Today we're starting our third Birdorable Bonanza! For the next 19 days we'll be adding a new Birdorable bird species every day, counting up to our 350th species! See our Meet the Birds page to see all Birdorable birds. The first bird to kick off Birdorable Bonanza 2011 is the Eastern Screech Owl!

The Eastern Screech Owl is a small species of nocturnal owl that lives across parts of Eastern North America. All birds have prominent ear tufts (laid back flat in the photo above) and a mottled and cryptic plumage, which comes in two distinct color morphs: red-phase (or rufous-phase) and gray-phase. Eastern Screech Owls are nocturnal and will roost in tree trunks or cavities during the day. Despite their name, their call is a descending, soft whinny.

Every day of the Bonanza we'll give you a hint for the next day's bird and you can guess what it will be. We'll start easy: tomorrow's bird lives in Africa and has a bill the shape of a shoe. Can you guess what it will be?

We don't have to add too many birds to reach another milestone on Birdorable: 350 birds! That's a lot of species. We think this milestone deserves some celebration, in the form of a Bonanza! Get ready for the 3rd Birdorable Bonanza! Later this month we'll start unveiling a new bird every day for 19 days in a row -- until our 350th bird species is added to the site. Here's a teaser below. Can you guess what birds we'll be adding?

From now until November 24th, Birdorable fans can pick up one free holiday card from our shop, fulfilled by Zazzle. Pick one of the following two cards and use the code FREEBIRDCARD at checkout to complete the offer.

Three Christmas Songbirds (US) by Birdorable

Christmas Barred Owl Santa by Birdorable

While shipping is not included in this offer, Zazzle does have an unlimited shipping program called Zazzle Black. You can sign up for a free 30-day trial of Zazzle Black and your shipping for this card and any other Zazzle purchases will be free for the next 30 days. A year of Zazzle Black is just $9.95, so if you like the free trial, purchase Zazzle Black for the year and enjoy unlimited free shipping on all future Birdorable Zazzle purchases for the year. Limit one card per customer. Remember, the free Birdorable card offer expires on November 24.

Legal:100% of card net sale price (excluding shipping and taxes) is deducted when qualifying http://www.zazzle.com/137307935659402897 & http://www.zazzle.com/137349325222310064 greeting card is purchased from http://www.zazzle.com/birdorable and the coupon code FREEBIRDCARD is applied at checkout. Offer does not apply to create your own cards. Offer does not apply to card orders of two or more. Buyer is responsible for shipping and handling and sales tax charges. Failure to comply with promotional offer conditions may result in order cancellation. Offer is valid through November 24, 2011 at 11:59pm PT. Offer does not apply to past purchases and may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or volume discount offers. If a volume discount applies to your order, you will receive either the discount set forth in this offer or the standard volume discount, whichever is greater. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only.

Audubon has a fun competition going on right now, called "Birding the Net." Participants collect birds which are found on various participating sites around the web. On a special Facebook app, contestants can tally their totals and trade for needed birds with their friends. You can even find some right here on Birdorable!

(click to enlarge)

Here are some hints to get you started. Birdorable birds like to make friends. Roseate Spoonbill is particularly friendly (see above) - but Black-crested Titmouse and Northern Saw-whet Owl also like to meet new birdie pals. We like to meet new friends too, and to hear from our fans! You can learn more about the campaign in the official Audubon press release. The contest ends November 7th. Have fun Birding the Web - we are!

Many countries have an official national bird. For example, the national bird of Belize is the Keel-billed Toucan, and the national bird of New Zealand is the Kiwi. All U.S. states also have official birds. But did you know that there are even some cities that have their own official bird? The official city bird of Seattle, Washington, is the Great Blue Heron. For a bustling oceanside metropolis known for its seafood, a fish-eating bird is a great choice for an official city bird. Of course, herons take other prey, including frogs, turtles, and even small mammals! Seattle is also known for its weather - lots of rain. A big blue-grey bird fits in there just fine! You can read more about the Great Blue Heron at the Seattle Audubon Society.

Birdorable Great Blue Heron with the flag of Seattle

Hey everyone, we've got some more new free Halloween downloads for you! Last week we debuted four free cute bird pumpkin carving patterns. Now we're offering two printable Birdorable owl masks for your creative Halloween fun! The faces of our cute Barred Owl and Barn Owl are here in larger-than-life full color, ready to print out and wear for Halloween or your next bird-themed fancy dress party! The masks can be made to wear, with the simple addition of some string, or made masquerade-style, stuck on a stick. Just click on a mask thumbnail to get your free downloadable mask!

The Barn Owl has several nicknames, including the Halloween-appropriate Demon Owl and Ghost Owl. Barn Owl vocalizations include blood-curdling screams, so be sure to warm up your vocal cords before donning this mask. Pair the mask with an all-white outfit and a tan cape to complete your Barn Owl costume!

Barred Owls are nocturnal birds that like deep, dark forests and swampy habitats. They are known for their distinctive "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?" call. Pairs of Barred Owls perform amazing hooting vocal duets, so grab a friend and go as a pair of Barred Owls this Halloween! Tip: add some black makeup around your eyes to match the large dark eyes of the Barred Owl.

