10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2020

There is a thing parents know very well – how important it is to choose the right name for a child. Presented in numbers, Bird Families of the World has 2417 field guide style paintings, plus 797 bird photos, followed by 252 distribution maps. But why am I even interested in bird families in the first place?

Family 297

Family Birds South America Breeding 297

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2023

He was very alert now, scanning the right bank with his eagle eyes. A rather small black bird moved about, making short hops to and fro until finally it stopped for a couple of seconds, lowering its head to the side watching us inquisitively. That’s how it is with most smaller Amazonian birds. But still new species are found.

Solomon Islands 230

Solomon Islands Ecuador Colombia Brazil 230

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2023

By Louis-Jean Germain Influenced by his mother, Louis-Jean Germain has long been interested in art, and in recent years, he has become an avid painter of Asian birds. Germain has lived in East Asia since 2014. A that point in time, I could not imagine the adventure that I was going to experience and how birds would have rescued me.

Birds 189

Birds China Emotional Vietnam 189

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2022

Hongbenghe is a very small village in Yunnan, right next to the border with Myanmar. 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. One road simply ends here, giving the place a real end-of-the-world feeling.

Birds 147

Birds Myanmar China Chicago 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2022

They are places where we invest most of our birding time and rightly so; mature tropical forests are where we find the highest number of species. Tropical forest is a must but those mossy green mansions aren’t the only places where birds occur. Such field and edge birding becomes especially fun in urbanized areas.

Costa Rica 273

Costa Rica Farming Birds Sparrows 273

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 12, 2019

Birding Fraser`s Hil. Fraser`s Hill in peninsular Malaysia is another one of these almost legendary birding locations in Southeast Asia. And the birding is somewhat easier here as long as you do not make the mistake of reading some of the older bird guides. So, in terms of birds, what is it that you might find?

Birds 218

Birds Malaysia Morals Asia 218

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2021

The latter is possible, as the undisturbed areas of Nanhui keep shrinking, leaving less and less space for birds. Bramblings at Nanhui enjoy staring vacantly into space … … and accusing bird watchers of not paying enough attention to them. Somehow, for this bird it is ok. They are just too attractive.

Birds 247

Birds Humane Japan Ducks 247

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2022

At the beginning it was so big that I was afraid, I kept running and running, and I was glad when I saw walls far away to the right and left, but these long walls have narrowed so quickly that I am in the last chamber already, and there in the corner stands the trap that I must run into.” So, still room for improvement. Depressing.

Raccoons 229

Raccoons Birds Oregon China 229

10,000 Birds

JULY 19, 2018

Birders follow different patterns of bird migration and their local activities and travel accordingly. It illustrates the bird richness per country. Shown as a list, it looks like this: Less than 200 bird species: Antarctica; oceanic islands. Focus on the wider triple border area – the birding top of the world.).

Equatorial Guinea 207

Equatorial Guinea Costa Rica Guyana Central African Republic 207

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 31, 2019

Perhaps you don’t know it yet, but with more than 1000 bird species, palm-fringed sandy beaches, developed tourism infrastructure, moderate prices and political stability, Thailand is a country you definitively want to visit. Now, which field guide to pack? of Rufous-fronted Babbler.

Thailand 199

Thailand Zambia Birds Asia 199

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2019

So, this post just shows 25 birds I spotted at Nanhui (coastal Shanghai) in October 2019. One of the birds seemed somewhat incompetent in handling the seeds of the local trees. The Chestnut Bunting is quite a beauty, particularly when seen from the right angle. Sometimes I am tired of words, tired of writing.

2019 200

2019 Japan Birds Owls 200

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2022

Well, they mainly feed on birds, which may explain their low popularity. For the White-throated Rock Thrush , Wikipedia gives the slightly puzzling statement “The bird’s population is unknown, but is not increasing or declining.” Even if they look as charming as this Northern Boobook. Unfortunately, it is true though.

Birds 208

Birds China Eggs Owls 208

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 9, 2023

Apparently, she supported the research of a Romanian team on ectoparasites of birds from Meghalaya (India) – and for her troubles, the team thanked her by naming a species of feather mite newly discovered on Large Niltava after her. The Bar-backed Partridge is a species of partridge found in southwestern China and Southeast Asia.

China 147

China Hunting Birds illegal 147

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

JULY 18, 2022

Not professionally – these people come in SUVs and probably never recapture their gas money from the fish they catch (though come to think of it, neither do I with my bird photos). This is ok as birds do not have teeth anyway). One strange thing about Chongming is the inevitable presence of people fishing. End of side note.

Birds 162

Birds South Korea Japan Abandon 162

10,000 Birds

APRIL 30, 2020

Winter is not the greatest time for birding in Shanghai, and this year, there was no escaping to Southeast Asia due to Covid-19. In fact, if I were to leave China right now, they would not let me back into the country. The obvious local star of the bird world is the Reed Parrotbill.

2020 197

2020 China Asia Owls 197

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

SEPTEMBER 25, 2022

The migratory shorebirds are now returning to the Broome area and the numbers of birds on the beaches of Roebuck Bay are rapidly increasing. It is much easier to see the defining features when it is a lone bird and not surrounded by hundreds of other shorebirds. Black-tailed Godwits are on the move all around the world.

