10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2022

I saw two Pitta species at Hongbenghe, both among the slightly less glamourous among the pitta family: The Blue-naped Pitta … … and the closely related Rusty-naped Pitta. The Blue Whistling Thrush is presumably named for its loud human-like whistling, and possibly for being blue.

Birds 147

Birds Myanmar China Chicago 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2022

The Buff-necked Woodpecker (Taman Negara, Malaysia) is classified as Near Threatened, with the usual rationale of “habitat loss” (which sounds nicer than “evil humans destroying anything that does not immediately bring in money). Kind of like a diesel version.

Woodpeckers 230

Woodpeckers South Africa China Singapore 230

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2022

Not bad given that the 5 families in the inner circle of the laughingthrush family have a combined number of about 68 species. ” As well as in Southeast Asia, there are also Spotted Laughingthrushes (photos taken at Longcanggou and Wolongshan, Sichuan) at the San Diego Zoo. This post shows some of them.

San Diego 205

San Diego Malaysia China Zoos 205

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Furthermore we have another very special stork-like bird, the regal Shoebill , previously known as the Whale-headed Stork but now placed in its own family. Like the Adjutants in Asia and Jabiru of the Americas, the Marabou is our bare-headed scavenging stork. It is also related to Wood Stork of the Americas and Milky Stork of Asia.

Africa 239

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 239

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2014

Not a great place for a family vacation, though I think Duncan will disagree. Kinabalu (at 13,455 feet the highest peak in southeast Asia), and human development that has resulted in freshwater rice fields, secondary forest, and oil palm plantations, this means that Borneo offers an incredibly high degree of biodiversity.

Brunei 174

Brunei Birds Asia China 174

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2012

The Edwards’s Pheasant is a rather smart blue-black member of the pheasant family and it may be on the edge of extinction. Leading scientists, conservationists and aviculturalists from Europe and South-east Asia met at Walsrode in Germany recently to formulate a rescue plan.

Vietnam 154

Vietnam 2000 Germany Groups 154

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2014

When all of you are settling in inside away from the snow for family, food and arguments, we’re all getting our travel on. A lot of Asia’s storks are threatened by human activities. I described it as stunning in an earlier post, and it is, but it also has an unfinished look about it too.

2013 174

2013 Birds Rhinoceros Thailand 174

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2011

European Storks are majestic, they’re graceful and stately and all of the positively connotated adjectives that are applied to birds to which humans have a long and pleasant history rooted deep in our western cultural heritage. In fact, there’s hardly a bird in the world that has such a venerated relationship with us.

North America 170

North America Pedigree South Carolina Brazil 170

4 The Love Of Animals

APRIL 24, 2012

Families get ready for fun in the sun with loads of sunscreen and cute hats, but many don’t realize they need to safeguard their four-legged friends from the spiking temperatures as well. Like humans, dogs are susceptible to dehydration, overheating and sickness due to the sun and heat.

Dogs 100

Dogs Pets Puppies Asia 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2016

The world is still turning, the blog didn’t crash, no anonymous threats against my family on social media … I guess my small series on gulls may continue with part 2 of 3, which will focus on the Herring Gull ‘s second side-kick: Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans. Yes, there are Caspian Gulls on this picture. And Jackdaws.

Kazakhstan 113

Kazakhstan Germany Ukraine Asia 113

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2017

My childhood in the 1970s and 1980s was of course shaped by family, friends, playmobil ( very popular in Germany back then), and school but also to a certain extend by the Cold War. Yes, in the face of all the human tragedy the Cold War caused it may seem a miniscule aspect, but to a young boy who was passionate about birds, it wasn’t.

Europe 100

Europe Birds Kazakhstan Russia 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2013

Old World Vultures are nestled within the family Acciptridae along with the hawks and eagles. It’s actually a pretty classic example of convergent evolution, wherein two unrelated families of lifeforms evolve to fill the same niche independently. Vultures, Human Evolution, and Windmills – Greg Laden, 10,000 Birds.

California Condor 180

California Condor Turkey North America Jordan 180

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2012

Generally the large family herds of buffalo are peaceful, but the old bulls (called “dagga” boys, “dagga” being a Zulu word for “mud” since they are often covered with the substance after their long wallows) who have left the herds tend to be furious with life in general and anyone they can smash in particular.

Buffalo 201

Buffalo Rhinoceros Elephants Leopards 201

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

Other birds with webbed feet, including ducks and geese, have only three webbed toes; the hallux (which in birds is usually the “hind toe&# and in humans, the “big toe&# ) is free. For all of recorded history, humans have classified other living things by their physical characteristics.

2011 152

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 152

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

It’s also about human-owl interaction on an individual level and a wider sociocultural level, and ultimately how we can use all this for habitat and bird conservation. The species are taxonomically divided into two families: Tytonidae, Barn-Owls, and Strigidae, Owls, encompassed in one order, Strigiformes. They are also hunted.

Owls 209

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 209

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2021

If you had your choice of one bird family to pursue, to seek out and observe and photograph and kvell over, which one would you choose? A passion for one bird family is also very useful. I’m surprised that the book doesn’t include images reflecting some of the hummingbird and human history Dunn writes about in such detail.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Brazil Ecuador Bolivia 264

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2017

The four authors, themselves field ornithologists, conservationists, birders, and writers with years of experience in southeast Asia, researched scientific studies ranging from early 19th-century descriptions of the birds of Java to the latest phylogenomic studies. Co-author Frank E. The maps on the inside front and back covers help a lot.

Indonesia 125

Indonesia Brunei Birds Malaysia 125

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

It’s my fantasy and it’s yours: Quit the job, say good-bye to the family, and bird. I get my own idea of the lunacy of Gooddie’s quest when I talk to a friend who has birded Asia and Africa. If it were just the birds, I’d grab my bins and be on the next plane to Asia or Africa. It’s what I dream of every Monday morning.

Hunters 192

Hunters Sri Lanka Asia Solomon Islands 192

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2012

Humans are hardly the only organisms that look for more in prospective mates than just loyalty, kindness, and a great sense of humor. Hornbills flaunt their enormous apparatuses, often daubed in garish colors and topped by initimidating casques, across Africa and Asia. Other birds do well to turn away from such ornamental awesomeness.

Pelicans 170

Pelicans Birds Jordan Asia 170

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2012

They occur in three biogeographic regions; the Neotropic, Afrotropic and Indo-Malaya ecozones, basically tropical South and Central America, Africa south of the Sahara and tropical Asia. Gray-throated Barbet is one of the plainer members of the African Barbet family. Note the strange nasal tufts at the base of the bill.

Ethiopia 229

Ethiopia Tanzania Africa Uganda 229

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2017

This is how, I think, the “Crossley technique” works best—coverage of specific bird families that pose identification challenges to birders at all levels of skill. And Hybrids: Waterfowl tend to hybridize to a greater degree than most other bird families, and the guide does an excellent job of covering hybrids.

Ducks 117

Ducks North America Geese Hunters 117