology and from Powdermill Nature Reserve.  Images added from Powdermill include molt and plumage photos, and WFVZ photos showcase species nest and egg images.

Update (Feb. 2009) Dynamic Spectrograms Available for All Audio Files--

We are very excited to announce that all of our available audio files of species calls and songs now include a dynamic spectrogram modeled from the Macaulay Library's sound analysis Raven player.  Special thanks to Macaulay's audio production engineer Cameron Rognan and Media Systems Engineer Rick Elliker for their hard work and dedication to seeing over 1200 audio files converted to the new format.  Please note that the spectrogram may take a few moments to fully load before playing; load time is dependent upon the size of the original file.

Update (Feb. 2009) New Fully Revised Account-- White Ibis, revised by Peter Frederick and Julie A. Heath.

Update (Jan. 2009) New Fully Revised Account-- Belted Kingfisher, revised by Jeffrey F. Kelly and Eli S. Bridge.

Update (Jan. 2009) New Fully Revised Account-- Hooded Merganser, revised by B.D. Dugger and K.M. Dugger.

Update (Jan. 2009) New Photos Added-- new species images added by Gerrit Vyn. Highlighted galleries include: Iceland Gull, American Crow, White-winged Crossbill, Great Black-backed Gull and many others.

Update (Dec. 2008) New Fully Revised Account-- Field Sparrow, revised by Michael Carey.

Update (Dec. 2008) New Fully Revised Account-- Western Meadowlark, revised by Stephen K. Davis.

Update (Nov. 2008) New Photos Added--new life history and habitat images by Gerrit Vyn. Highlighted galleries include: Heerman's Gull, Elegant Tern and Sanderling. New life history images for Gyrfalcon by species account author Travis Booms and field assistant Josh Spice. Nearly 100 new photos added from the CLO Flickr Birdshare Pool, highlighted galleries include: Swallow-tailed Kite, Western Scrub-Jay, Barn Swallow, Red-tailed Hawk, Steller's Jay, Anna's Hummingbird, many warbler and hummingbird galleries updated and dozens of others.

News (Nov. 2008)  BNA now has an e-store and makes a perfect gift for the holidays, birthdays, or just-because occasions!  For more information, or to place an order, please visit our e-store.

Update (Nov. 2008) New Fully Revised Account-- Western Bluebird, revised by Judith A. Guinan.

Update (Nov. 2008) New Revised Account-- Arctic Warbler, revised by Peter Lowther and Susan Sharbaugh.

Update (Oct. 2008) New Fully Revised Account-- Gyrfalcon, revised by Travis L. Booms and Tom J. Cade.

Update (Oct. 2008) New Photos added-- Over 300 new photos added by Gerrit Vyn. Many stellar life history and habitat images. Highlighted galleries include: Greater Prairie-Chicken, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Parakeet Auklet, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Snowy Owl, Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel, Magnificent Frigatebird and many others.  Over 100 photos added from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's new Flickr group, Birdshare. Updated galleries include: California Condor, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Mountain Bluebird, plus many warbler species, sparrows and others.

Update (Oct. 2008) New Videos added-- Updated galleries include: Glaucous-winged Gull, Rock Ptarmigan, White-breasted Nuthatch, Northern Saw-whet Owl, and Red-shouldered Hawk.

Update (Oct. 2008) New Fully Revised Account-- Mexican Jay, revised by J.E. McCormack.

Update (Oct. 2008) New Fully Revised Species Account-- Ivory Gull, revised by Mark L. Mallory, Iain J. Stenhouse, Grant Gilchrist and Gregory Robertson.

Update (Sept. 2008)--New Photos Added--The Powdermill Nature Reserve generously donates photos from its Bird Banding project to BNA, providing important images that emphasize species molt changes.  Updated galleries include: Tree Swallow, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Golden-winged Warbler, Savannah Sparrow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Connecticut Warbler, American Woodcock and others.
New Sooty Tern life history photos added by E. A. Schreiber.

Brand new species account added to BNA (Sept. 2008)--Black-crested Titmouse, written by Michael A. Patten and Brenda D. Smith-Patten.

