10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2022

I spent a few hours on Mauritius flying from Shanghai to Cape Town, South Africa, and decided to use this time for a short trip to a nature reserve on Mauritius, the Black River Gorges National Park. You will not be surprised to hear that the Common Waxbill is also introduced – from West Africa this time.

Mauritius 217

Mauritius Birds 2000 South Africa 217

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 10, 2019

Anyone in North America might know them as Cosmopolitan Butterfly. Any individuals found in Britain are immigrants or progeny of emigrants from Europe and Africa and thus receive exalted status. For that we turn to the Nymphalidae. This year is an irruption year with Painted Ladies showing up in abundance.

Ireland 120

Ireland South America North America Groups 120

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

The Collins Bird Guide covers Europe, North Atlantic islands, much of North Africa and the Middle East. I have just checked the maps, BirdLife says South America only, but the more relevant eBird says this: The entire text and all maps have also been revised.

Europe 249

Europe Birds Woodpeckers Ireland 249

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 16, 2019

However, as DNA and morphological studies have indicated, despite the barbets of Asia and Africa looking quite like the ones in the Americas, they aren’t closely related to each other. The two families of New World barbets, the Capitonidae and the Semnornithidae, are actually more related to toucans.

Costa Rica 161

Costa Rica Colombia South America Ecuador 161

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

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. And I remembered that, back when I was a boy, I wanted to live in eastern Africa. Which leaves only East Africa. South Africa (755 / 842). Map by BirdLife International.

Sri Lanka 256

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 256

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 29, 2013

The series, which was four years in the making, follows birds across six continents, from eagles in North America to hummingbirds in South America, cockatoos in Australia, cranes in Asia, and flamingos in Africa. And many more!).

Downers 179

Downers France South America North America 179

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2017

It is apparently uncommon across most of its wide range in the shrublands of South America, little noticed and little noted, and sources are pretty thin, as they are for many birds in places like South America. From a three line stub it now has a full article. One mystery was its movements.

Science 106

Science Argentina South America Uruguay 106

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2013

Perhaps because of threats to the ecosystems of the many places the Arctic Tern visits (Europe, Africa, South America, and North America), it may be on the decline. It probably helps that they weigh less than 5 ounces! You can learn more about their incredible journeys here.) .

Bald Eagle 178

Bald Eagle Pandas Puffins Bears 178

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2014

Later the continents broke up into smaller regions such as South America, Africa, Asia and such, an a few smaller pieces like Madagascar and New Zealand as well. To be more specific, the Kiwi descends from a bird that FLEW there from Africa or Madagascar and then became the kiwi. This was on Gondwana.

Madagascar 198

Madagascar Ostriches Elephants New Zealand 198

4 The Love Of Animals

MARCH 25, 2012

National Geographic’s “Digital Nomad”, Andrew Evans, is on a trans-Atlantic journey from South America’s Cape Horn to Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. Andrew is hanging with some adorable baby Antarctic fur seals in South Geogria, and has posted a video of his encounter.

Fur 100

Fur Seals South America Africa 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2012

It certainly looks good on birds from the Americas ( Elaenia , Flatbill , Greenlet , Piculet , Piha , Siskin , Thornbill ) to Africa ( Flycatcher , Thrush ). North America’s most famous olivaceous avian, Vireo olivaceus is better known for the color of its eyes than that of its plumage. The attraction is obvious.

Cameroon 161

Cameroon Comoros Africa Woodpeckers 161

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

In Chapter 11, simply entitled “A World of Birds,” Doug explores tough questions about bird diversity around the world: Why are hummingbirds in tropical America and sunbirds in Africa, Asia and Australasia? Why are all the real tanagers in tropical America?

Science 207

Science Albatross Research Birds 207

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2017

The Sanetti Plateau in Ethiopia is a one of Africa’s greatest birding locations. As you climb you can stop to see facinating species like the Blue-winged Goose , a strange species whose closest relatives are in South America.

