10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

Well, basically it is a good area for putting a nest as there is ample food nearby and the dunes offer protection and good views of incoming predators. In 2010 they also laid two clutches of two eggs and the second clutch did hatch, but the chicks were then predated.

Family 187

Family Eggs 2007 2008 187

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 152

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 152

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

Black-faced Pitta is found only on one of the Solomon Islands (northwest of Australia). The Jewel Hunter is heavily laced with Gooddie’s particular brand of broad ironic humor, and I did enjoy that, but I would have traded about 10 percent for a little more insight into the unexpected outcomes of his experience. Forthcoming U.S.

Hunters 192

Hunters Sri Lanka Asia Solomon Islands 192