Update (Sept. 2008)--Figure Galleries Updated-- Nearly 50 new illustrations from the 1879-1886 publication of the Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of the Birds of Ohio, long considered an important collection in the history of early ornithology.  Updated species galleries include: Yellow Warbler, Acadian Flycatcher, Cedar Waxwing, Dickcissel, White-eyed Vireo, Kentucky Warbler, Wood Thrush, Common Grackle, American Robin, Carolina Wren, Barn Swallow, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Field Sparrow, Catbird, Eastern Wood Pewee, Yellow-breasted Chat, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Cardinal, Warbling Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Mourning Dove, Song Sparrow, Brown Thrasher, Blue-winged warbler, Scarlet Tanager, Summer Tanager, Willow Flycatcher, Eastern Meadow Lark, Orchard Oriole, Cliff Swallow, Bewick's Wren, American Goldfinch, Vesper Sparrow, House Wren, American Redstart, Swamp Sparrow, Chimney Swift, Lark Bunting, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Downy Woodpecker, Yellow-throated Vireo, Golden-winged Warbler, Ovenbird, Red-headed Woodpecker, Black-capped Chickadee and Marsh Wren.

Update (Sept. 2008)--New Fully Revised Account-- Least Sandpiper, revised by Nebel Silke.

Update (Sept. 2008)--New Systematics Revisions by Michael Patten-- Fully revised Systematics articles for Least Grebe, Western Grebe, Clarke's Grebe, Wandering Tattler, and Le Conte's Thrasher.

Update (Sept. 2008)--New Tools for Scholars-- EndNote Download of selected bibliographies now available. Please read more about this new feature in our FAQ item here.

Update (August 2008)--New Fully Revised Account-- Northern Flicker, revised by Karen L. Wiebe.

Update (August 2008)--New Fully Revised Account-- Savannah Sparrow, revised by N.T. Wheelwright and J.D. Rising.

Update (August 2008)--New Fully Revised Account-- Ruby-crowned Kinglet, revised by David L. Swanson.

News--Please Read!-- PLANNED OUTAGE NOTICE. BNA will be having an upgrade performed to its database on Thursday, July 24th from 5am-9am EST.  You will not be able to access the site during this time while we perform these system upgrades, so please plan your research needs accordingly.  We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding. 

Update (July 2008)--New Fully Revised Account-- Least Flycatcher, revised by Scott Tarof.

Update (July 2008)--With the expertise of Dr. Michael Patten (Univ. of Oklahoma) and Peter Pyle (staff scientist at IBP), we are embarking upon a database-wide revision of two of the trickiest sections in a BNA account, the Systematics article (Patten), which details subspecies and related species information, and the Appearances article (Pyle), which concentrates upon the various molts and plumages in a given species. Their contributions will be ongoing. Some of their latest work can be found in the Least Bittern, American Bittern, White-crowned Sparrow, Tufted Titmouse and the Savannah Sparrow accounts. 

Update (July 2008)--New Fully Revised Account-- Harris's Sparrow, revised by C.J. Norment.

Update (July 2008)--New Photos Added-- Nearly 100 new species and life history images added by Brian Sullivan (galleries updated include White-breasted Nuthatch, Black-footed Albatross, Glaucous-winged Gull, and Red-shouldered Hawk) and from Mossy Kilcher at Seaside Alaska (galleries updated include Alder Flycatcher, Dark-eyed Junco, Fox Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, Hermit Thrush, Orange-crowned Warbler, Red Crossbill, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Spruce Grouse, Varied Thrush, as well as Bohemian Waxwing, Boreal Chickadee, Brown Creeper, Cedar Waxwing, Cliff Swallow, American Dipper, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Merlin, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Common Redpoll, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Swainson's Thrush, Townsend's Warbler, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, White-winged Crossbill, White-crowned Sparrow, Wilson's Warbler and Yellow-rumped Warbler. Linked items indicate galleries with multiple new images added.

Update (June 2008)--New Fully Revised Account-- Mourning Dove, revised by David L. Otis, John H. Schulz and David Miller.

Update (June 2008)--New Fully Revised Account-- Black-footed Albatross, revised by J. Awkerman and D. Anderson.

Update (May 2008)--New Fully Revised Account-- White-breasted Nuthatch, revised by T.C. Grubb, Jr. and V.V. Pravosudov.

Update (Apr. 2008)--New Fully Revised Account-- Red-shouldered Hawk, revised by Cheryl R. Dykstra and Jeffrey L. Hays.

Update (Apr. 2008)--New Fully Revised Account-- Northern Saw-whet Owl, revised by Justin Lee Rasmussen and Spencer Sealy.

