10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2015

I’m a big fan of the antelopes, a group that is most commonly associated with Africa but which also occurs in Asia and, if you stretch the term to be cladistically meaningful, Europe and North America. By this I mean applying the term antelope to cover all of the family Bovidae, which would include the sheep, goats and ox.

Africa 177

Africa Hunters Goats Sheep 177

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 29, 2020

Cuba (twice), South America (twice), Europe and Morocco (once) and Bali (once). 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 169

Birds 2006 Mexico Morocco 169

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 24, 2016

The Common Gallinule , is the most wide spread of all the members of the rail family, being found from Canada, to Chile, Europe, Asia, Africa, much of the Pacific, and the Galapagos Islands. These birds have been known to be prolific breeders, with as many as 8 broods a year, and each clutch holding from 5-13 eggs.

Chile 100

Chile Breeders Asia Mexico 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Furthermore we have another very special stork-like bird, the regal Shoebill , previously known as the Whale-headed Stork but now placed in its own family. Like the Adjutants in Asia and Jabiru of the Americas, the Marabou is our bare-headed scavenging stork. It is also related to Wood Stork of the Americas and Milky Stork of Asia.

Africa 248

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 248

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2020

It seems to me that Lynx Edicions must know Vedran, too, and it was with him in mind that their authors, David W Winkler, Shawn M Billerman and Irby J Lovette, chose the “Bird Families of the World: A Guide to the Spectacular Diversity of Birds” as the full title of their new edition. Families perhaps? It weighs 3.7

Family 298

Family Birds South America Breeding 298

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2017

I was given my first real field guide to the birds of Europe by my parents, a guide beyond the species found at backyard feeders and city ponds. My childhood in the 1970s and 1980s was of course shaped by family, friends, playmobil ( very popular in Germany back then), and school but also to a certain extend by the Cold War.

Europe 100

Europe Birds Kazakhstan Russia 100

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. One would think that for a species as common in Europe as the Grey-headed Woodpecker , the HBW would spend some effort to update the species entry.

Birds 147

Birds Myanmar China Chicago 147

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2015

For both forms, their little patches within the WP are but outlying exclaves of a much wider range elsewhere in Africa and Asia, respectively. After all, many may have depended on the marshes to provide food for their families, and thus acted in self-defense when they eradicated the Purple Swamphens. Pay heed to the warning.

Spain 157

Spain Hunters Africa Hunting 157

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2012

The Edwards’s Pheasant is a rather smart blue-black member of the pheasant family and it may be on the edge of extinction. Leading scientists, conservationists and aviculturalists from Europe and South-east Asia met at Walsrode in Germany recently to formulate a rescue plan.

Vietnam 157

Vietnam 2000 Germany Groups 157

10,000 Birds

APRIL 9, 2011

If you are mildly interested, proceed and read the caption. Despite being taken in Europe, this image exemplifies why forest birding in North America might soon be rated NC-17. There are currently 10 species of Treecreepers that form the family Certhiidae, nine in the genus Certhia and an additional oddball in another genus, Salpornis.

North America 145

North America Europe America Asia 145

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2012

a person characterized by reclusive habits or outmoded or reactionary attitudes The wren family is called Troglodytidae. If the birds in the Western Hemisphere are two species then surely the birds of Europe, Africa, and Asia comprise more than that? Troglodyte (noun) 1.

North America 128

North America Asia New York 2010 128

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2016

But, as with many avian families, the more you look, the more complicated it gets. It has also been published in Great Britain by Bloomsbury Publishing under the title Wildfowl of Europe, Asian, and North America , which explains why the English translation has British spelling conventions. There are the females, so many so brown.

North America 167

North America Asia Europe America 167

4 The Love Of Animals

APRIL 24, 2012

Families get ready for fun in the sun with loads of sunscreen and cute hats, but many don’t realize they need to safeguard their four-legged friends from the spiking temperatures as well. Espree serves customers throughout Europe, Asia, Canada and the U.S.

Dogs 100

Dogs Pets Puppies Asia 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2011

Of course, I’m speaking of the mysterious Wood Stork , Mycteria americana , the only representative of that famous family to regularly occur north of the Mexican border and present in large numbers along the northern coast of South Carolina, where I found myself a couple weekends back.

North America 171

North America Pedigree South Carolina Brazil 171

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. Weighing 2.88 But first and foremost – it is a beautiful book. So if it is not a standard field guide, what is it?

Europe 257

Europe Asia Cyprus 2009 257

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2012

Generally the large family herds of buffalo are peaceful, but the old bulls (called “dagga” boys, “dagga” being a Zulu word for “mud” since they are often covered with the substance after their long wallows) who have left the herds tend to be furious with life in general and anyone they can smash in particular.

Buffalo 220

Buffalo Rhinoceros Elephants Leopards 220

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2016

The world is still turning, the blog didn’t crash, no anonymous threats against my family on social media … I guess my small series on gulls may continue with part 2 of 3, which will focus on the Herring Gull ‘s second side-kick: Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans.

Kazakhstan 122

Kazakhstan Germany Ukraine Asia 122

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. Another member of the stork family, the African Openbill , looks like it is could benefit from a good orthodontist. Ostriches originated in Asia.

Ostriches 147

Ostriches Parrots Birds Eggs 147

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 18, 2021

Scientifically, of course, they all belong to the extended family of Larsonidae. It is even a bit doubtful whether the titmouse is a true Larsonidae – ongoing genetic research may result in the species being reassigned to the separate family of cute birds instead (Adorabilae ).