Have you used any of our free printable downloads at home, in your classroom, or at an event? We’d love to hear about it! Send us photos of the pages in action, or the final result – we may showcase them on our blog!

We at Birdorable are proud to have provided use of our cute Andean Cock-of-the-rock image to The Field Museum's 24th rapid inventory team that traveled to the Kampankis mountains of Peru this summer. A few months ago, we were kindly contacted by one of the conservation biologists working on the survey. We were asked if our Andean Cock-of-the-rock could be used for the team's t-shirt, and we were happy to comply! The survey was done in northern Peru, in an area where Andean Cocks-of-the-rock are abundant. Below is a photo of some of the team members when they recently arrived in Tarapoto after the survey. If you look closely, you'll find at least five Birdorables in the photo!

These surveys are huge team efforts and entail adventure and discovery. For example, the above photograph was taken during an earthquake after a multi-day weather delay. If you'd like to learn more about the high adventure and about the fascinating work done during the rapid survey of the Kampankis mountains, check out the rapid inventories of remote regions blog.

Get ready to dress up your pumpkins this Halloween with some cute Birdorable birds! Below you can download four different cute bird pumpkin carving patterns of varying skill levels as free downloads. Two of our patterns are simple bird cut-outs, and two are inverted designs where the area around the bird must be carved away. Just click on a pattern thumbnail to download the PDF and get carving!

• Our first free pumpkin carving pattern is a cut-out Birdorable chickadee. Chickadees love Halloween, you know! After all, they are always singing, "Trick or treat-treat-treat-treat," aren't they?!
• Next, our free spoonbill pumpkin pattern is another cut-out, though a bit more involved. You know, I bet that spoon-shaped bill would be very handy at cleaning out pumpkin guts this time of year!
• Our cute owl pumpkin cut-away pattern has the owl looking out from inside the pumpkin, how adorable! Owls own the night - even on Halloween - and this little cutie is no exception.
• Finally, we have our cute Birdorable Tufted Titmouse pumpkin pattern. This is another cute-away job, and requires a steady hand to leave enough pumpkin to keep the bird afloat. Be careful carving that wing, too!

Have you used any of our free printable downloads at home, in your classroom, or at an event? We’d love to hear about it! Send us photos of the pages in action, or the final result – we may showcase them on our blog!

The Roseate Spoonbill is one of the newest birds to join the Birdorable family. Here are some fun facts about this unique species.

1. Did you know the term for a group of spoonbills is called a bowl? Imagine spotting a bowl of Roseate Spoonbills in the wild – what a breathtaking view that would be!

2. The stunning pink hue of the Roseate Spoonbills isn't just for show. It comes from their diet, which mainly consists of crustaceans that have been dining on algae. This diet directly influences their vivid coloring.

3. In areas like Florida, it's common for people to mix up Roseate Spoonbills with flamingos, given their similar pink shades. Despite this, they are very different species with their own unique characteristics.

4. Among the six species of spoonbills that roam our planet, the Roseate Spoonbill is the only one boasting pink feathers, setting it apart from its relatives.

5. The Roseate Spoonbill also has the distinction of being the sole spoonbill species found throughout the Americas. This fact makes it a special sight for birdwatchers in the region.

6. A fascinating aspect of Roseate Spoonbill biology is that chicks are born with straight beaks. As they grow, the beaks gradually morph into the distinctive spoon shape, a key adaptation for their feeding habits.

7. Speaking of feeding, Roseate Spoonbills have a unique method of eating. They sweep their spoon-shaped bills through water to catch prey like fish or insects, closing their bills quickly when they touch something edible.

8. The resilience of the Roseate Spoonbill is remarkable. The oldest known individual in the wild was found in the Florida Keys in 2006. The bird had been banded in 1990, and was an amazing 16 years old. This was quite the jump from the previously recorded lifespan of seven years for the species.

9. Social butterflies, or rather, social birds of the wetlands, Roseate Spoonbills enjoy the company of their kind. They feed, nest, and fly together, forming a tight-knit community with other wading birds.

10. And, don't forget, the Roseate Spoonbill made its Birdorable debut on September 6th, 2011. Be sure to check out our array of Roseate Spoonbill t-shirts and gifts, a must-have for enthusiasts of this splendid species.

International Vulture Awareness Day (IVAD) may be tomorrow, but we here at Birdorable love vultures all year, and we can't wait to introduce our newest Birdorable bird: the Lammergeier, or Bearded Vulture.

Lammergeiers like to eat dead things (just like people, if you think about it!), but they are a bit picky when it comes to their favorite treat: bone marrow! While they can easily swallow some bones, very large bones require a bit more work. Lammergeiers are so smart, they have a great trick to get at the bone marrow inside the bones of very large carcasses: they drop them on rocks! The bird will hold the bone and fly up high above a rocky area. At just the right moment, it will drop the bone so that it is broken or shattered by the rocks below. The Lammergeier then proceeds to chow down on the bone fragments along with the nutritious marrow inside. To help you celebrate IVAD, please have a look at our free fun vulture downloads, including an all-new Lammergeier coloring page. And check out our cute Lammergeier gifts.