10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

It feels good to start a post with some truly attractive birds – such as two species of broadbills. Strangely, there do not seem to be many papers on this species. In one paper , you can find fascinating sentences such as “The new species is most similar to D. You can see why here.

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Birds Sri Lanka Taiwan Cats 222

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

JUNE 17, 2023

Why tediously write blog posts when ChatGPT can do it for me? So, I asked ChatGPT: “Please write a 500-word blog post about birding in Shanghai in the style of Kai Pflug for the website 10,000 birds” This is the result: Greetings, fellow birding enthusiasts!

China 172

China Endangered Species Sanctuary Protection 172

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

Even the Latin species name soror (“sister”) indicates the similarity to another pitta species (blue-naped). The eBird description of the Small Niltava starts with the surprisingly dull statement that “size distinguishes this species from other niltavas” Who would have thought.

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China Birds Pythons Eagles 237

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2023

Such an embarrassingly populist title of a blog post should obviously be followed by some dry facts. There are 17 different species of them, a few of them endangered, particularly some island endemics. Switching to the Amur Paradise Flycatcher , which has the Latin species name of incei. not their own).

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Japan China Guinea Germany 130

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2021

That every human on the planet ultimately depends on biodiversity and nature for stable weather and climate, food, water and fresh air; that is, life providing and supporting services. Insects and a host of other invertebrate life have evolved with these plant species, and thus depend on them. The sad part of the story?

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Wildlife North America Mammals Breeding 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 11, 2022

And learn that the Latin species name concinnus is more interesting than the English one – it means “elegant, neat, pleasing” (according to the HBW). Breeding pairs sometimes are supported by helpers, but these are not quite as unselfish as it may seem – in one study , in 8.3% Or Elementary Egret? 0 out of 3.

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Birds Humane Family Germany 147

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2021

Being a bit older myself now, I have to point out that young human males usually do not look that good, at least to me. If that band had had to name themselves after a bird species rather than after a surname, they probably would have called themselves the Asian Brown Flycatchers. A juvenile male. The real thing: an adult male.

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Birds LACS France Japan 238

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2022

The ongoing destruction of Nanhui, where the species can frequently be seen on migration, certainly will not help. Judging from the facial expression of this White-shouldered Starling , I would rather not have an annoyed bird of this species as a roommate. The species has reversed sex roles, with the males doing the incubating.

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China Birds Ukraine Killing 186

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 29, 2022

When I was a kid (and don’t you hate it when blog posts start like this, with the author apparently just assuming that you care about how he spent his childhood), the first pets we had were a pair of Budgerigars. ” Funny how the difficulty of breeding a species can be illustrated in simple monetary terms.

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Birds Australia Sheep Zebras 147

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

JULY 18, 2022

I do not get too many comments on my blog posts, but it seems that whenever I write about jacanas – whether in Africa, Australia, or Asia – there is an unusually high number of reactions (well, maybe one or two rather than the usual zero) from female readers. This is ok as birds do not have teeth anyway). End of side note.

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Birds South Korea Japan Abandon 162

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2022

For this reason, the species is evaluated as Vulnerable.” The Rufous-tailed Robin used to be called Swinhoe’s Robin but apparently, somebody decided that there were already too many bird species (6, according to the HBW) named after him. The Eurasian Hobby was another notable raptor of the month.

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Birds China Eggs Owls 204

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2021

Not too many highlights, not too many species … hard to say whether this is just the usual nostalgia for a better but probably nonexistent past or a real phenomenon. This species is listed as vulnerable – similar to the Yellow-breasted Buntings, it is trapped on a large scale. Humans, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves.

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Birds Humane Japan Ducks 243

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2022

I was surprised that this species is named for its vocalization – which sounds like laughter. For example, the Diamond Dove is the world’s second-smallest species of the columbidae order ( source ). The Latin species name haematonotus (“blood-backed”) sounds a bit more exciting but not necessarily more accurate.

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Australia Birds Parrots Ostriches 147

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2023

This is how it looks like: Or at sunset: A species I did not come for from Shanghai is the Black-crowned Night Heron. Not sure why they spend time in Shanghai in winter when they could come here though, but then again, I usually do not understand most of the behavior of humans either. One nice little story for my blog post lost.

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Birds Eagles Elephants Rhinoceros 225

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 31, 2023

As you can tell from this post starting with leaf warblers, the ornithological equivalent of watching paint dry (ok, a bit unfair and not really a good comparison anyway, but hey, write your own blog if you do not like mine). It looks at factors determining the presence of Black-winged Kites on Taiwan, where the species is a new resident.

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Birds China Taiwan Raised 130

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

Thus, this study on the feeding ecology of African Harrier-hawk is imperative for understanding the species adaptation to environments and also a crucial factor to be considered while examining their economic status.” I guess blushing is easier if you have a bald face like this species. Thanks for pointing it out though.

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South Africa Niger Birds Mice 147

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 15, 2021

Apparently, Longcanggou is a great place to see a variety of parrotbill species. I can only partly confirm this, with my sightings restricted to two species. Like many of the largest species within bird families, the Great Parrotbill looks somewhat plain, at least in the weather I encountered it. Yes, there were.

