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 Adam Riley.

Mozambique 195

Mozambique South Africa Africa Collecting 195

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. There aren’t many solutions proferred—the article is really about consciousness-raising—but it’s well worth a read. You’re in your summer territory, getting frisky and anticipating the pitter-patter of little beaks.

Cambodia 145

Cambodia Slaughter Slaughtered Cyprus 145

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2013

You may not realize it when you look at those bizarre looking waders with the massive bills and the vacant expression, but you’re looking at a group of birds that has inspired humankind for literal centuries. The group has a worldwide distribution; 28 species living and two additional extinct. Roseate Spoonbill , Platalea ajaja.

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Birds North America Charlotte New Jersey 224

4 The Love Of Animals

MARCH 17, 2011

When zoo keepers saw that the baby was not eating and having trouble gaining weight, they made the decision to hand-raise him. The new cub was born at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens to a mother who wasn’t able to care for him. Now, at a little more than two pounds, the cub is eating well, getting stronger and eagerly exploring his new home.

Jacksonville 100

Jacksonville White Rhinos Zoos Rhinos 100

Critter News

DECEMBER 23, 2008

In some cases, notably in Africa, biodiversity is threatened by military conflict, or by well-armed gangs of poachers. In response to both kinds of scenarios, some have begun to raise the possibility of an "eco-intervention," analogous to humanitarian interventions. Already, some conservation campaigns have taken on martial aspects.

Central African Republic 100

Central African Republic Protection Sea Turtles Rhinos 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. When was the last time you chose a book by its covers? Some are incredibly rare and hard to find.

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Congo Africa South Africa Madagascar 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2013

Geladas are the sole survivors of a once abundant branch of primates that historically foraged across the grasslands of Africa, the Mediterranean and India. We were able to spend hours sitting right in amongst super-groups of 500-600 Geladas that just carried on with their daily business in total oblivion to our presence.

Ethiopia 161

Ethiopia Primates Mammals Fur 161

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. They raise their trunks, sniffing the air. Sniffing us.

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Africa South Africa Elephants Rhinos 200

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2016

The book is produced by WILDGuides, Ltd, the excellent book company responsible for over a dozen photographic guides on Britain’s natural life ranging from dragonflies to plant galls as well as books on Africa, Australia and other areas we all want to visit, and was published this summer by Princeton University Press.

Ireland 151

Ireland Birds Groups Falcons 151

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2022

The African Spoonbill is one of the six global spoonbill species, and the main African one (there are also some Eurasian Spoonbills in Africa). While the species is listed as Least Concern, there are some papers suggesting it may not be as common as assumed, at least in South Africa. “ The diet includes seeds, nuts, and nectar.

Ostriches 147

Ostriches Parrots Birds Eggs 147

4 The Love Of Animals

MAY 8, 2011

Gazing at Cathy Conheim, a psychotherapist raised to hate cats because they ate birds, and Donna Brooks, a retired physician and sculptor who had never had a cat, but always reached out to heal anyone who was hurting, the kitten eyed them hopefully. Any animal group in the world can use these materials as fundraising tools.

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San Diego Kittens Emotional Cats 100

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2019

If they can spare a glance upward, the busy grape-pickers might also be treated to another portent of the changing seasons in the Iberian skies overhead: the sight of flocks of White Storks ( Ciconia ciconia ) heading south from their summer breeding grounds in Europe to Africa, where they spend the winter on the warm savannas.

2017 114

2017 Spain California Condor California 114

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

It confirms many of the once-radical notions put forward or refined by Shannon Hackett and her colleagues in 2008, and several since, and it proposes solutions to some of the most deeply unresolved questions about how major bird groups are related to each other. ( “Metaves” was purported to contain the groups in Jarvis et al.’s

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Family Birds Parrots 2014 279

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

From Hiro, we learn how Northern Pygmy Owls are “rule breakers,” not incubating eggs till all are hatched and then raising owlets that mature at the same rate even though the eggs were laid asynchronously (as most owl eggs are). In some ways, this is a puzzling chapter. They are also hunted.

Owls 225

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 225

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2011

Adam will be leading 10,000 Birds readers on an amazing odyssey into Africa starting… now! To the uninitiated, Africa conjures up images of underdevelopment, poverty and hardship. I was fortunate to have been born and raised in Africa, and although I have traveled extensively around the world, it remains my home and in my blood.

Papua New Guinea 231

Papua New Guinea Madagascar Africa Equatorial Guinea 231

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2015

I was in contact with a group of birders for whom I arranged and guided an annual tour to Africa. We already had South Africa, Zambia and Uganda under our belts, but my clients’ request for the next year came right out of the blue: Ghana! The rare Rufous Fishing Owl was one of the many species seen by the group here.

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Ghana Hunters Guinea Gambia 199

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 17, 2022

Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Park is the oldest proclaimed nature reserve in Africa – it was established in 1895. In terms of breeding behavior, starlings are a diversified group – some use helpers, others do not. It is thus much older than the Hold Steady song “ Heavy Covenant “, which was only released in 2021.

South Africa 197

South Africa Africa Birds Cape Verde 197

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2015

The reality is that it’s if pretty difficult to see most penguin species, excepting the wonderfully accessible African Penguins at Boulders Beach outside Cape Town, South Africa and the Galapagos Penguins, ironically one of the rarest and most commonly seen species. Raised in the Galapagos, she’s been exposed to penguins her whole life.

Penguins 209

Penguins New Zealand South Africa Albatross 209

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2022

In contrast, the females need to make sure not to get duped into raising actual cuckoos – the buntings are a targeted host species ( source ). Thus, the disparaging term “Hottentot” became a standard identifier of the inhabitants of southwest Africa” ( source ). So much for this post’s pseudo-philosophical thought.

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Birds Eggs Bangladesh China 222