10,000 Birds

AUGUST 21, 2023

When birding Sabah, Borneo, one almost inevitably passes through Kota Kinabalu, the biggest city and the destination of almost all international flights. While no birder would come here just for the birds of the city, some of them are worth spending a few hours on. There, you may find the Java Sparrow.

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Zebras Thailand Philippines Birds 209

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

The Bornean Bristlehead is kind of the star bird of Sepilok. eBird calls it “a ‘grail bird’ of many birders visiting Borneo. Up to now, I thought that the B in the HBW stands for bird, but I guess I was wrong. If like me you enjoy cute birds, you will like the Malaysian Pied Fantail.

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Birds Eagles Mammals Singapore 223

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 14, 2023

As the rice paddies near Kota Kinabalu described in an earlier post , Tanjung Aru beach is not really a major birding spot in its own right. However, it is only a short taxi ride away from the airport where most travelers will arrive at – better to see birds instead of just eating fast food while waiting for a connecting flight.

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Malaysia Philippines Parrots Birds 251

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2024

I was thinking of inventing a background story about a Chinese poet mentioning starlings (and other bird species) in one of his poems, and a rich Chinese fan of these poems pursuing the ambition of introducing all bird species mentioned therein to China, explaining the occasional occurrence of the starling in Shanghai.

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Birds Research Science Europe 199

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2023

In many ways, birding Wawushan is a nightmare for a solitary and crowd-hating birder like me. An unnamed bird guide called them “avoidless tourists”, which sums it up rather nicely. So, all this makes birding this place an occasionally less than pleasant experience.

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Pandas Birds Eggs China 213

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2021

His second book on migration is a tale of many birds and many research studies all connected by the theme of migration and by his thoughtful narrative voice. His second book on migration is a tale of many birds and many research studies all connected by the theme of migration and by his thoughtful narrative voice.

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Cyprus Slaughter Slaughtered Research 257

10,000 Birds

APRIL 1, 2024

Birding Shanghai has its own specific annoyances apart from birds not showing up. Finally, there are specific restrictions for foreigners – I guess we might steal some vital state secrets that have some kind of relationship with the local birds. Tianmashan had two interesting birds in March. One, a Ryukyu Minivet.

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Chicago Birds Asia China 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2022

“A reading of recent research shows that Australian birds are more likely than most to eat sweet foods, live in complex societies, lead long lives, attack other birds, and be intelligent and loud.” When going to Australia, one of the two birds I wanted to see most was the Tawny Frogmouth.

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Birds Australia Ducks Mountain Goats 237

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2021

There was a time when I thought each bird species had its own individual song. Then I found out that there was this vocalization called a ‘call,’ so I thought each bird species had its own individual song (but just the males) and individual call. Bird communication is a complex and evolving science.

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North America Research Birds Groups 279

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

This is the second part of a post showing some birds seen at Nonggang in December 2022, along with the usual (mostly irrelevant) comments. The poor bird’s Latin species name is macgrigoriae , apparently (HBW) named after Jane Grant McGrigor, the daughter of Maj. Sir James McGrigor (1771-1858) Director Gen.

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China Birds Pythons Eagles 237

10,000 Birds

MAY 20, 2014

Bird Navigation is an amazing, mysterious thing. For years, birds have outsmarted scientists over this issue, mainly I think because people looking into navigation originally made the incorrect assumption that birds are birds and there is a navigational method that they use. Also, consider this.

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Humane Compassion Research Cooking 239

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2023

One study in Korea found that 37% of injuries and deaths were caused by predation by natural enemies, another 37% (a worryingly high number) by window strikes, 10% by traffic accidents, 7% each by flooding and dehydration, and 3% by human disturbance. I think the photo shows a male bird, as certain parts of the head seem more black than grey.

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Birds China Research Tenant 130

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2022

Thank you, goddess of birding luck and text group people).* My inner self felt stuck in an area between disbelief and total joy and the voices near me were echoing this state of mind: “Oh My God,” “I never thought I would see this bird,” “Look at that bill!” “How did that bird get here?”

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Birds Compassion Eagles Science 262

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2024

On the other hand, their white color and their considerable size made me see them as somewhat arrogant birds – the white Golf convertible of the bird world. And now we get to the part of the post in which I briefly and unscientifically mention a few research papers on the species to have a reason to post a few more of my photos.

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China Iceland Whales Whaling 222

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2024

Given that according to the HBW, the species prefers dense primary and secondary montane forests, the note that the bird also forages among kitchen waste (in the same HBW entry) seems somewhat incongruous. ” ( source ). George Rippon (1861-1927), a member of the British Army in India and Burma.

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Burma India Birds Indonesia 209

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

While these birds are very much liked by Chinese birders, the species could unfortunately not be named the National Bird of China as the Latin species name of the bird is Grus Japonicus. it would not be the national bird of the USA either. Incompetent photographers can always blame the bird.

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Birds Eggs Bald Eagle Owls 211

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

It feels good to start a post with some truly attractive birds – such as two species of broadbills. If you like cute birds, you will probably like the Black-and-yellow Broadbill. Homework assignment: Is the bird in this video a male or a female? Maybe the birds I saw were not real. You can see why here.

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Birds Sri Lanka Taiwan Cats 222

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2022

Well, they mainly feed on birds, which may explain their low popularity. For the White-throated Rock Thrush , Wikipedia gives the slightly puzzling statement “The bird’s population is unknown, but is not increasing or declining.” Even if they look as charming as this Northern Boobook. Unfortunately, it is true though.

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Birds China Eggs Owls 204

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2023

I visited Tengchong in late 2020 and wrote about it – but I also went there earlier, in 2017, and this post shows some photos I took during that trip, along with the usual comments that seem to be much more about ridiculing my fellow humans (especially ornithologists and the like) than providing useful information on birds.

