10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2024

I have encountered a few of the more quirky members of the family, including the brilliant and aptly-named African Emerald Cuckoo, India’s ultra-shy Sirkeer Malkoha, and the fascinating Lesser Ground Cuckoo in Costa Rica. I wonder whether birds that breed in Europe ever meet up with those nest in southern Africa?

Cyprus 196

Cyprus Africa Europe Asia 196

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2022

So, it sometimes comes to South Africa to relax and enjoy relative anonymity. While hoopoes are in their own family, DNA studies suggest that the hoopoe diverged from hornbills, and the wood-hoopoes and scimitarbills from the hoopoe. Of course, the second explanation makes a lot more sense.

Zimbabwe 147

Zimbabwe Birds South Africa Benin 147

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2014

With a trip to South Africa on the horizon at the time, I thought I could handle it. Not a great place for a family vacation, though I think Duncan will disagree. Species Accounts are grouped by family, following what appears to be Sibley and Monroe’s 1996 taxonomy. (I Now, I’m not so sure.

Brunei 172

Brunei Birds Asia China 172

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2022

The one bird I did not see here, however, was the Bateleur Eagle … One highlight in the area is the Saddle-billed Stork , likely to be the tallest species in the stork family. The African Spoonbill is one of the six global spoonbill species, and the main African one (there are also some Eurasian Spoonbills in Africa).

Ostriches 147

Ostriches Parrots Birds Eggs 147

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2020

It didn’t occur to me till I started reading The Falcon Thief: A True Tale of Adventure, Treachery, and the Hunt for the Perfect Bird that there was also a possible threat to the eagle herself: poachers, who steal raptor eggs and chicks. McWilliam realizes he’s dealing someone special, a career falcon egg-thief.

Falcons 200

Falcons United Kingdom Zimbabwe Eggs 200

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

The species are taxonomically divided into two families: Tytonidae, Barn-Owls, and Strigidae, Owls, encompassed in one order, Strigiformes. The chapters on courtship and breeding and roosting and migration are the longest, which isn’t surprising. They are also hunted. This is a great summer read.

Owls 200

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 200

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

The goal of Around the World For Penguins is simple: Describe the 18 species of penguin and their breeding grounds “from the perspective of a traveller.” But, unlike most books focused on a bird family, this one is organized geographically. The full-length species accounts are not repeated.

Penguins 277

Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 277