10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

I live in the southeast of Europe, for a while lived in the south of Africa and also have extensively birded western and central India. And I remembered that, back when I was a boy, I wanted to live in eastern Africa. Which leaves only East Africa. Some regions are politically unstable, e.g. most of Central and Western Africa.

Sri Lanka 257

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 257

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2012

Sadly, I have never seen a Red-throated Wryneck , which is only to be expected for a bird found only in sub-Saharan Africa, considering that I have not yet set foot on that continent. Eurasian Wrynecks are found breeding across the temperate zones of Europe and Asia.

Hungary 175

Hungary Asia Woodpeckers Africa 175

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 13, 2012

Great Reed Warblers breed across huge chunks of Europe and Asia and winter across large swaths of southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Many thanks to Swarovski Optik for inviting me along and letting me experience both some awesome new optics and the natural wonders of the wonderful country of Hungary. ……….

Hungary 161

Hungary Asia Europe Africa 161

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2013

It breeds in a broad and not quite coherent band from Iceland in the west through central Europe and southern Scandinavia all the way to eastern Russia, wintering in Africa, parts of India, and Southeast Asia to Australia. Aspect one is feeding when humans are not around.

Germany 179

Germany Russia Iceland India 179

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

The experience, the place, and the bird combine to make this my BBOTY. Duncan is currently enjoying South Africa but he got his BBOTY in before he left: As of today I have no idea what birds I will see in December in South Africa. Carlos’s BBOTY – the Nicobar Pigeon. I also blogged about that dreamy day.

2014 197

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 197

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2012

After all, North America has no native hedgehogs and seeing something so outside of our normal experience was pretty exciting, even if the little guy quickly headed for cover and refused to show itself for Clay Taylor, who came upon the scene a minute too late. New Zealand has a host of hedgehogs but they are introduced.

Hedgehogs 170

Hedgehogs Hungary Opossums North America 170

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2012

The family Picathartidae consists of two very unusual birds; White-necked or Yellow-headed Picathartes , endemic to the Upper Guinea forests of West Africa; and Gray-necked or Red-headed , restricted to Lower Guinea forests of Central Africa. They are also believed to be related to the Rail-Babbler of Tropical Asia.

Sierra Leone 272

Sierra Leone Ghana Cameroon Equatorial Guinea 272

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

Visiting this area for the first time after seeing it for month was a crazy experience. I have no idea what kind of wagtail, there are several it could be, and I am not particularly familiar with the wagtails of Eastern Asia and Alaska. It was astonishing, like a game drive in the savannah of Africa. A Humpback Whale.

Whales 157

Whales Whaling Sharks Bats 157

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2022

This would have allowed you to summarize your experience in sentences such as “A total of 98 boluses regurgitated by 52 chicks aged 1 day to 11 days after hatching form the sample and are shown to contain 323 food items.” This is ok as birds do not have teeth anyway).

Birds 162

Birds South Korea Japan Abandon 162

10,000 Birds

APRIL 12, 2011

We started out as a team with enthusiasm and knowledge, but little experience in book-making. Any plans for further afield (USA, Asia, Africa)? This has kept us to a West-palearctic range (so near east and north Africa are in principle within our range even though these areas haven’t yet been covered).

Badgers 145

Badgers Ethics Africa Spain 145

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2013

” The Wels Catfish, Silurus glanis , is the second largest fish in its range, which covers much of Europe and parts of West Asia. My own experience at catching catfish (big ones!) in Central Africa and in the US is that they are more active at night. I have the impression that catfish often feed extensively at night.

Fish 211

Fish Birds Whales Whaling 211

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2019

Several times, the answer was “Africa”, which, being a continent and not a country, I excluded from the statistics, but will further comment below. 4%: Mexico, West Papua (Indonesia), New Zealand, South Africa, Kenya. Africa is a huge continent with varied landscapes and rich biodiversity. 8%: Brazil, Panama. 17%: Ecuador, Peru.

Papua New Guinea 214

Papua New Guinea America Costa Rica Sri Lanka 214

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

What’s remarkable about this species is what we don’t see here: the extremely long migration that this species makes, with some individuals traveling from Sub-Saharan Africa to Greenland and back every year. And then of course who could forget the Cypriot endemic, the Cyprus Wheatear.

