10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

The Collins Bird Guide covers Europe, North Atlantic islands, much of North Africa and the Middle East. There was one odd reprint in 2018, when the Subalpine Warbler was split into the Eastern and Western species, but the changes in the guide weren’t sufficient to call it a 3rd edition, so it remained the updated reprint of the 2nd edition.

Europe 247

Europe Birds Woodpeckers Ireland 247

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. 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. Which leaves only East Africa. And it shows.

Sri Lanka 256

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 256

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. A common resident of cloud forest, this species is often seen in pairs as it forages in mixed flocks or feeds at a fruiting tree.

Costa Rica 159

Costa Rica Colombia South America Ecuador 159

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2017

I was looking for a new project to write about on Wikipedia, something unusual, and this species appealed for reasons I can’t quite define. The migration within South America of local birds, as opposed to North American visitors, is poorly understood for many birds (as in Africa). It was both mysterious and plain.

Science 106

Science Argentina South America Uruguay 106

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

The text goes far beyond just those two birds, however, as Doug works his way through the puzzles presented by the incredibly wide diversity of bird behavior, even within species, citing current research and new and old theories, reasoning out the most likely and unlikely answers. Why are all the real tanagers in tropical America?

Science 204

Science Albatross Research Birds 204

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

Other species have certainly expanded their ranges, but never in such a rapid and global scale. The Cattle Egret is native to Africa, where it is a familiar sight among herds of large mammals. For reasons that are not quite clear, this species underwent a massive range expansion. This species is primarily an insectivore.

Cattle 170

Cattle South Korea Suriname Seychelles 170

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 197

Madagascar Ostriches Elephants New Zealand 197

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2017

The Sanetti Plateau in Ethiopia is a one of Africa’s greatest birding locations. An eclectic mix of endemics, specialties and oddly displaced species, it is one of the most memorable places I have ever birded… and I never visited it as a trip. These Chestnut-naped Francolin look like they have lipstick and heavy eyeliner!

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. Before I visited Borneo over Christmas I had only seen the one species, but I had a great deal more luck with the family on this trip, seeing four species and hearing a fifth (the famous Whitehead’s Broadbill eluded me, mind).

Madagascar 167

Madagascar Malaysia New Zealand South America 167

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. Superficially similar to Fork-tailed Flycatcher, especially if you don’t know that this species exists! This bird was photographed a few years ago in Connecticut, by Corey Finger.

San Francisco 170

San Francisco San Diego Connecticut South America 170

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2014

Eight days with 20 of the world’s top birding guides looking for some 1,000 species and three dozen endemics. You can see as many hummingbird species as the folks at Magee Marsh are seeing warbler species—during 25 minutes on a Sunday afternoon. As the rally tore through its itinerary, the species piled up.

Peru 254

Peru Birds South America Owls 254

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2012

Woodpeckers are phenomenally well-represented in Colombia and the country holds anything from 42 to 44 of the world’s woodpecker species, depending on which list you follow. The piculets are a distinctive and unique sub-family of woodpeckers that are best represented in South America. www.youtube.com/watch?

Colombia 171

Colombia Woodpeckers South America Asia 171

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

Finally, the Similan Islands are perhaps one of the most beautiful islands in the world and form a stunning backdrop to this species, one of the loveliest pigeons in the world. 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.

2014 183

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 183

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

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. He has authored several other books and many articles, largely on natural history.

Congo 264

Congo Africa South Africa Kenya 264

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2011

Not that I don’t enjoy seeing new species myself, it’s just that they are an easy target and I am nothing if not lazy and mean spirited. 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.

Family 162

Family Wombats Uganda Fiji 162

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). Species accounts for all 2,792 bird species.

Africa 166

Africa Botswana Nigeria Namibia 166

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 main island of Sao Tome has about 100 species and 17 endemics among them.

Costa Rica 186

Costa Rica Sri Lanka Rwanda Papua New Guinea 186

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. A book about all the frogs and toads of the world is an ambitious undertaking.

Reptiles 182

Reptiles Madagascar Family New York City 182

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2024

The antwren had been elevated to species level and Hilton is just a sucker for anything Paulista, and besides, who needs a reason to go birding? 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.

Birds 213

Birds Mozambique Zimbabwe Mammals 213

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2014

The island contains 80,000 breeding Sooty Terns, in addition to 4,500 breeding Brown Noddies and another 100 breeding pairs of the huge Magnificent Frigatebirds, not to mention pelicans, herons, Black Skimmers , other tern species, and so much more. Banding is best done in teams split into three, potentially four groups.

Birds 174

Birds Florida Groups Breeding 174

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2020

Knowing that there are reserves with long lists of 600 or more species, I set my threshold at more than 600 birds… and found only a few such hotspots. In early November 2020, there were 15 countries with more than 1000 species eBirded so far. Other than that, there are barely a few hotspots with over 500 species.