Birds 251

Birds China Penguins Asia 251

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

Birders from Western Europe will surely note, upon seeing Black-eared Wheatear here, the difference between this Eastern race and the Western race that they may have seen in Spain or France. Dan is an active member of BirdLife Cyprus and goes birding whenever his career and family allow.

Cyprus 145

Cyprus 2011 Deer New York 145

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2020

It’s the bird family that most people don’t know is a bird family. For many years it was thought the two bird families were related taxonomically. Like Antpittas and Gnateaters by Harold F. Introduction. Images of typical display poses are included for many of the birds of paradise.

Guinea 264

Guinea Birds Papua New Guinea Family 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2012

The wonderful family Meropidae contains 27 dazzling species, of which Africa is endowed with no less than 20 species, the balance occurring across Asia and with one as far afield as Australia. They are usually found in small family groups perched atop bushes or short trees, from whence they sally out to catch their prey.

Africa 266

Africa South Africa Gabon Uganda 266

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. Babblers are a diverse family or group of families, but when you say babbler I think of birds that are a) highly social and b) quite noisy.

Malaysia 205

Malaysia Squirrels Asia Family 205

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

The species are taxonomically divided into two families: Tytonidae, Barn-Owls, and Strigidae, Owls, encompassed in one order, Strigiformes. Ackerman skirts around a related problem, the trade in owls in markets in southeast Asia and Japan, an outgrowth of Harry Potter mania. This is a great summer read.

Owls 231

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 231

10,000 Birds

APRIL 9, 2013

These large seedeaters (belonging to the weaver family) are so named for the generally black plumage of the adult male, resembling a widow in mourning. The 9 species of whydah are brood-parasitic seedeaters belonging to the Indigobird family. Africa’s impressive Long-tailed Widowbird by Adam Riley. Widowbirds. Sugarbirds.

Papua New Guinea 252

Papua New Guinea South Africa Africa Zimbabwe 252

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2011

It is also familiar at inland sites in winter, especially reservoirs and refuse tips, and breeds in the relatively-Northerly regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. Dan is an active member of BirdLife Cyprus and goes birding whenever his career and family allow.

2011 157

2011 Cyprus Species Deer 157

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). Family accounts for all 142 bird families recorded from the region.

Africa 180

Africa Botswana Nigeria Namibia 180

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2018

Each individual Species Account begins with common name, scientific name, and measurements (sourced from Howell and Dunn’s Gulls of the Americas and Olsen and Larsen’s Gulls of North America, Europe, and Asia ). A larophile is a gull enthusiast, taken from the genus name Larus and/or the family name Laridae.

North America 210

North America America El Salvador Nicaragua 210

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2024

These images are a wonderful cross-section of Gould’s best work, pulling from books on Toucans, birds of Australia, Trogons, Europe, and Darwin’s Voyage of H.M.S. All of Elizabeth’s birds were drawn from skins, though the Birds of Europe images benefitted from her observations of real live birds.

Australia 210

Australia Birds Europe Collecting 210

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2023

It all started many years ago, when for my ninth birthday I received my first copy of Peterson’s Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe (3rd revised edition, 1958). In the front was the first checklist I’d ever seen: it featured all the birds of Europe, and within days I was ticking away merrily. Fantastic!

Sri Lanka 244

Sri Lanka Kenya San Francisco Greece 244

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2012

Indeed it was part of that family. Until then the fantails were a family of rather personable flycatcher-like birds ranging from India to New Zealand. The family had a single genus and was very conservative in body shape, basically a short dumpy bird with a long fan-able tail and a bucketload of energy.

Horses 167

Horses France North America Fiji 167

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

It covers 434 species across 9 orders and 18 families of birds. Other families are more complicated and these introductory sections are correspondingly longer and amazingly more detailed. Although Harrison did all the artwork for the 1983 title, he enlisted artist Hans Larsson for terns, gulls, and skimmers–the Laridae family.

Albatross 279

Albatross Penguins Family Groups 279

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 3, 2013

There is a Linnet at Kissena Corridor Park in Queens, and though I bird this park regularly, the Linnet, a bird regularly found in Europe, Asia, and North Africa and also named in a sweet song by Stephen Sondheim (Green Finch and Linnet Bird from Sweeny Todd) has eluded me. I needed a book showing a Linnet.

Ireland 174

Ireland 2013 Breeders Ducks 174

10,000 Birds

JUNE 5, 2018

Gulls of the World: A Photographic Field Guide is a successor, or companion, as the author terms it, to Klaus Malling Olsen’s classic guide, Gulls of Europe, Asia and North America (Helm, 2004*). I suppose this works with such a small family, but it made my librarian brain ache just a little bit.

2004 167

2004 North America America Europe 167

10,000 Birds

JULY 12, 2018

The chicken, which the ancient Egyptians called “the bird that gives birth everyday”, was introduced to Europe by the fifth century B.C., That’s “c**k-a-doodle-doo” en français: a Red Junglefowl ( Gallus gallus ) in its native habitat in southeast Asia. This is a bird deserving respect.

2016 102

2016 France Chickens Fowl 102

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2017

This is how, I think, the “Crossley technique” works best—coverage of specific bird families that pose identification challenges to birders at all levels of skill. And Hybrids: Waterfowl tend to hybridize to a greater degree than most other bird families, and the guide does an excellent job of covering hybrids.

Ducks 128

Ducks North America Geese Hunters 128