10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2021

A simple, useful world map in outline shows approximate breeding ranges in yellow and wintering ranges in blue, and for some birds, permanent resident ranges in green. Some birds with populations on different breeding grounds move not to the same winter quarter but to far-distant ones – such as the Red-necked Phalarope.

Alaska 230

Alaska Breeding Kenya Africa 230

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

The Collins Bird Guide covers Europe, North Atlantic islands, much of North Africa and the Middle East. Left – 2nd edition, right – 3rd edition So, not much has changed since the 2nd edition? Many vagrants have been recorded again and again, giving them the right to sneak into the main plates and to get a full coverage.

Europe 263

Europe Birds Woodpeckers Ireland 263

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2020

What happens when you put a naturalist in a kayak, adrift in Africa? I have read canoeing articles from Africa and knew that the Nile Crocodile ( Crocodilus niloticus ) pays no attention to the boat and, in theory, as long as I’m inside I’m safe. There are no crocs around here,’ said a smiling bartender. Oh, my big mouth!

Botswana 207

Botswana Africa 2001 Fish 207

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. 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. Which leaves only East Africa. South Africa (755 / 842).

Sri Lanka 257

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 257

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2024

With its striking combination of colour rings I suspected that it would be easy to find out more about this particular bird, and I was right. Black-tailed godwits winter in large numbers on the estuaries of both Norfolk and Suffolk, and we know that nearly all these birds breed in Iceland.

Lithuania 130

Lithuania Morocco Iceland Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

He may have been looking for the best way to sabotage a power supply, right? Technically, it was a possibility, but if that was the case, he would never defend a PhD thesis on birds breeding along the high voltage powerlines in a treeless agricultural landscape. You noticed it: it doesn’t even live in Western Africa at all!

Belize 242

Belize Birds Africa Dogs 242

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2022

From one side, the reserve is under the attack of spreading arable fields, from another by numerous wind generators and it is no easy task to support the surviving breeding birds within its borders. Located in the Kutch District of Gujarat, the Naliya Grassland is the smallest reserve of India, covering only 2 square kilometers (yes – 0.77

Gazelles 263

Gazelles India 2012 Endangered Species 263

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 9, 2019

Our first Day In South Africa, I spotted the Burchell’s Courcal, as it flew across the road in front of us we entered Kruger National Park. While visiting the Kakadu National Park, I was able to photograph this Rainbow Bee eater right after it had caught a dragonfly. I present to you, my favorite birds of 2018.

2018 178

2018 Costa Rica South Africa New Zealand 178

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. Sounds like clever behavior by the parrotbills, right?

Birds 162

Birds South Korea Japan Abandon 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2019

The Great Horned Owls that live in the palm trees right above our RV have returned and brought with them a pair of fledglings. They are located in the Santa Cruz Flats just north of Tucson, and are quite honestly, living right alongside the road. That was no deterrent from landing right in the middle of the road.

Owls 167

Owls Arizona Tucson South Africa 167

10,000 Birds

MAY 26, 2024

Griffon Vultures have a long breeding season. Isn’t it a bit late to breed? A Griffon Vulture rests on a rooftop in the city of Gibraltar, having just crossed the sea from Africa If you check these Griffons , and I have looked at and photographed thousands, not one is an adult. So why are these Griffons arriving now?

Africa 246

Africa Morocco Senegal Europe 246

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

I don’t think I’ve ever done a post on my home patch of Cape Town, South Africa. Breeding groups typically occupy territories of around 8 hectares and consist of a breeding pair and one or two helpers. So I’m going to feature one of my very favorite locations, just 45 minutes drive from the city centre.

South Africa 253

South Africa Penguins Birds Africa 253

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2012

The wonderful family Meropidae contains 27 dazzling species, of which Africa is endowed with no less than 20 species, the balance occurring across Asia and with one as far afield as Australia. Carmine bee-eaters occur throughout most of Subsaharan Africa, and many populations migrate widely post breeding.