Ethiopia 100

Ethiopia Mammals South America Rats 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 22, 2014

I never saw one in all the time I lived in Africa, in forests where they could be seen. As with the kingfishers and barbets I’m happy to lump them, even if it means lumping the asities of Madagascar and the rather odd Sapayoa of South America. Birds Borneo broadbill Christmas Gallery tropical'

Madagascar 167

Madagascar Malaysia New Zealand South America 167

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

The Cattle Egret is native to Africa, where it is a familiar sight among herds of large mammals. In the east, this species can be found along the east coast of Africa, the Nile Valley,and into parts of the middle east and India and southeast Asia. I’d like to introduce you to a diminutive heron, the Cattle Egret Bubuclus ibis.

Cattle 170

Cattle South Korea Suriname Seychelles 170

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2012

The piculets are a distinctive and unique sub-family of woodpeckers that are best represented in South America. In fact, of the 30 or so species of piculet found worldwide, only four are found outside the continent, three in Asia and one in Africa.

Colombia 171

Colombia Woodpeckers South America Asia 171

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

Recently a Fork-tailed Flycatcher was reported from a park in San Francisco, a long ways away from its home in Central and South America. This bird was photographed a few years ago in Connecticut, by Corey Finger. This is not only a MEGAVAGRANT, it is also an absolute CRIPPLER and hard to misidentify on top of that.

San Francisco 170

San Francisco San Diego Connecticut South America 170

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2011

The difference in the name is subtle and the nominate, Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus cirrocephalus is from South America, so the locally favoured title, Gray-hooded Gull, would be more acceptable to North American birding aficionados, but I maintain that a hood would continue down the nape to the top of the back, which it clearly does not.

South Africa 171

South Africa Pedigree Africa New York 171

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

Duncan is currently enjoying South Africa but he got his BBOTY in before he left: As of today I have no idea what birds I will see in December in South Africa. Apart from being an incredibly exciting bird, this is a species I had longed to see since my first trip to southern Africa way back in 1991.

2014 184

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 184

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2014

Meet the teams: The World Birding Rally teams are composed of tour leaders from four companies: Birding Ecotours (South Africa, led by Duan Biggs); Wings/Sunbird (U.K./U.S., Birding bird race Birding Rally Peru South America' Scads of Storm-Petrels on Pre-Rally Pelagic – Nature Travel Network. Photo by Hugh Powell.

Peru 254

Peru Birds South America Owls 254

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?

Congo 264

Congo Africa South Africa Kenya 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 12, 2017

Starting in the mid-1990s, there was a “where to watch birds in…” series of five site guides written by Nigel Wheatley and covering South America (1994), Africa (1995), Asia (1996), Europe & Russia (2000) and Central America & the Caribbean (2001). I was always curious, but never had a chance to study any of them.

Africa 167

Africa Botswana Nigeria Namibia 167

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2011

At this point if I want to make any dent on the remaining families I haven’t seen I’d really need to go to either Madagascar or South America. Sometimes you gain armchair big ticks, like the White-tailed Blue-flycatcher I saw in Uganda in 2005 which later turned out to be in the Stenostiridae, a recently erected family.

Family 162

Family Wombats Uganda Fiji 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2019

Reachable by direct flights from Portugal, the island country of Sao Tome and Principe lying in the Gulf of Guinea, in the armpit of Africa, has about 140 bird species and 28 endemics – more endemics per square mile than anywhere else on Earth. The best season in the north is July to March, while in the south it is January to March.

Costa Rica 188

Costa Rica Sri Lanka Rwanda Papua New Guinea 188

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2014

That seems like an abnormally high risk for a seabird that makes its living picking up small fish from the water’s surface, but Sooty Terns are some of the most abundant seabirds in the world and spend most of their lives on the open ocean between South America and Africa, so it seems to be working for them.

