10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2012

With this quote I have the pleasure of introducing my home province (state) for this month’s 10,000 Bird’s Africa Beat. mi (almost exactly the same size as Indiana), it is one of the smaller provinces of South Africa, but is the second most densely populated with over 10 million inhabitants. At 36,433 sq. Image by Hugh Chittenden.

Mozambique 203

Mozambique South Africa Africa Collecting 203

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

JULY 11, 2013

A dusty-red road leads me through Marico bushveld deeper into the 750 square kilometers large wilderness of the Madikwe Game Reserve – the 4th largest reserve in South Africa, home to 350 bird and 66 mammal species, some 4 hours’ drive from Johannesburg. Two young bull elephants slowly walk along the road in front of us.

Africa 210

Africa South Africa Elephants Rhinos 210

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2015

Ethiopia, a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa, has firmly established itself as one of Africa’s top birding destinations. Its great diversity of habitats hosts an incredible bird count of over 900 species, including Africa’s 2nd highest list of endemics and near-endemics (after South Africa).

Ethiopia 252

Ethiopia Sudan Leopards Birds 252

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2011

Nowhere else in Africa do the preconceived ideas of the continent really exist in such living detail; tall, red-robed Maasai herding their skinny cattle, endless grasslands studded with flat-topped Acacia trees and grazed by herds of zebras and wildebeest, and dramatic volcanic calderas brimming with big game and fierce predators!

Tanzania 237

Tanzania Africa Stud Leopards 237

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

Pafuri lies in the northernmost part of the Kruger National Park and is described as “some of the most potentially productive birding territory in South Africa” on the SANParks website. A slightly more surprising threat for the vultures comes from elephants. Elephants destroy the trees the vultures live and nest in.

Elephants 147

Elephants Birds Congo Africa 147

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2020

Hence, for the rest of the world, I lowered my threshold to 400 and that worked well in Africa, but I soon discovered that for Asia I need to go further down, to 300. Other wildlife includes Asian Elephant , Tiger , Leopard. Next time, see you in Africa. Other than that, there are barely a few hotspots with over 500 species.

Asia 278

Asia Malaysia Papua New Guinea Thailand 278

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

MARCH 11, 2011

That larger clade is in turn sister to a clade containing the four remaining totipalmate bird families, which do still seem to be related, and which needed a new order name once pelicans were removed. But meanwhile, let’s look at the four avian families that comprise the brand new order Suliformes. Make up your mind, Ringer!

2011 158

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 158

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

’s bird family tree in a new tab and follow along as you read. Now it’s late 2014, six and a half years later, and here’s what we know today. Open Jarvis et al.’s Ratites, Tinamous, and Fowl. Tyrannosaurus rex didn’t exist yet.

Family 279

Family Birds Parrots 2014 279

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2022

There is also a much older blog post on 10,000 Birds (by Adam Riley) specifically on Africa’s Barbets. The European Bee-eater sensibly winters in Africa … … while the White-throate d Bee-eater – even more sensibly – does not even leave there in summer. Consistency is overrated. ” ( HBW ).

Birds 147

Birds Africa Eagles Barn Owls 147

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2016

I’ll never forget my introduction to the mammals of Kruger National Park, South Africa. We –participants of the ABA South Africa Safari—were on a small plane when one Lori Conrad looked out the window and screamed, “There are elephants down there!” and everyone ran to Lori’s side of the plane. Believe me, I tried.

Rhinos 250

Rhinos Mammals Animal White Rhinos 250

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2016

Madikwe , in South Africa, wasn’t a site of importance before it came into existence. And so South Africa’s fifth largest park came to be (it’s worth remembering that its largest park, Kruger, is the size of Israel) on marginal land that no one in particular could do much with. There are very few trees left.

South Africa 169

South Africa Leopards Giraffes Africa 169

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 177

2011 Deer Africa Peru 177

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2011

I had spent several holidays with my family in the USA in the 1980′s and then worked in Maine during the summer of 1985-beware the poison ivy and the snapping turtles! We have never been to South Africa, but it is a lovely book to look at and dream! I then had a year in Florida – beware the alligators and hurricanes!

South Africa 160

South Africa United States Austin Alligators 160

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2012

They occur in three biogeographic regions; the Neotropic, Afrotropic and Indo-Malaya ecozones, basically tropical South and Central America, Africa south of the Sahara and tropical Asia. The diminutive Tinkerbirds are Africa’s smallest barbets, depicted here is Red-fronted Tinkerbird photographed at Lalibela, Ethiopia.

Ethiopia 247

Ethiopia Tanzania Africa Uganda 247