Africa 266

Africa South Africa Gabon Uganda 266

10,000 Birds

JUNE 28, 2015

You see, the Great (White) Heron/Egret is a polytypic species with four subspecies: alba in Europe, egretta in the Americas, melanorhynchos in Africa, and modesta in Asia and Oceania. But we’re far from done with the confusion. egretta : legs mostly black, plumage white, bill mostly yellow/orange, size considerable.

Asia 188

Asia Europe Germany Breeding 188

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2015

Add more than 350 pairs of White Pelicans to that picture, numerous herons and up to 700 pairs of Pygmy Cormorants breeding in the same reedbeds (cover photo)… It must be bursting with activity in spring, but I was there in mid-September. Have you heard of it? Can you pinpoint it on a map? and dual digits. 02, G04,06,07,40 and G74.

Greece 252

Greece Pelicans Geese Breeding 252

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2013

Therefore I have decided to right my wrong by providing first and foremost some avian eye candy, and not talk. 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.

Germany 181

Germany Russia Iceland India 181

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

Larry starts us off right with an owl that makes birders drool: I was able to see and photograph many great birds in 2014 but my Best Bird of the Year would have to be the Great Gray Owl , the largest Strix in North America. Below are our Best Birds of the Year. What was yours? Let us know in the comments…see you there!

2014 202

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 202

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2011

Growing up within an hour of one of the world’s premier shorebird destinations -- West Coast National Park in South Africa -- helped for sure. This is an endemic breeding bird in North America and much is now being done by various federal and non-profit groups to ensure and foster its conservation. Wicked, right?

Florida 206

Florida South Africa 2011 Africa 206

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2017

I have to say right off that taxonomic organization is imprinted in my brain. I was happy to see the female/nonbreeding Pin-tailed Whydah male, with its short tail and little-brown-job bod —quite a contrast to the excessively long-tailed breeding plumage male, and one that astonished me when I first saw it. And, heavy.).

Ecuador 184

Ecuador Wildlife Reptiles Birds 184

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2014

They need to go north to breed and we will anxiously await the return of the adults and the juveniles later in the year. You have to have a lot of respect for all migratory birds when you imagine the lives they live and the incredible journeys they make to enable them to breed and to continue to survive in a changing world.

Belarus 162

Belarus Cameroon Taiwan China 162

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2015

My number one choice at the time was Egyptian Goose ( Alopochen aegyptiacus ), an adaptable sheldgoose from Africa that was rapidly becoming established in peninsular Florida. They were right! In 2014, the Florida Ornithological Society Records Committee (FOSRC) voted to add this species to the Florida state list.

Los Angeles 154

Los Angeles Miami San Francisco Florida 154

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2013

The family Regulidae comprises six small, hyperactive species that range through the great boreal and temperate forests North and Middle America, North Africa, and Eurasia. Don Roberson has a great family page too, and a couple of years ago, Corey compiled some of the best kinglet photos from right here on 10,000 Birds.

Family 190

Family Guatemala Mexico Japan 190

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. At least, that is what this North American birder thinks – we’ll know for sure if I ever encounter one again! If that makes any sense at all.)

Hungary 162

Hungary Asia Europe Africa 162

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2016

Data were collected from the North American Breeding Bird Survey and the Pan-European Common Birds Monitoring Scheme. The total overall impact on bird populations, related to climate change, is the same in North America (on the right) and Europe (on the left). Again, Europe is on the left, North America is on the right.

North America 125

North America Europe America United States 125

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2014

In her free time she travels near and far to find birds to continue building her life list, though many of her favorites can still be found right in her own backyard. The park is home to not one, not two, but large three colonies of breeding seabirds: the Brown Noddy , Magnificent Frigatebird , and Sooty Tern. Lots and lots of birds.

Birds 189

Birds Florida Groups Breeding 189

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2013

It all seems like such a charmed life … until you have to fly down to Africa for the winter. The population of Millerbirds on Laysan has doubled , and breeding seems to be going well. You’re in your summer territory, getting frisky and anticipating the pitter-patter of little beaks.

