10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2021

One in November 2018 included a one-day birding trip in the Drakensberg area, a mountain range in the border area between South Africa and Lesotho. The Common Waxbill looks like it belongs in a pet shop rather than in the wild. Originally restricted to Africa, it is now also well-established in parts of Europe and South Africa.

South Africa 252

South Africa Africa Lesotho Nigeria 252

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2013

In 1898, Hermon Bumpus published a paper about change in the morphology in a population of House Sparrows that he proposed was an example of Darwinian Natural Selection in action. House Sparrows ( Passer domesticus ) are introduced birds over most of their very large range. It actually hit me, slamming into my windshield.

Killing 210

Killing South Africa Nebraska Collecting 210

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2012

The Rose-ringed Parakeet naturally occurs in two isolated areas: a thin strip across Africa just south of the Sahara, and south Asia where it is mostly found in India with smaller ranges in adjacent countries. This is what happens when people choose their pet birds on visual factors alone without taking vocalizations into account.

Germany 253

Germany Netherlands Zoos Geese 253

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2022

Strangely, the Latin name of the Hair-crested Drongo is Dicrurus hottentottus – Hottentot is a name previously given to the Khoikhoi, a nomad pastoral people of Namibia and South Africa, far away from where this drongo lives. On the other hand, in the West, mice, and rats are also kept as pets, maybe with the same logic.

Birds 230

Birds Eggs Bangladesh China 230