10,000 Birds

JANUARY 19, 2023

On the third day in Napo, the local driving me to a bird hide was coughing a lot. Healthy enough to enjoy the sight of some Blue-winged Minlas , both in a bird hide and in a local park. Birds not used to having their photos taken often do not understand the concept of looking into the camera. Still, I was healthy. Your choice.

China 218

China Birds Burma Afghanistan 218

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2016

I started out my birding life sitting on Benches 2 and 7 at the Jamaica Bay NWR West Pond, my Peterson’s in my lap, studying Green-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers, and the occasional Pintail. But, as with many avian families, the more you look, the more complicated it gets. So much simpler than pinning down those warblers!

North America 161

North America Asia Europe America 161

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. This bird is represented in an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph. Can’t say that it is a particularly obvious name from seeing the bird.

Ostriches 147

Ostriches Parrots Birds Eggs 147

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

The poster bird of this area is the near-threatened Black-necked Crane. The HBW even mentions the importance of Ruoergai for this species: “Key sites for migrants include the Ruoergai Plateau (China), which is also an important breeding area” Common Mergansers also seem to use these wetlands as breeding area.

China 181

China Mongolia Birds Russia 181

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2021

Currently he is the convenor for Birdlife Australia in his local area and, as that suggests, he loves sharing his passion for birds and all wildlife through outings and bird walks. Currently Ken continues to dream of overseas birding tours but will settle for ones down under. First the listing part.

Birds 264

Birds 2020 Australia Species 264

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

This, 2022, has been a curious year for books about birds and birding. Dragan]: Europe’s Birds: An Identification Guide , by Hume, Still, Swash, and Harrop is a photographic guide. The artwork of “Europe’s Birds” is dazzling, the text condensed and comprehensive, and the layout and design are without peer.

Sri Lanka 240

Sri Lanka Malaysia Birds Suriname 240

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

Since the 2nd edition of the Collins Bird Guide (published as “Birds of Europe” in the US) from 2009, the field guide market for European guides is practically dead. Each family is given a double-page spread. But first and foremost – it is a beautiful book. So if it is not a standard field guide, what is it?

Europe 252

Europe Asia Cyprus 2009 252

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

It was also great to finally travel overseas again, meet a lot of people I did not know (and some I did), to be in a new country… and not just the new country, but its best birding area, where almost all local hotspots are yellow (150+ species) and several are ochre (200+ sp.), impressive for Central Europe.

Austria 298

Austria Factory Asia Battery 298

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2022

The main attraction for birders here are the hornbills – I have written about them before , so this post will be more on the other birds I saw there in 2017. Anyway, it is a very cute-looking bird if you are big enough not to be among its prey of (mostly) insects.

Birds 147

Birds Myanmar China Chicago 147

10,000 Birds

MAY 24, 2020

North America is home to many amazing bird species, including several which require a special effort to see and appreciate. There are few birds in the world with such a dramatic combination of blue, green, and red colors as the Painted Bunting. South Texas Birding & Nature. So let’s look at this sampler, shall we?

America 264

America Arizona North America United States 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2020

Be careful how you Google ‘bird of paradise’! It’s the bird family that most people don’t know is a bird family. It’s the bird family that most people don’t know is a bird family.

Guinea 264

Guinea Birds Papua New Guinea Family 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2024

I don’t remember where I first learned about Elizabeth Gould–possibly when I was birding Doi Angkhang, Thailand and saw a stunning little bird named Mrs. Gould’s Sunbird–but I have been fascinated by her story and her art for the past five years. And I’m so happy I did. Twelve years!

Australia 202

Australia Birds Europe Collecting 202

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2021

A typical description of the family is that of “a tropical African and Asian songbird that typically has a melodious voice and drab plumage”, another is “small, dull-colored passerine birds of Asia and Africa”, yet another states that they are “often rather plain” Individual species get even harsher reviews.