•Update (Mar. 2008)--150 New Photos-- Species and life history images by Brian L. Sullivan, Marie Read, Dennis Paulson and more. Galleries updated by Brian Sullivan include: Band-rumped Storm-Petrel, Black Oystercatcher, Ashy Storm-Petrel, Black-necked Stilt, Black Swift, California Condor, Hudsonian Godwit, Mississippi Kite, Pomarine Jaeger, Rhinoceros Auklet, Sooty Tern, Stilt Sandpiper, Surfbird, Tricolored Blackbird, Vaux's Swift, White Wagtail, Wilson's Snipe and more. Marie Read's updates include: Black Tern, Blue Jay, Brown Thrasher, Common Loon, Mourning Dove, Mottled Duck, Red-eyed Vireo, Rock Pigeon and more. Dennis Paulson contributed photos for Black-necked Stilt, Killdeer, Lesser Yellowlegs, Greater Yellowlegs, Ruddy Turnstone, Black Turnstone and more.

•Update (Mar. 2008)--New Fully Revised Accounts-- Rock Ptarmigan, revised by R. Montgomerie, and Glaucous-winged Gull, revised by J. Hayward.

• News (Jan. 2008)--IMPROVED SEARCH CAPABILITIES-- We have been hard at work trying to update the searching capabilities in BNA v. 2.0. It is now possible to perform searches based on keywords and search strings, yielding categorized results by species account, articles, photos & figures as well as data tables. Read more about the improved search and how best to perform searches to find the information you need here.

• Update (Jan. 2008)--New Photos-- Many galleries updated with life history photos, including: Hermit Thrush, Wood Thrush, Allen's Hummingbird, Lesser Scaup, Northwestern Crow, Ovenbird, and Marbled Godwit.

• Are you an AOU member trying to login to BNA? Please read this first.

• Update (Jan. 2008)--New Photos-- Wonderful life history images of shorebirds and more, taken by John Van de Graaff. Updated species galleries include: Piping Plover, Willet, Least Tern, Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Snowy Plover, Wilson's Plover, Killdeer, American Avocet, Spotted Sandpiper, Wandering Tattler, Surfbird, Pectoral Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Common Tern, Roseate Tern, Acorn Woodpecker, Bushtit, and American Dipper. Please visit our complete News & Updates archive for the full list of galleries updated.

• Update (Nov. 2007)--New Photos-- Many new photos added from the Alaska Bird Observatory, J. Zickefoose, R.C. Telfair, Powdermill Nature Reserve, the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology and more! Photo galleries updated include: Arctic Warbler, Eastern Bluebird, Atlantic Puffin, Bristle-thighed Curlew, Anhinga, Belted Kingfisher, Cattle Egret, American Avocet, Great Egret, Little Blue Heron, Neotropic Cormorant, Red-shouldered Hawk, Turkey Vulture, Cedar Waxwing, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Canada Warbler, Lincoln's Sparrow, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Indigo Bunting, Scarlet Tanager, Gray-cheeked Thrush, American Coot, American Golden-Plover, American Woodcock, Bald Eagle, Barrow's Goldeneye, Black-bellied Plover, Black-necked Stilt, Black Rail, Black Turnstone, Blue Grouse, Blue-winged Teal, Boat-tailed Grackle, Brewer's Blackbird, Bufflehead.

• News - November 2007 - Welcome to the new and improved Birds of North America Online! We have given BNA a new "look-and-feel" that will make using our site more intuitive and easy to navigate. From feedback you gave us on our old site, we've now implemented a Search feature that works from any page in BNA. Your input helps us make the site better for us and for you to use. Please send us any comments or suggestions to the following email: bna-feedback@cornell.edu. We want to hear from you!

• Read all about What's New in the New BNA? in the News tab.

Having trouble logging in or other issues with the site? Please visit our updated FAQ and Known Issues section to better understand system and user requirements for optimum use of BNA.

• (Feb. 2007) 27 new videos from the Macaulay Library. Species include Barred Owl, Short-eared Owl, Long-eared Owl, Ring-billed Gull, Painted Bunting, Blackpoll Warbler, Least Flycatcher, Mountain Plover and Vaux's Swift.

Please note that in order to view any new video added to BNA, you will need to have Quicktime 7 installed on your computer. If you do not have Quicktime 7, or are using an older version of it, click here to download the free player.

