10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

And, to give his dream year a little more oomph, he created a grand once-in-a-lifetime goal: to track down and see every pitta species in the world in one year. I get my own idea of the lunacy of Gooddie’s quest when I talk to a friend who has birded Asia and Africa. Each chapter of The Jewel Hunter reads like a mini-travel novel.

Hunters 202

Hunters Sri Lanka Asia Solomon Islands 202

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2022

I saw two Pitta species at Hongbenghe, both among the slightly less glamourous among the pitta family: The Blue-naped Pitta … … and the closely related Rusty-naped Pitta. It seems that this is another species for which the standard phrase of scientists anywhere, “more research needed”, applies.

Birds 147

Birds Myanmar China Chicago 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2021

In 2012, I reviewed The Jewel Hunter , an absorbing narrative in which author Chris Goodie travelled throughout Asia, Africa, and Australasia to observe and photograph every Pitta species in the world. Hummingbird species, on the other hand, number in the hundreds. Jonas D’Abronzo.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Brazil Ecuador Bolivia 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2015

Another great birding adventure book is The Jewel Hunter by Chris Gooddie (Princeton Univ. Brit birder Goodie didn’t do an ordinary big year; he decided he would see every Pitta species in the world (32 at the time) in one year. I think of The Jewel Hunter often when I travel to foreign countries, wishing I could do it like Goodie did.

Papua New Guinea 187

Papua New Guinea 2014 Penguins Birds 187