South Africa 239

South Africa Malaysia Africa China 239

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2023

(My Shoebill photographs, incidentally, were digiscoped from a small boat, so they’re not as sharp as they could be, but they are great reminders of an encounter with an extraordinary bird). Tawny Owl , one of the first birds I remember seeing (at the age of five) Like most of us who watch birds, I enjoy listing.

Sri Lanka 241

Sri Lanka Kenya San Francisco Greece 241

10,000 Birds

APRIL 22, 2021

“Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago: Greater Sundas and Wallacea” by James A. kg could be, do keep in mind that this guide covers 4,400 km / 2,750 mi of the Earth’s circumference, or 11% of the length of the Equator, and describes 13% of global bird diversity. Eaton, Bas van Balen, Nick W. Brickle and Frank E. Rheindt is a big book.

Indonesia 264

Indonesia Timor Brunei Guinea 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 29, 2020

But here is the truly tragic part: I was not birding during those years! The third weekend of January, I travelled to the coastal city of Acapulco to give a seminar on family finances at a church there. It originally served as the port of entry for goods brought from Asia by Spanish galleons.

Birds 166

Birds 2006 Mexico Morocco 166

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2022

At this moment, Baihualing is the eBird hotspot in China which has by far the largest number of species – 486. With 398 species, Nanhui is trailing far behind despite being covered by a much larger number of checklists (2225 compared to 608). Two of these birds are relatively easy to see at Baihualing. Is there any?

Litter 227

Litter China Species Abandon 227

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

I’ve been fortunate to encounter many owls in my birding life, sometimes because I’m looking for them, sometimes happily by happenstance. It’s also about human-owl interaction on an individual level and a wider sociocultural level, and ultimately how we can use all this for habitat and bird conservation.

Owls 224

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 224

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

Some people read cookbooks though they have no intention of whipping up a mushroom risotto, some people read bird guide books, even when the likelihood of actually seeing the creatures in those guides is remote. SCOPE & SPECIES ORGANIZATION. It covers 434 species across 9 orders and 18 families of birds.

Albatross 279

Albatross Penguins Family Groups 279

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2022

Every place has its common birds, the species that do very well in a given habitat. As we like to say, these are species that are “hard to miss”, birds that, if you are watching, will be seen. As one might expect, signature birds take many forms. Birding in a local park? What about urban sites?

Costa Rica 147

Costa Rica San Jose Asia Geese 147

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

This shouldn’t have to be stated, especially in a book on bird evolution by an evolutionary biologist with a Ph.D. How Birds Evolve: What Science Reveals about Their Origin, Lives, and Diversity by Douglas J. Futuyma is a synthesis of theory and research about evolution and birds. that’s three birds).

Science 228

Science Albatross Research Birds 228

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. Image by Cuan Rush/Rockjumper Birding Tours. Widowbirds.

Papua New Guinea 248

Papua New Guinea South Africa Africa Zimbabwe 248

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 10, 2020

November and early December can be a frustrating time here at Nanhui – on the one hand, there are fewer and fewer birds as migration slows down. On the other hand, it seems there is a better chance of getting some strays and really rare birds, such as the Ryukyu Minivet described in my last post. Here is a Little Bunting.

Stray 252

Stray Asia Industry Family 252

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2021

The recorded bird was a Nordmann’s Greenshank. The bird had been found standing calmly on the muddy esplanade of the northern city of Cairns by Adrian Walsh who, just as calmly, sounded the alarm. Adrian attracted a little bit of local press as the news of ‘Nordy’ spread far and wide if only in birding circles.

Australia 264

Australia 2019 Thailand Russia 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2022

A paper titled “Crested Goshawk Accipiter trivirgatus may adapt well to life in urban areas across its range in Asia” already made the same observation in 2018. When not watched by people thinking of the chick as cute, it eats birds though. Actually, as I just found out, this is not really new information.