• (Oct. 2006) 15 new hummingbird videos from the Macaulay Library. Species include Allen's, Anna's, Black-chinned, Broad-billed, Buff-bellied, Costa's, Magnificent, Ruby-throated and Rufous Hummingbird.

• (June 2006) 143 new audio clips added from the Macaulay Library. Species include Baird's Sparrow, Bushtit, American Pipit, Eastern Phoebe, Say's Phoebe, Oak & Juniper Titmouse, Phainopepla, and more.

• (May 2006) 170 new audio clips added from the Macaulay Library. Species include Cactus Wren, Lucy's Warbler, Curve-billed Thrasher, Pileated Woodpecker, Bobolink, Black-throated Sparrow, and many more.

• (Apr. 2006) New nest & egg photos of Pigeons, Doves, Titmice and Nuthatches from the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology.

• (Apr. 2006) Six new videos added to the American White Pelican gallery from the Macaulay Library.

• (Apr. 2006) More than 200 new photos from Brian L. Sullivan and Gerrit Vyn Photography. Brian's include the Black Storm-Petrel, Heermann's Gull, Herring Gull, Ring-billed Gull and Brewer's Blackbird. Gerrit's include the Common Eider, Black Scoter, Surf Scoter and Harlequin Duck.

• (Mar. 2006) New video for Indigo Bunting, Blue Grouse, Altamira Oriole, Merlin, Piping Plover and Swamp Sparrow from the Macaulay Library.

• (Mar. 2006) New photos from Rick and Nora Bowers (www.bowersphoto.com) including the Song Sparrow, American Dipper, Marbled Murrelet and the Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch.

• (Mar. 2006) New video for King Rail, Inca Dove and Cooper's Hawk from the Macaulay Library.

• (Feb. 2006) New Snowy Owl photos from Gerrit Vyn Photography taken this February!

• (Feb. 2006) Over 100 new audio clips added from the Macaulay Library . Species include Common Goldeneye, King Eider, Golden Eagle, Common Moorhen, Northern Shrike, Bridled Titmouse, Razorbill, Thick-billed Murre, Common Murre, Least Bittern, Clapper Rail, American Golden-Plover, King Rail, Virginia Rail, Sora, Kittlitz's Murrelet, Virginia's Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, and Bendire's Thrasher.

• (Jan. 2006) Almost 200 new photos from Jerry & Sherry Liguori. Species include American Kestrel, Bald Eagle, Cooper's Hawk, Merlin, Prairie Falcon, Red-Tailed Hawk, Swainson's Hawk and dozens more.

• (Jan. 2006) New photos donated by Ernesto Scott. Species include American Avocet, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Indigo Bunting, Sanderling, and many more.

• (Jan. 2006) 200+ new audio clips added from the Macaulay Library . Species include Song Sparrow, White-headed Woodpecker, Chuck-will's-widow, Green Heron, Aplomado Falcon, Purple Gallinule, Kirtland's Warbler and dozens more.

• (Dec. 2005) BNA Author Update

• (Dec. 2005) New photos from George Armistead including Aplomado Falcon, Hawai'i 'Amakihi, Red-tailed Tropicbird, and many more!

• (Nov. 2005) Over 230 new plumage, habitat and nest photos added from Rick and Nora Bowers (www.bowersphoto.com) including Acorn Woodpecker, Arctic Tern, Black-throated Sparrow, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Greater Roadrunner, and many more!

• (Oct. 2005) Over 100 new photos from Gerrit Vyn Photography including Barred Owl, Spruce Grouse, Long-tailed Jaeger and more.

• (Sept. 2005) More nest & egg photos of Flycatchers, Swallows, Wrens and Thrashers from the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology.

• (July 2005) BNA Online now CrossRef enabled! Researcher benefits

• (July 2005) Nest & Egg photos now available for Flycatchers, Vireos and others, from the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology.

• (May 2005) New Raptor photos from Arthur Morris/Birds as Art, including the Bald Eagle, American Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Merlin, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk & Rough-legged Hawk.

• (Apr. 2005) Ivory-billed Woodpecker rediscovered in eastern Arkansas!
Sightings verified by the Big Woods Conservation Partnership, led by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and The Nature Conservancy.

• (Mar. 2005) Nest & Egg photos now available for Sparrows, Finches and others, from the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology.

• (Feb. 2005) Over 200 new videos added from the Macaulay Library.

• (Jan. 2005) New Heron, Egret and Tern photos from Arthur Morris/Birds as Art.