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 165

Africa Hunters Goats Wolves 165

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2015

To us on the traditional side of the Atlantic, they’ll always belong to the family Iznogoudae , the birds who want to become warblers instead of the warblers. The genus Passer has several well-recognized and recognizable species in Europe, and still holds several enigmas. And do they ever try so hard.

Sparrows 215

Sparrows Italy Asia Austria 215

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Africa has more than its fair share of storks, with 8 of the world’s 19 species gracing the continent. 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. It is also related to Wood Stork of the Americas and Milky Stork of Asia.

Africa 239

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 239

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

Mute Swans are large, white, and decorative, and as such their natural range has been significantly altered by humans who generally enjoy having them around. Its natural range in Europe was restricted the the surroundings of the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea, and in Asia it ranged from Asia Minor to central China.

Feral 169

Feral Europe Asia North America 169

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2014

Did I dare dip my toe into this catalog of tantalizing species? Not a great place for a family vacation, though I think Duncan will disagree. The field guide differentiates itself from other guides to birds of Borneo and Southeast Asia ( Birds of Borneo: Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak, and Kalimantan by Susan Myers (Princeton Univ.

Brunei 174

Brunei Birds Asia China 174

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. It has recently been reclassified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List; this category is reserved for only the most threatened species in the world.

Vietnam 154

Vietnam 2000 Germany Groups 154

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2014

When all of you are settling in inside away from the snow for family, food and arguments, we’re all getting our travel on. The scope is to give you the illusion you might be able to work out the species). My first view of this amazing species! Note bonus swift in background (no idea what species).

2013 174

2013 Birds Rhinoceros Thailand 174

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. Yes, there are Caspian Gulls on this picture. And Jackdaws.

Kazakhstan 113

Kazakhstan Germany Ukraine Asia 113

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2013

The smellier the better, particularly as, unusually for birds, many species can boast a robust sense of smell. In any case, our hang-ups with vultures clearly stem from our own issues rather than any inherently bizarre trait of the species themselves. Vultures famously feed on carrion. Dead things. millions years ago.

California Condor 180

California Condor Turkey North America Jordan 180

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2011

European Storks are majestic, they’re graceful and stately and all of the positively connotated adjectives that are applied to birds to which humans have a long and pleasant history rooted deep in our western cultural heritage. In fact, there’s hardly a bird in the world that has such a venerated relationship with us.

North America 170

North America Pedigree South Carolina Brazil 170

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

DECEMBER 11, 2012

Elephant The big – two species of elephant are now recognized as occuring in Africa, the smaller and more secretive Forest Elephant and the larger, more familiar African or Bush Elephant. The little – the two species of black Buffalo Weavers obtain their appellation from their dark coloration that resembles their fearsome namesake.

Buffalo 201

Buffalo Rhinoceros Elephants Leopards 201

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

Other birds with webbed feet, including ducks and geese, have only three webbed toes; the hallux (which in birds is usually the “hind toe&# and in humans, the “big toe&# ) is free. For all of recorded history, humans have classified other living things by their physical characteristics.

2011 152

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 152

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. Hummingbird species, on the other hand, number in the hundreds. So, when British natural history writer Jon Dunn (not to be confused with U.S.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Brazil Ecuador Bolivia 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

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. The species are taxonomically divided into two families: Tytonidae, Barn-Owls, and Strigidae, Owls, encompassed in one order, Strigiformes.

Owls 209

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 209

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2017

Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago covers 1,417 species, 601 endemics, 98 vagrants, 8 introduced and 18 undescribed species. With the advent of human development, we can now add “farmland and plantations” to various types of forest, rainforest, and swamps. Co-author Frank E.

Indonesia 125

Indonesia Brunei Birds Malaysia 125

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

It’s my fantasy and it’s yours: Quit the job, say good-bye to the family, and bird. 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. If it were just the birds, I’d grab my bins and be on the next plane to Asia or Africa.

Hunters 192

Hunters Sri Lanka Asia Solomon Islands 192

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2012

Humans are hardly the only organisms that look for more in prospective mates than just loyalty, kindness, and a great sense of humor. And it’s no wonder, considering how millions of years of evolution have bred species with the capacity to command a room well before they enter it, if you know what I mean!

Pelicans 170

Pelicans Birds Jordan Asia 170

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2012

They occur in three biogeographic regions; the Neotropic, Afrotropic and Indo-Malaya ecozones, basically tropical South and Central America, Africa south of the Sahara and tropical Asia. They are generally cryptic species and despite frequent extended bouts of calling, their ventriloquial skills make them tricky to locate.

Ethiopia 229

Ethiopia Tanzania Africa Uganda 229

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2017

The Crossley ID Guide: Waterfowl covers every residential, migrating, vagrant, exotic, and introduced swan, goose, dabbling and diving duck in North America (Canada and the United States): 62 Species Accounts on four swan species and one vagrant subspecies; 15 goose species; 46 duck species; plus accounts for hybrid geese, ducks and exotics.

Ducks 117

Ducks North America Geese Hunters 117