10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

They may be about bird eggs ( The Most Perfect Thing: The Inside (and Outside) of a Bird’s Egg , 2016), or a 17th-century ornithologist ( Virtuoso by Nature: The Scientific Worlds of Francis Willughby, 2016), or How Bullfinches learn songs from humans ( The Wisdom of Birds: An Illustrated History of Ornithology.

Dissection 222

Dissection Birds Research Europe 222

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2022

So, it sometimes comes to South Africa to relax and enjoy relative anonymity. Reportedly, the Water Thick-knee sometimes locates its nest close to the nest of Nile crocodiles as this offers some protection. Others are being killed for use in traditional medicine. This can lead to birds being poisoned.

Zimbabwe 147

Zimbabwe Birds South Africa Benin 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2022

Wikipedia also has an interesting paragraph hinting at observation bias in ornithologists: “At the continental scale, saddle-billed storks preferred protected areas that have a higher extent of open water compared to areas without the storks. Studies on improving ostrich egg hatchability. Ostriches originated in Asia.

Ostriches 147

Ostriches Parrots Birds Eggs 147

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2012

Or, Pygmy leaf-folding frogs, Afrixalus brachycnemis, from Tanzania, tiny climbing frogs who lay their eggs in leaves and then fold the leaves over them for protection, sealing the nest with secretions. There’s the Goliath frog from South Africa—up to one foot in length and over 6 pounds in weight.

Reptiles 185

Reptiles Madagascar Family New York City 185

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. But they don’t live in North America. Unless we put them there.

Feral Cats 255

Feral Cats North America Feral Cats 255

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2012

All the inhabited continents except Africa have experienced bird extinctions; however the 2012 update of the IUCN Red List shows a startling, but not altogether unexpected, trend in that more and more of our bird species are facing extinction. Rueppell’s Vulture scanning for a carcass at Ndutu, Tanzania by Adam Riley.

Endangered Species 191

Endangered Species Species Morocco South Africa 191

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2013

I grew up in one of the most beautiful cities in the world – Cape Town, South Africa. In fact, there is no other region in Africa that offers such a fantastic level of endemism in such an accessible location. An African Penguin peers protectively around its fluffy chick.

Penguins 216

Penguins South Africa Africa Sharks 216