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China 2017 Birds Indonesia 189

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2023

For birders, the Wolongshan area is like a poorer cousin of Balangshan – due to the lower elevation, the bird species here are more common and thus less interesting. I can confirm that the Indian Blue Robin – as stated by the HBW – tends to sing from deep cover – not ideal behavior for a bird photographer.

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Hamburgers Birds Science China 218

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2022

In 2007 I was working in a university building that was just begging for bird feeders. This was where I set up my bird feeders, just one at first, then expanding as everyone expressed delight in seeing the Carolina Chickadees, Dark-eyed Juncos, and Downy Woodpeckers. There were no dead birds for weeks. I hoped it was an anomaly.

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New York City Birds Illinois Science 259

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2023

Everyone loves baby birds; 10,000 Birds even had a Baby Bird Week once upon a time! Baby birds are cuteness personified, possibly even more so than other baby animals, including human babies, and pose interesting questions of survival and development. Aren’t they usually in their nest with their parents?”

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Wildlife Rehabilitation Birds Family Collecting 265

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2022

To be precise, “Birding Shanghai from June 10 to June 30, 2022” – but that is even less of an exciting title than the one above. The reason for this post only covering the period from June 10 being that an earlier post, “Revenge Birding”, was about the first 9 days of June. You should try it too.

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Birds Sparrows Protection Humane 193

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2023

In June 2023, I again went to Balangshan, a mountain about 3 hour’s drive from Sichuan’s capital Chengdu – and again with Alpinebirding , fortunately no longer for them to partly deal with confusing covid restrictions but only to help me find birds that I am too incompetent a birder to find on my own. ” Full iteration!

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Birds China Science Research 130

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

Non-bird watchers without binoculars and experience are notoriously bad sources of information. But now there is some research on that. From a press release about that research: >Common Loons (Gavia immer) nest on lakes across Canada and the northern U.S., Every now and then you see an Eagle and a Loon interact a bit.

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Humane Eagles Investigation Research 212

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

They may be about bird eggs ( The Most Perfect Thing: The Inside (and Outside) of a Bird’s Egg , 2016), or a 17th-century ornithologist ( Virtuoso by Nature: The Scientific Worlds of Francis Willughby, 2016), or How Bullfinches learn songs from humans ( The Wisdom of Birds: An Illustrated History of Ornithology.

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Dissection Birds Research Europe 229

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

You know there is probably some evil backstory if Wikipedia talks of a “complex” legacy of Raffles – further detailing that “he was ultimately an imperialist benefiting at the expense of the indigenous peoples” So, I guess this is another bird name that should be changed eventually.

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Los Angeles Birds Woodpeckers Owls 195

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2022

Given the complexity of the research, the result feels like a bit of a letdown – “northern populations start migration earlier than southern populations, especially in autumn” The species name of the Chestnut-eared Bunting is fucata , from the Latin “fucare”, to paint red.

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Birds Eggs Bangladesh China 216

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2020

Birders who submit their checklists to eBird likely know that their data may be used to conduct research on avian migration, range, or population. It has also been used by researchers from other fields, such as economists. Open spaces, especially recreation areas, appear to be important locations for bird observation in Chicago….

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Chicago Research Illinois Michigan 279

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 30, 2023

Sepilok is one of the best places I ever spent time birding at – I did so for a week and could have easily spent more time there. So, in order to economize a bit, the Sepilok birds are described in three separate posts. Maybe the HBW should be administered by a university with a stronger interest in birds than Cornell.

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Woodpeckers Birds Eggs India 218

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 17, 2022

According to a local African superstition that I just made up, it is not harmful to eat toxically colored birds if you eat them in the dark. I guess most scientists would love to see their original research become the basis for a vast field of further studies. Colonial history reflected in bird names.

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South Africa Africa Birds Cape Verde 193

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2024

It’s all about the improbable intersection of human beings and Emperor Penguins, and if I can’t make it to an Emperor Penguin colony (highly unlikely), reading this book has been the next best thing. Kooyman wanted to know what they did the rest of the year. Kooyman and Jim Mastro The book is divided into two sections.

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Penguins Seals Leopards Research 162

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2023

Having come back to the blog in whatever form and persistency, the overarching subject of language in birding seemed to be a suitable and deserving theme since bird names were part of my original beat. How have birds infiltrated our everyday language, even of non-birders? No birds required. ” – You have a bird!

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Germany Birds Hunters Owls 190

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2023

Sukau birding essentially means staying in a more-or-less comfortable lodge on the banks of the Kinatabagan river, and taking boat tours on more-or-less rickety boats on the river. So, just photos of the birds themselves. Why that makes Mr. Graydon worthy of having a bird species named after him is a mystery to me.

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Birds Eagles Elephants Rhinoceros 225

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2023

Their migration is quite fast compared to many other larger birds – in one study , several birds flew 4000 km within 5–7 days while one individual even flew 5600 km non-stop. That includes breeding birds, as indicated by the presence of some rather cute chicks ( video ). Also as video. Bye, bye, Lesser Coucal.

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Birds Eggs Breeders Breeding 130

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2022

The name is a puzzle though – even the HBW states that the bird has “small or no crest” These photos were taken on Sep 26, indicating that the birds passed Shanghai rather late (according to the HBW, “autumn migration from early to late Sept”). The Japanese Paradise Flycatcher is listed as Near Threatened.

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China Birds Ukraine Killing 186

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2023

February 2023 was a slow month for birding in Shanghai, at least for me – so slow that I almost put the Spotted Dove , possibly my least favorite bird here, on the cover. Not a cover species The Black Kite is not actually black, but of course, misleading bird names are not exactly rare. Maybe those should be protected too?

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