Mongolia 147

Mongolia Australia Breeding Asia 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2022

sq mi), which contradict the conservation significance of the bird it was founded for, some three decades ago – the Critically Endangered Great Indian Bustard. My guide, Chirag Solanki, told me he had once been searching here for five days, before he managed to locate the birds. Indeed, I say. The main tactic is diversion.

Gazelles 261

Gazelles India 2012 Endangered Species 261

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

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. Photography opportunities were great, with birds perched on almost every power pole, the edge of the harbor ice, and frequently flying by at eye level.

Japan 183

Japan Massachusetts Birds Eagles 183

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

JUNE 15, 2016

It’s a bang-up breeding year for super-endangered birds! The species, which migrates from the Russian Arctic to Southeast Asia, is down to about 200 breeding pairs in the wild, due to habitat loss and poaching. For the past several years, getting the birds to breed has been an exercise in futility. Both photos by the WWT).

Eggs 190

Eggs Louisiana Breeding Asia 190

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2022

The scimitar gave the name to a group of birds, the 17 species of scimitar babblers (claims that these birds were named after the Scottish naturalist Edgar Scimitar, 1755-1806, are plainly wrong). Scimitar babblers use these long downcurved bills to work through the leaf litter – they are rather terrestrial birds.

Litter 227

Litter China Species Abandon 227

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 21, 2014

The prinias are a group of around 25 Old World warbler species found in Africa and Asia. A small brown bird. Boy, this pic (and bird) was surely worth the wait. On the contrary, it may very well be one of the most dangerous bird species in Asia, if not the world. ” Birds Indonesia prinias' Yes, indeed.

Burma 162

Burma Laos Birds Indonesia 162

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2012

The mundane details that actually allow a trip to happen are tedious, but researching all those potential birds… huge fun! Because I’ll be birding Japan this weekend en route to Singapore! I’ve never birded Asia, so you can probably imagine how delirious I am in contemplating the daunting diversity ahead of me.

New Zealand 137

New Zealand 2012 Singapore Japan 137

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

2014 has been a good year for us at 10,000 Birds. We’ve traveled to lots of places, seen lots of great birds, and met lots of great birders. So, as we’ve done for the last several years we thought we would share our Best Birds of the Year with you. Below are our Best Birds of the Year. What was yours?

2014 197

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 197

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2013

To all but the greediest rice and spirulina farmers of Southeast Asia, any member of the genus Lonchura is a joy to watch. The munias, or mannikins, or silverbills, as the genus’ members are called, are finches belonging to the Estrildidae , and the 40-odd species range from Africa throughout South and Southeast Asia to Australia.

Indonesia 177

Indonesia Asia 2012 Africa 177

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

NOVEMBER 15, 2015

You’d think that dressing in green to hide from predators inside a dense rainforest is as a strategy as plain as day, yet only a surprisingly limited number of bird species on Borneo have ventured down that evolutionary road. I am equally certain this picture contains birds. Again, it was right in the centre of the picture.

Indonesia 174

Indonesia Birds Asia Groups 174

10,000 Birds

JUNE 28, 2015

You see, the Great (White) Heron/Egret is a polytypic species with four subspecies: alba in Europe, egretta in the Americas, melanorhynchos in Africa, and modesta in Asia and Oceania. Modesta should be considerably smaller than alba , which the gaudily-coloured birds are not. But what, then, is the origin of the odd colouration?

Asia 185

Asia Europe Germany Breeding 185

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2016

I remember, several times while motionlessly surveying birds, I found myself being investigated by Striped Field Mice , who would dare to come to sniff me. Europe: The sun is scorching the area, and the birds are nowhere to be seen. Asia: We wait on the top of the hillock crossed by a barbed wire fence and topped by a scarecrow.

Wildlife 185

Wildlife Tigers Asia Europe 185

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2013

JOHOR, MALAYSIA, DECEMBER 2012 – If you’re traveling to Singapore for birding, you might want to think outside the box or, in this case, the island. Some of the best birding in the area is just 90 minutes or so north in peninsular Malaysia, home of the infamous Panti Forest. Wanna try to ID this bird?

Malaysia 181

Malaysia Singapore Monkeys Birds 181

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. I’m already looking up birding tours of Borneo and pricing airfares. Borneo, the authors say, is under-birded.

Brunei 179

Brunei Birds Asia China 179

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2017

It was a good birding year. Many sad and unfortunate things occurred in 2016, but the birding was good. I started the year in Florida, traveled to India with the ABA in February, combined family and birding in an August trip to California, and in-between saw very good birds in New York and New Jersey. 1) Dusky Eagle-Owl.

2016 113

2016 India Ducks Birds 113

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2022

The Latin species name of the Marsh Sandpiper is stagnatilis , which somehow I thought might hint at the thin, needle-sharp bill of the bird (I do not know how I got this idea, maybe the word stagnatilis sounds kind of sharp) but in reality, stagnatilis means “of or belonging to pools or ponds” (HBW).

Cattle 147

Cattle Portugal Buffalo Breeding 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2022

36, if my counting is right and there has been no very recent split or lump. Presumably, in the early days of ornithology, some scientists spent most of their time transcribing bird calls. The Black-faced Laughingthrush (Longcanggou, Sichuan) is a real beauty, though this photo does not fully do the bird justice.

San Diego 219

San Diego Malaysia China Zoos 219