10,000 Birds

AUGUST 28, 2020

The hapless Sooty Tern ( Onychoprion fuscatus ) is the classic hurricane bird, but other pelagic species are entrained in storms and blown ashore as well, like Bridled Terns ( Onychoprion anaethetus ), White-tailed Tropicbirds ( Phaethon lepturus ), and Magnificent Frigatebirds ( Fregata magnificens ).

India 170

India Squirrels North America America 170

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2013

The smellier the better, particularly as, unusually for birds, many species can boast a robust sense of smell. In any case, our hang-ups with vultures clearly stem from our own issues rather than any inherently bizarre trait of the species themselves. Vultures famously feed on carrion. Dead things. Here’s the kicker though.

California Condor 185

California Condor Turkey North America Jordan 185

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2012

Due to the large number of specialty and range-restricted species it is a must-visit destination for any South African birder who wants to surpass the 800-mark of a Southern African life-list. End result – precious birding time lost and 43 adopted African kids. An incredible close encounter with this magical cat species.

Zimbabwe 198

Zimbabwe Buffalo Mozambique Birds 198

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).

Birds 162

Birds South Korea Japan Abandon 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

The majority of wildcats live today in Africa, and virtually none of them have provided the DNA from which supposed histories of domestication have been constructed by researchers. And I think he was speaking only of our American Kitties not the Wildcat of Africa. They are invasive species. But they don’t live in North America.

Feral Cats 256

Feral Cats North America Feral Cats 256

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

The very first thing we notice about this large member of the Galliformes is that there is a wild version and a domestic version, and although the two are rather different, they are both given the same species name, Meleagris gallopavo. This is not entirely unknown among domestic animals, but many domesticates have no living wild version.

Turkey 206

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 206

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 25, 2021

Anyway, so I started checking my bird photo collection for photos of species starting with an A (after all, this is a bird photo blog, though I sometimes tend to forget this). Let us start with some of the cheaters in the A-Team – the ones just adopting the name of a continent to get into this post. Are you still with me?

South Africa 327

South Africa China Nevada Africa 327

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 12, 2024

The scientific species name of the Golden-throated Barbet is franklinii , commemorating Capt. The HBW section on this species’ behavior mostly repeats the phrase “more information needed” Though of course scientists, hungry for grants and topics, say that all the time. Ok, I made that up. Then, on to nuthatches.

Birds 181

Birds China Woodpeckers Breeding 181

4 The Love Of Animals

APRIL 20, 2012

It turns out that people are not the only ones, who can adopt children – animals are good at this as well. Especially it is associated with dogs, which may raise kids of other species and even of scary and dangerous representatives of wildlife!

Badgers 100

Badgers Tigers Zoos Porcupines 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2011

In southern Africa, there are two species. The Spotted Thick-knee , Burhinus capensis is, is found across much of Africa, favouring open country and is perfectly suited to the dry sandy ground of the cape region, where this individual would almost certainly have been overlooked were it not for its bright yellow legs, eyes and bill.

2011 166

2011 Deer Africa Peru 166