YAOUNDE, CAMEROON — Africa, Africa, I am in Africa. I arrived just a day ago; things haven’t really begun sinking in. Today was awful for birding. I saw and heard so many things, but I couldn’t stop and look. Pied Crows, with their deep croaks and bold markings, are the only things I have identified with total certainty so far. I’m pretty sure that the little mannikins are Bronze Mannikins, and I think I may have discovered two or three species new to science. (Alternatively … well, you can probably figure out the alternative for yourself.)

I have very little context or framework for interpreting the birds I see here. Nearly 10 percent of the world’s birds have been recorded in Cameroon, and that much information is extremely difficult for the human brain to process all at once. I can only trust that the picture will become clearer day by day, as it did in North America, and as it did in the South Pacific.

Before we arrived, Fjord and I stopped off in Paris for two days. I was surprised by the paucity of information (at least, information in English) about birding in Paris, so I’d decided just to see what I could find on my own. We stayed in the heart of the city, a few blocks from the Seine, and I soon gathered that this is not ideal location for observing birds. I didn’t get to spend much time birding (after all, there’s so much else to see!), but in the end I found 12 life birds, most of them passerines related to familiar North American taxa. It was good to see birds I’d heard about for so long, like Common Blackbirds and Blue Tits. I had my first accentor (a Dunnock) and wagtail (a female Grey), and I saw pigeons at Notre Dame.

Downtown Paris is such a busy, crowded, noisy place that finding birds is very difficult. One of the better spots I found was the eastern side of Jardin du Luxembourg, where there is a small Statue of Liberty replica. There, the trees are tall and the undergrowth is allowed to flourish, and it is quieter. There are some nice trees adjacent to the Eiffel Tower, but I didn’t see much activity during the few minutes we were there. We didn’t have long in the Jardin des Tuilleries, but it looked like it might be decent. That is where I saw my life Dunnock. Walking along the Seine is not terribly productive, but it is definitely better than the city streets. We saw a few Eurasian Magpies, a Blue Tit, and the Grey Wagtail (a rather confusingly plumaged female) in this way. Water birds were quite scarce, consisting of a few Mallards and Herring Gulls with one young Common Black-headed Gull.

Partway up the Eiffel Tower, I noticed this bird lying dead. Apparently, it collided with the tower and died. As far as I can tell, it is a Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix), but the bright orange legs trouble me a bit. Does anyone have any feedback on this?

A Rock Pigeon takes its place among the ancient gargoyles high atop Notre Dame. Even here, Rock Pigeons are considered an introduced species. They are abundant and fearless.

These were the pigeons that interested me more, however. Wood Pigeons (Columba palumbus) are huge — noticeably larger and heavier than Rock Pigeons. Their long tails and habit of flapping then gliding in flight can make them look almost raptor-like.

And here’s a video clip of a Wood Pigeon near Notre Dame:

DUNCANVILLE, TEXAS — For the past year or so, I have been corresponding with Michael Tarburton about the birds of Papua New Guinea and the South Pacific. For many years, Mike taught at PNG’s Pacific Adventist University, where I had an awesome day of birding last year. I have appreciated his knowledge, enthusiasm, and helpfulness over the course of our correspondence, and I’m writing now to promote a really incredible resource that he publishes on the Web.

Bird Checklists for 440 Melanesian Islands contains annotated checklists (in PDF form) for islands in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia. Mike has painstakingly collated and formatted thousands of observations into what is, as far as I know, the most comprehensive and detailed resource of its kind anywhere on the Web.

Even my own observations, gathered as I traveled through PNG in 2005 and 2006, found a place in some of the checklists. I never could have imagined that I would be the first to document the introduction of White-naped Friarbirds to Hus Island or the apparent spread of Atoll Starlings to Wuvulu. But discovery is a way of life in the South Pacific, and birdsofmelanesia.net is an indispensable companion for the adventure.

DUNCANVILLE, TEXAS — I’m leaving for Africa in four days. Pressures have been so intense lately that I’ve not been able to do much more than think wistfully about birds. No warblers for me. I haven’t even been able to finish writing up reports from the trips I did manage to make last month. Not that I’m complaining. I mean, I’m going to Africa! And, I see Western Kingbirds and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers on my drives across town, or occasionally an egret.

On my way home from work this noon, I noticed a small feathered body atop a traffic light. Being a busy intersection, it was a terrible place to look, but I managed to get a brief glimpse and decided that the bird was probably a nighthawk. Fjord and I returned an hour later, and the bird was still present. It was indeed a Common Nighthawk, Chordeiles minor. It was still on its perch at 4:15 p.m. and at 6:08 p.m. as I returned from the office. Apparently it chose this busy, noisy, so very unlikely spot to roost today.

And now, I’m excited to introduce the first video clip ever to appear on Search and Serendipity. You don’t just get to read about the city nighthawk … you get to watch the city nighthawk:

Shortly after Fjord started filming the bird, a gust of wind apparently pushed it off its perch, so you will see it fluttering briefly before settling down again.

If all goes well, I’ll be able to post videos of Cameroon birds before too long. Stay tuned.

GREENE CO., MO. — Birdsong surrounds me completely. The world, though scarred by winter’s blind fury, is green again.

Robins sing continually, their complex melodies inviting deeper contemplation. But a House Wren’s rich gurgle interrupts, and the papa bluebird defends his turf against grazing starlings.

Goldfinches, Chipping Sparrows, cardinals, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, and House Finches — I hear them all as chickadees and nuthatches frolic.

From deep in the woodland, a Carolina Wren is singing; earlier, it was a Bewick’s. And now, a Chipping Sparrow has landed on the porch next to me, uttering a sharp, repeated note.

The young House Finch, fuzzy plumes still softening its head, has left, but now a thrush sings somewhere in the trees. I couldn’t say which thrush it is — this is a gap in my knowledge.

Pewees, hummingbirds, tanagers, waxwings. Chimney Swifts, a nighthawk. And always, the unbroken song of robins. While the males sing, a female gathers grasses just below the bluebird box.

Certainly, there is much to love about Texas. But I’d forgotten how much I miss Missouri.

DUNCANVILLE, TEXAS — One wonderful thing about being a birder is that winged surprises can show up at any moment, even on a frustrating afternoon of chores and errands. A Western Kingbird hovered near an intersection. A Mississippi Kite soared over a cemetery. Those trees would be a good spot for a nest….

After work, I birded Joe Pool briefly and found three singing Painted Buntings and a couple of Lincoln’s Sparrows but no warblers.