Asia 266

Asia Malaysia Papua New Guinea Thailand 266

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2020

Birders normally care about species and make species lists, how do families fit into those? Adding more species brings a lot of excitement, as long as you bird your own country or a continent. 11,000 species require lots of money and a good portion of one’s life. That gamble is rigged, so the house always wins.

Family 288

Family Birds South America Breeding 288

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

I’ve been fortunate to see two Penguin species in the wild (African and Galapagos) and have dreamed of seeing more–maybe even all!–especially –especially when reviewing books like A Field Guide to the Wildlife of South Georgia or Far from Land: The Mysterious Lives of Seabirds.

Penguins 277

Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 277

10,000 Birds

APRIL 9, 2013

A Long-tailed Sylph, one of the America’s many long tailed hummingbird species, photographed in Colombia by Adam Riley. A Great Argus in full call, this species’ tail consists of the longest feather in the bird world. Africa’s impressive Long-tailed Widowbird by Adam Riley. Widowbirds.

Papua New Guinea 231

Papua New Guinea South Africa Africa Zimbabwe 231

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 13, 2011

My home country of South Africa can only be described as a birding paradise! Originally considered monotypic, two species are now recognized. Cape (or Rufous) Rockjumper is a true South African endemic and restricted to the southwest Cape. Starting off with my favorites (I have to say that!), the Rockjumpers.

South Africa 215

South Africa Lesotho Africa Swaziland 215

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2013

Does the word define a species within country terms, regional terms etc? Is the term defined at the sub-species or full species level in terms of classification? The species must be listed as a separate, full species by both of the most widely used ornithological bird lists, Sibley/Monroe and Clements.

Birds 198

Birds South Africa South America Feral Cats 198

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2019

From the Amazon basin through the towering Andes to the endemic-rich Choco, it is possible to observe 600 species in two weeks and even 800 in three weeks – they could all find themselves on your life list. Birds of Ecuador” is a heavy book, but only marginally more than e.g. Helm Birds of East Africa. Still, is it hefty?

Ecuador 142

Ecuador South America 2006 Birds 142

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. of Africa’s landmass yet supports nearly 20% of the continent’s flora! An indication of its floral wealth is that this region covers a mere 0.5%

South Africa 224

South Africa Africa New Zealand Asia 224

10,000 Birds

MAY 30, 2014

There are approximately 10,000 plant species in the Cerrado. It also supports the greatest variety of large mammals in all of South America, including such iconic species as Maned Wolf and Giant Anteater. A Rufous-winged Antshrike, a typical species of lightly wooded savanna in the lower elevations of the park.

Brazil 167

Brazil South America Collecting America 167

10,000 Birds

APRIL 20, 2014

2014) — attempts to answer it by ranking species according to their “evolutionary distinctiveness,” or how distantly related they are to all other living birds. is not primarily a measure of the divergence dates of major clades of birds but rather of individual living species. ’s list.

Madagascar 274

Madagascar Comoros South America Ecuador 274

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2012

But nevertheless, this part of the country is home to an astonishing variety of birds and a good number of species that are found nowhere else in the US. In fact, this sub-species was formerly classified as endangered in the US under the Endangered Species Act. A nice Ferruginous Pygmy Owl showing its rufous tail.

Owls 144

Owls Texas Arizona Pigs 144

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2011

One such controversial bird is the Veraguan Mango , a small hummingbird species that was, until very recently, believed to be a Panamanian endemic. Veraguan Mango by Carlos Bethancourt Although the Neotropical region supports fewer bird families than Africa, there are considerably more bird species here than anywhere else on earth.

Panama 199

Panama Costa Rica 2011 Cleveland 199

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

processed the entire genomes of 48 bird species and compared nearly 42 million base pairs of DNA (Hackett et al. Now we move on to the Neognathae , which also has two very deep branches that lead to all the other living species of birds. Erich Jarvis discuss key findings. ). were revolutionary for using 32,000 base pairs!) This is why.

Family 279

Family Parrots Birds 2014 279

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 212

Papua New Guinea Madagascar Africa Equatorial Guinea 212

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

As summer ends these same birds (and the new year’s broods) then escape the snow and ice and head south for the austral summer, finding warmth, long days and abundant insect life. In the High Arctic we find several migrating species that break that mould. Birds Africa Arctic Canada migration Northern Wheatear'

Africa 192

Africa Somalia North America Nigeria 192

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2014

Where did the Coney Island Gray-hooded Gull come from, Africa or South America? I kept wishing I had Rare Birds of North America , by Steve N. In this book, rare birds are species “for which, on average, only 5 or fewer individuals have been found annually in North America since around 1950.”

North America 247

North America America Birds United States 247