10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Like the Adjutants in Asia and Jabiru of the Americas, the Marabou is our bare-headed scavenging stork. Only slightly shorter, but more elegantly built than the Marabou, the Saddle-billed also has a sister species in Asia, the Black-necked Stork. It is also related to Wood Stork of the Americas and Milky Stork of Asia.

Africa 246

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 246

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

I get my own idea of the lunacy of Gooddie’s quest when I talk to a friend who has birded Asia and Africa. Beer looms large in Gooddie’s daily routine, and much text is devoted to finding beer in the middle of rural Asia and evaluating its quality. I’m reading a book about a man who is doing a Pitta Big Year,” I say. And leeches.

Hunters 202

Hunters Sri Lanka Asia Solomon Islands 202

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

Which, naturally, got me to thinking about the newly erected order Suliformes, a development I mentioned in my December column, 2010′s Top 10 Developments in Bird Taxonomy and Systematics , but which I thought deserved further examination, for it’s one of those stories that defines the era in which we are living and birding.

2011 155

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 155