Birds 147

Birds China Eggs Breeding 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2022

Not bad given that the 5 families in the inner circle of the laughingthrush family have a combined number of about 68 species. Presumably, in the early days of ornithology, some scientists spent most of their time transcribing bird calls. 36, if my counting is right and there has been no very recent split or lump.

San Diego 219

San Diego Malaysia China Zoos 219

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 25, 2015

A new paper out this month attempts to paint the most comprehensive picture yet of the origins and diversification of the American sparrows, wood-warblers, blackbirds, cardinals, tanagers, and their kin, an enormous group of birds more than 800 species strong. We now know a lot more about who is a tanager vs. a sparrow vs. a cardinal.

Sparrows 263

Sparrows North America South America Blackbirds 263

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 16, 2019

Barbets are odd, chunky birds with large beaks. There’s so much more that can be said about this group of birds but that’s the first description that comes to mind. The two families of New World barbets, the Capitonidae and the Semnornithidae, are actually more related to toucans. and the Prong-billed Barbet.

Costa Rica 178

Costa Rica Colombia South America Ecuador 178

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2022

Or would be, had I encountered more of them – so far, I have seen only a very small share of the approximately 233 woodpecker species, and got decent photos of an even smaller number – not much more than 10% of all of them. The little red bit on the crown on this photo indicates that it is a male bird.

Woodpeckers 245

Woodpeckers South Africa China Singapore 245

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2021

If you had your choice of one bird family to pursue, to seek out and observe and photograph and kvell over, which one would you choose? A passion for one bird family is also very useful. It provides goals and a definite direction for your birding travels and thoughts; sometimes it even becomes the basis of a book!

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Brazil Ecuador Bolivia 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2015

Rather than incur the wrath of Corey and face the shame of a no-show, I thought I’d quickly share some images I got of a striking African bird, the Southern Pied Babbler. Like others of the genus Turdoides it is also a very social species, found in often noisy groups. Southern Pied Babbler ( Turdoides bicolor ).

Africa 162

Africa Asia Family Groups 162

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2014

The danger of reviewing a field guide to the birds of an exotic country you’ve never been to is that you become obsessed with visiting that country, no matter how far away and how expensive it may be. Did I dare dip my toe into this catalog of tantalizing species? I’m already looking up birding tours of Borneo and pricing airfares.

Brunei 179

Brunei Birds Asia China 179

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2017

I’ve never been to the Indonesian Archipelago, but I really like the birds there. Lynx Edicions, the ornithological (and now mammal) publisher that gave us the Handbook of the Birds of the World , has now published Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago: Greater Sundas and Wallacea , by James A. So, this is no ordinary bird guide.

Indonesia 134

Indonesia Brunei Birds Malaysia 134

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2015

Bird blogging in May always gives me the creeps. This ridiculous focus of the Birding Internet on North American wood-warblers is boring on a quiet day and highly annoying during peak migration. It visits bird feeders, making it a worthy spark bird to new birders as they may see it closely. And do they ever try so hard.

Sparrows 227

Sparrows Italy Asia Austria 227

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2014

His obsession with all things feathered has led him to visit 20 countries around the world in the pursuit of thousands of different species of birds to watch, photograph, and enjoy. On Hokkaido there are three primary species that people go to see in the winter – the Big Three as I think of them.

Japan 183

Japan Massachusetts Birds Eagles 183

10,000 Birds

MAY 21, 2014

I love babblers, and whether you treat them as a single family or several (and I understand the jury keeps getting called back on that one), its a hard family not to like. It can reach quite ludicrous levels in some places, like in Danum Valley where you can see ten different species of a morning. Birds Babblers Borneo'

Malaysia 199

Malaysia Squirrels Asia Family 199

10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2015

It can’t have escaped your notice lately that the blog has been overrun with articles about North America’s pseudo-warblers (or wood warblers, as some people, apparently unaware the name is taken by a proper European species, call them), and, even worse, no small amount of poetry. Baby’s First Bird, if you will.

Africa 175

Africa Feral Ethiopia Tanzania 175