We're excited to announce that we'll be having another Birdorable Bonanza this summer! We had a bonanza last year, where we added a new bird every day for 17 days in a row (see Birdorable Bonanza 2009). It was so much fun we decided to do it again this year! Starting on July 7th, we'll be adding 18 new birds to Birdorable in our second annual Bonanza! Keep an eye on the blog or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to see all the new birds as they're added to the site each day. Here is a teaser. Can you guess what they'll be?

Today's highlighted t-shirt design is our Birdorable Black-necked Stilt, shown here on an infant creeper. These shorebirds live in western and southern parts of the United States and parts of Central America and South America. Aren't they adorable?

The American Crow is a common species across much of the United States, where they are year-round residents. Their summer range extends into Canada. American Crows are known to be highly intelligent. Scientists believe part of this is their ability to communicate with one another. They have also proven to be adept at solving food-gathering puzzles. In 2007, hacker Josh Klein developed a vending machine to train crows to pick up coins in return for peanuts.

With the innovative teaching machine, crows might someday be taught to perform other tasks, including picking up trash! The American Crow has been on Birdorable since September 2006. Be sure to check out our great collection of American Crow t-shirts & gifts!

The Sooty Tern is a seabird that breeds on equatorial islands. Outside of breeding, they rarely are seen on land. The Sooty Tern has two nicknames related to its loud and somewhat obnoxious call. It is called the Wideawake Tern; in Hawaiian its name means cacophony. The Sooty Tern used to be part of an important ritual for the people of Easter Island. The clan of the "birdman" who could collect the first egg from a Sooty or Grey-backed Tern each year would control the island's resources. The Sooty Tern has been on Birdorable since July 2007. Be sure to check out our great collection of Sooty Tern t-shirts & gifts!

The Eurasian Wren is found several times in European and Asian folklore.

The Wren, as it simply known in English-speaking parts of its range, is the star of the Grimm fairy tale "The Willow-Wren and the Bear." The Wren is called "King of the Winds" in Japan. The Druids considered the Wren to be a supreme bird, and Aristotle also had high praise for this little bird. According to one of Aesop's fables, the Wren is the "King of the Birds." The Wren earned this title by outsmarting the other birds, namely the high-flying Eagle.

The regal little Eurasian Wren has been on Birdorable since June, 2015. Prior to that time it was included on Birdorable as a lumped species with the Pacific Wren and the Winter Wren, both of North America. This post has been edited to reflect these changes.

Be sure to check out our collection of cute Wren t-shirts & gifts!

We recently added a few new wood-warblers to Birdorable, including the Nashville Warbler. Nashville Warblers are one of the more widespread North American warblers, migrating through much of the United States from their breeding grounds in southern Canada to their wintering grounds in Central America. Although named for the city where they were first noted for science, Nashville Warblers do not breed in Nashville - they only pass through during migration. Nashville Warblers are relatively easy to identify; although their grey-olive top and yellow bottom plumage is similar to the Tennessee and Orange-crowned Warblers, Nashvilles have prominent white eyerings which the others lack. Adult males also have an orange patch at the top of the head which is not always visible in the field, even though it's clear to see on our Birdorable. Have you ever seen a Nashville Warbler?

nashville-warbler-1 by bmajoros

This week we are proud to highlight four new t-shirt designs created to help Gulf Coast wildlife. All of Birdorable's profits on all sales of these four designs from creation until the end of 2011 were donated to organizations working to help Gulf Coast birds suffering from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster. All of the designs feature our revamped Birdorable Brown Pelican.

Team Gulf Coast with a flying Birdorable Brown Pelican

Brown Pelicans are a symbol of survival, having just been removed from the federal endangered species list in November 2009. The species faces a new threat with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster now soiling the Gulf Coast shores of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

A squadron of flying Gulf Coast Brown Pelicans

100% of Birdorable's profit for all purchases of these designs was donated to wildlife rescue and research organizations working on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster. Click any t-shirt pictured here to see other products with the same design.

Team Gulf Coast with silhouettes of Birdorable Gulf Coast birds

If you would like to help organizations working with Gulf Coast bird and wildlife rescue, you can send donations directly to the ABA Gulf Coast Fund, the National Audubon Society, or the International Bird Rescue Research Center.

Four Color Gulf Coast birds: Brown Pelican; Dunlin; Great Blue Heron; and Black-necked Stilt

Blue Tits are small passerine birds that live in parts of Europe and Asia. They are acrobatic little birds, entertaining to watch in garden feeding stations. In the United Kingdom in the 1960's, Blue Tits became known for their intelligence when they would open foil tops on milk bottles to eat the cream inside. Both Blue Tits and (European) Robins had already been stealing cream out of bottles prior to WWII, when the milk was delivered without lids. With the advent of the foil tops, Blue Tits figured out how to pull off the foil to continue stealing the creamy treat. This learned behavior was passed down from generation to generation in the Blue Tits, but the Robins never figured it out. Today the behavior is not nearly as common due to a number of factors - including a sharp decline in home milk delivery!

The Blue Tit has been on Birdorable since August 2007. Be sure to check out our great collection of Blue Tit t-shirts & gifts!

We spent some time at the famous birding site Magee Marsh this past May. Magee Marsh is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Erie in Ohio. During migration, birds use Magee Marsh as a filling station or pitstop before crossing Lake Erie and continuing their journey. This "migrant trap" has been attracting birders for years. On Friday, May 14th, we and several hundred other birders became aware of a very rare sighting on the beach close to Magee Marsh. A Kirtland's Warbler! Our experience of seeing what was probably the most photographed Kirtland's Warbler in history (check out the camera clicks and flashes in the video below!) inspired us to make a Birdorable version of this special endangered bird.

What makes a sighting of the Kirtland's Warbler so special? According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources: The endangered Kirtland's warbler is one of the rarest members of the wood warbler (Parulidae) family. It is a bird of unusual interest for many reasons. It nests in just a few counties in Michigan's northern Lower and Upper peninsulas, in Wisconsin and the province of Ontario and, currently, nowhere else on Earth. Its nests generally are concealed in mixed vegetation of grasses and shrubs below the living branches of five to 20 year old jack pine (Pinus banksiana) forests. Kirtland's Warblers have been seen during migration at Magee Marsh before, but not every year. And the sighting is not usually shared with so many. It was wonderful to be among so many joyful birders on the Magee Marsh beach, watching that beautiful, special bird. The Kirtland's Warbler made its Birdorable debut on May 23rd.