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Birds Pandas Mammals China 216

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 19, 2020

This pervasive pandemic we’re currently experiencing has squashed everyone’s travel plans – humans that is. In fact, the very first post I wrote for this blog centered around the search for a particular shorebird. Last weekend I wasn’t on the hunt for any species in particular though. Greater Yellowlegs.

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Trinidad South America Blackbirds Industry 186

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2022

For example, without this blog, would you know that the Barn Swallows of Nanhui are now having their own housing boom, ignorant of the overinvestment that has characterized China’s construction industry? As with Chinese male humans, having your own building is still vital to raising young. Yes, you do, trust me. It looks nice 2.

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Birds Sparrows Protection Humane 193

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2022

So, even though this is a bit much, it seems justification enough to continue this series of blog posts – particularly as I wrote this series under lockdown in Shanghai, with nothing much to do. The species was bred at the zoo of Memphis, Tennesee ( source ). In the juveniles, the skin patch is green, not blue. chocolate-bird (??),

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Birds Australia Parrots Memphis 147

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

An associated issue is that the Belize and Costa Rica guides share many of the same descriptions of species, written by Howell. Similarly, descriptions of species repeated across volumes do not lose their accuracy with each publication. Other species are splits and lumped and have had their names changed. Why are these issues?

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Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 223

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2022

This is also why you very rarely find a photo of a giraffe on top of one of these posts – the other reason of course being that a giraffe photo would be relatively pointless in a birding blog. While 6 local species utilized these artificial nests, the Chinese Grosbeak did not, preferring its own construction.

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Singapore Birds Mountain Goats Giraffes 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

Miami, Florida has a reputation among the birding community for being overrun with exotic bird species. However, the typical birding experience for someone down here also includes a large menagerie of other species such as Orange-winged Parrot , Mitred Parakeet , Egyptian Goose and Nutmeg Mannikin. It is well-deserved.

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Miami Asia Florida Malaysia 205

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

He blogs at The Nightjar – The tales of an Upstate New York Birder and otherwise stays busy being an eBird reviewer, taking care of his kids, and, recently, planning a trip to Europe where he hopes to see lots of new birds. Other species have certainly expanded their ranges, but never in such a rapid and global scale.

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Cattle South Korea Suriname Seychelles 170

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2022

There are quite a few raptor species around Skukuza. Most likely, the devil, not god created this species. While some bustards are the largest bird species capable of flight, the Black-bellied Bustard is only mid-sized. There is also a much older blog post on 10,000 Birds (by Adam Riley) specifically on Africa’s Barbets.

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Birds Africa Eagles Barn Owls 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2023

Not a cover species The Black Kite is not actually black, but of course, misleading bird names are not exactly rare. No surprise then that the species is listed as Vulnerable. But then, sanity (or maybe respect for you, the reader) prevailed. Fortunately, they are quite common in Shanghai.

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Birds Iraq China Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2023

In Alaska, they were found to mimic 30 different species ( source ). Maybe they have decided to boycott species with Russian-sounding names as a way to protest against Putin’s policies. What keeps the endangered Chinese Yew awake at night? It is also a good disperser for causonis japonica, a vine plant.

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Monkeys Birds South Korea Owls 147

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. Yes, Germans were a particularly supersticious breed in the days of old, and would not dare to use the word devil even when cursing.

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Germany Birds Hunters Owls 190

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2017

I know for a fact that a certain birder from the US only joined an esteemed bird blog and blogged like a madman just so he would eventually be invited by makers of fine optics to Austria where he would have a chance at seeing his lifer white-throated dippers. Crazy, I know. And you know what? There are in winter.

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Germany 2016 Hamburgers Austria 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2019

So, for example, Essay #15, “Individual Variation,” uses Herring Gulls to introduce the concept that one species, even one species at a specific age, can vary widely in appearance. The Checklist is more than a taxonomic listing of species and chapter number and title; it also contains useful notes on each bird family.

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Birds North America Breeding America 115

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2016

It has come to my attention that this blog needs more gulls. Of course this is self-evident as you can never have enough gulls on a bird blog, but this blog here is in an especially dire need of more gull posts for the simple reason that I have a few nice pictures of gulls that would make for a few nice posts.

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Europe Spain Italy Ireland 127

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2015

Bird blogging in May always gives me the creeps. In its natural old-world range, the House Sparrow offers an interesting identification challenge and has vagrant potential since it is a polytypic species with a highly complex taxonomy. Anyway, this current taxonomic classification has interesting implications to German birders.

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Sparrows Italy Asia Austria 223

10,000 Birds

JUNE 18, 2013

I write a lot about climate change on my other blog , and so I don’t really feel a strong need to touch on this topic very often here. Also, these human-occupied area are probably full of toxins and other impediments to normal use by wildlife. Climate change “mitigation” is rather human focused.

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Maryland Birds Penguins Wildlife 228

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. Why does “steppe” win over “Caspian”?

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Kazakhstan Germany Ukraine Asia 117

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2013

I teach human evolution, and at some point I use a chart showing reversals in the Earth’s magnetic field, which in turn relates to how we date some ancient sites. The photograph of Cory’s Shearwater is from this blog post. So maybe that.” Birds Navigation Olfaction research Sheawater'

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Investigation 2013 Research Humane 196