Cyprus 145

Cyprus 2011 Deer New York 145

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

There are a lot of other large Galliforme birds around the world, and before the Spanish were busy conquering the New World, one of these, from Central Asia most likely, was already being imported as a food product and as live birds into Europe. The Spanish Colonial Experience and Domestic Animals. This is where they got their name.

Turkey 211

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 211

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

I’ve never seen anything like it, and I learned a great deal from them – after having tracked animals in Europe and Africa already for nearly 20 years. This guide will prove invaluable to those who already take an interest in tracking and wish to gain more experience. The chapters on feeding signs are simply outstanding.

Europe 166

Europe Mammals Animal Birds 166

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences. I’m wondering as I write if you are shaking your head, uneasy that all these FACTS will interfere with your love of observing owls, an experience that easily borders on the mystical for some of us. But what do we know beyond these commonly seen and heard behaviors?

Owls 225

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 225

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

Ringer Anhinga and Darters (Anhingidae) The Anhinga and three darter species inhabit warm, freshwater regions of the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australasia. The experience also inspired my column this month at 10,000 Birds, so check that out when you’re done: Meet Suliformes, one of the newest orders of birds.) [.]

2011 155

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 155

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2021

In 2012, I reviewed The Jewel Hunter , an absorbing narrative in which author Chris Goodie travelled throughout Asia, Africa, and Australasia to observe and photograph every Pitta species in the world. Like all talented travel writers, Dunn is adept at drawing us into his experiences.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Brazil Ecuador Bolivia 264

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.

Hunters 202

Hunters Sri Lanka Asia Solomon Islands 202

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

That was a wild cat, a wild Wildcat, the cat that lives in the wild because that is where it is from and where it belongs, at the southern end of its pan-African range that extended at one time well into Europe and Asia. And I think he was speaking only of our American Kitties not the Wildcat of Africa. Unless we put them there.

Feral Cats 256

Feral Cats North America Feral Cats 256

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2013

Hornbills are spectacular under any circumstances, but when a pair lands in a bush beside you at eye-level and begin mutual preening , it makes for a spectacular experience. It was easily one of the best birding experiences I’ve ever had, even impressing my nonbirder fiance. You can read more about his experience here.

2013 168

2013 Birds Costa Rica India 168

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2020

Its waterproof fold-able covers bring back childhood memories… I must have had some illustrated children book with similar covers – my fingertips remember the experience. The author, Otani Chikara, has travelled and birded extensively in Japan and elsewhere in Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas. What I don’t like?

Japan 235

Japan Asia Birds 2000 235

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 31, 2019

Since Craig Robson’s “Birds of Thailand” (2002) is taxonomically outdated, the choice was Robson’s “Birds of South-East Asia” (the updated second, 2014 edition of the 2001 classic). The paintings are, no doubt beautiful, but how successful they are, I can judge only by checking those birds I have a lot of experience with. Or tertiary.

Thailand 199

Thailand Zambia Birds Asia 199

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

They also migrate to and from the High Arctic, crossing the Atlantic to Europe, but they keep going, down across the Mediterranean into Africa. This tiny passerine winters in Africa, places like Tanzania, Nigeria, Somalia. In my experience here, the Wheatear arrive at the end of May to early June and quickly establish territories.

Africa 204

Africa Somalia North America Nigeria 204

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2024

Elizabeth’s experience and ingenuity, for example, can be seen in her lithograph of Langsdorff’s Aracari; there was only a single specimen in a German collection and its tail was mutilated, so she obscured the tail in her plate by placing it behind a large leaf (pp. 168-168).

Australia 202

Australia Birds Europe Collecting 202

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2014

Where did the Coney Island Gray-hooded Gull come from, Africa or South America? The mystery of their presence makes finding one, chasing one, viewing one a unique experience. What year was the Red-footed Falcon seen in Massachusetts? What are the chances of finding a Redwing amidst flocks of robins? What does “ship assisted” mean?

North America 259

North America America Birds United States 259

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2020

I was trying to find that answer for a while and it turned into a very annoying experience. With improved stability and infrastructure, the Irrawaddy plains and Eastern Himalayas of Myanmar could offer some of the greatest bird species densities in the whole of Asia. Which countries topped the list?

Uganda 258

Uganda Bolivia Ecuador Indonesia 258