Cambodia 146

Cambodia Slaughter Slaughtered Cyprus 146

Animal Ethics

JUNE 7, 2016

In light of this horrible incident, is it right for the zoo to carry on a breeding program that subjects more animals to such unnatural lives? It is estimated that due to conflicts with humans, the bushmeat and body parts trade, disease and habitat destruction, large mammals in Africa may be extinct by the end of this century.

Los Angeles 40

Los Angeles Gorillas Zoos Non Human 40

Animal Person

MARCH 27, 2009

Henican writes: The truth of the matter, of course, is that most city kids will never have the chance to visit the wilds of Africa and Asia, assuming there are any wilds left in the decades to come. The elitist “animal-rights” zealots hate to admit this.

Circus Animals 100

Circus Animals New York City Elephants Zoos 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 26, 2021

I did that with Peacocks & Picathartes – Reflections on Africa’s birdlife (published by Penguin Random House South Africa ). In case you didn’t know, yes, there is an indigenous peacock living in Africa, the Congo Peafowl. He has authored several other books and many articles, largely on natural history.

Congo 264

Congo Africa South Africa Madagascar 264

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2013

Despite filling very similar garbage disposal related niches, the vultures in North America and the vultures in Eurasia/Africa are really not that closely related. In the 70s, with the survival of the species in jeopardy, the entire wild population was captured and brought into a captive breeding program in southern California.

California Condor 196

California Condor Turkey North America Jordan 196

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 16, 2011

From there, we learn of the effects of season creep on Great Tits and winter moth caterpillars in the Netherlands, the increasing gap between male and female migration dates in Africa-wintering Barn Swallows and the lengthening migration of Barred Warblers as their breeding grounds shift north.

Netherlands 159

Netherlands Birds Buffalo Science 159

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2014

This shearwater is a Mediterranean endemic, breeding from Sardinia and Corsica to the Adriatic and the Aegean. On our way back, three Common Bottlenose Dolphins show right next to the boat and, some time later, a Painted Lady ( Vanessa cardui ) butterfly appears some 300 metres downwind from the shore.

Greece 246

Greece Malta Croatia Birds 246

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2012

In this epic post, Patrick depicts just how dynamic the pelagic birding is off Cape Point in South Africa. Here one is close to the scenically impressive Cape of Good Hope National Park as well as the Boulder’s Coastal Park, home to hundreds of breeding African Penguins.

Albatross 193

Albatross Penguins Dolphins Whales 193

10,000 Birds

APRIL 12, 2011

reduce traffic casualties amongst Badgers , get the White-tailed Eagle back as a breeding bird, increase the number of protected plant species etc.). Any plans for further afield (USA, Asia, Africa)? They don’t profess this to be the only right way of looking at an area, they merely want to hand a reference of valuing an area.

Badgers 145

Badgers Ethics Africa Spain 145

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 5, 2012

The Woodchat Shrike Lanius senator can be found all around the Mediterranean, including many parts of North Africa, and its range extends East into Iran. If it still breeds in Germany at all, which it might do, it is so rare by now that pairs do not get reported to anywhere except to the relevant nature conservation authorities.

Cattle 121

Cattle Germany Iran Breeders 121

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2014

With a trip to South Africa on the horizon at the time, I thought I could handle it. This is evident in the introductory material, which includes sections on The Origin and Evolution of Borneo’s Birds, Conservation in Action, Vegetation and Bird Life in Borneo, Climate, Rainfall and Bird Breeding Seasons, and Bird Migration.

Brunei 182

Brunei Birds Asia China 182

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2011

It takes a little longer for the hordes pouring out of Africa to reach the north of England, at least a week, often two after the first migrants make landfall on southern coasts before we get even a sniff of anything that has been near a Wildebeest over the winter. Wicked, right? I so miss it now that I live inland!!!!

2011 159

2011 Deer Fish New York 159