Birds 175

Birds Florida Groups Breeding 175

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2024

For focusing on the client’s needs it is hard to find better than the South African community birding guides. This is a fantastic initiative by BirdLife South Africa. I’m surprised he doesn’t use personal names for “his” birds – there’s some real intimacy.

Birds 216

Birds Mozambique Zimbabwe Mammals 216

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2012

And, I started daydreaming about encountering something a little different, maybe a Horned Frog, Ceratophrys cornuta, a large, squat green and brown frog of South America, with a wide mouth large enough to eat other frogs as well as reptiles. If you don’t live near a science museum, then read this chapter.

Reptiles 182

Reptiles Madagascar Family New York City 182

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2020

So I lowered my threshold to 500 and that worked well… for Costa Rica and South America, that is (especially Peru). 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. Next time, see you in Africa.

Asia 267

Asia Malaysia Papua New Guinea Thailand 267

10,000 Birds

APRIL 9, 2013

However Africa has more long tailed species than any other region, and this blog post celebrates a few of these fabulous birds. Africa’s impressive Long-tailed Widowbird by Adam Riley. A male Long-tailed Widowbird in heavy flapping display flight low over the grassland in South Africa by Adam Riley. Widowbirds.

Papua New Guinea 233

Papua New Guinea South Africa Africa Zimbabwe 233

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2020

Maybe you are a lucky kid whose parents took you birding South America as a toddler, a rich heir with an inheritance to burn, a lucky diplomat choosing your tropical posts, an international bird guide or a bird tour agency owner? That gamble is rigged, so the house always wins.

Family 289

Family Birds South America Breeding 289

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 13, 2011

My home country of South Africa can only be described as a birding paradise! The Cape Rockjumper (here a female) is best sought at Rooiels, on the east coast of South Africa, north of Cape Town. An image of a male can be found in my African Birding Beat intro post [link].

South Africa 217

South Africa Lesotho Africa Swaziland 217

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

Each chapter focuses on a specific geographic area of penguin population: (1) Antarctica, (2) South Georgia, (3) Falkland Islands, (4) South Africa and Tristan de Cunha, (5) New Zealand and Australia, (6) South America and Galapagos. © Otto Plantema, used with permission.

Penguins 277

Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 277

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2013

Saint Helena Island, situated in the south Atlantic ocean between the continents of Africa and South America, is one of the remotest inhabited islands in the world. Its numbers are declining rapidly due to feral cats and this duck is currently listed as vulnerable. Eaton’s Pintail by N.

Birds 199

Birds South Africa South America Feral Cats 199

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2019

Birds of Ecuador” is a heavy book, but only marginally more than e.g. Helm Birds of East Africa. Robin Restall is an acclaimed bird artist, whose works include the Helm’s Birds of Northern South America (2006). The majority of these illustrations were originally painted for the Birds of Northern South America (2006).

Ecuador 144

Ecuador South America 2006 Birds 144

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2012

However South Africa doesn’t meet either of these criteria, but one special factor nevertheless carries it into this auspicious list of 17 nations – the Cape Florisitic Kingdom. The Southern Double-collared Sunbird is a common denizen of the West Coast of South Africa where-ever flowering plants abound.

South Africa 226

South Africa Africa New Zealand Asia 226

10,000 Birds

APRIL 20, 2014

The Oilbird today lives only in South America, but fossils of similar species are known from Wyoming. I wrote about the Hoatzin here a couple of years ago when Gerald Mayr published a paper hypothesizing that Hoatzins invaded South America from Africa by raft. The story just keeps getting better.

Madagascar 275

Madagascar Comoros South America Ecuador 275

10,000 Birds

MAY 30, 2014

It also supports the greatest variety of large mammals in all of South America, including such iconic species as Maned Wolf and Giant Anteater. There are approximately 10,000 plant species in the Cerrado. Low, gnarled forest found along streams had the skulky Brasilia Tapaculo and diminutive Gray-backed Tachuri.

Brazil 167

Brazil South America Collecting America 167