10,000 Birds

APRIL 22, 2021

Just last year, 5 new bird species and 5 new subspecies were discovered in a few short weeks of fieldwork on the islands of Taliabu, Peleng and Batudaka. In recent years Indonesia has been competing with the Andes as the region giving rise to the biggest number of undescribed bird species (naturally, all of them endemics).

Indonesia 264

Indonesia Timor Brunei Guinea 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2014

These bark-burrowing beetles, which apparently hitched a ride in cargo shipments from their native Asia, have been starving the ash trees of eastern and midwestern North America to death for a dozen years now. … Here at 10,000 Birds 20 July – 26 July is Invasive Species Week.

Woodpeckers 273

Woodpeckers Illinois Science Chicago 273

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

JANUARY 10, 2012

The family Picathartidae consists of two very unusual birds; White-necked or Yellow-headed Picathartes , endemic to the Upper Guinea forests of West Africa; and Gray-necked or Red-headed , restricted to Lower Guinea forests of Central Africa. They are also believed to be related to the Rail-Babbler of Tropical Asia.

Sierra Leone 267

Sierra Leone Ghana Cameroon Equatorial Guinea 267

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2012

When I read somewhere that Pygmy Geese were not actually geese at all I started doing some research. True geese belong to the tribe or sub-family Anserini within the larger family Anatidae that encompasses ducks, geese and swans. And of the the three species, the African species is without debate the most gorgeous.

Geese 180

Geese Ducks Botswana South Africa 180

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

Ackerman’s new book is about owls and owl research–the knowledge recently and currently being discovered through DNA analysis, new-tech tracking and monitoring, and old-fashioned fieldwork under the auspices of organizations like the Global Owl Project and the Owl Research Institute.

Owls 209

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 209

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

JUNE 2, 2020

It’s the bird family that most people don’t know is a bird family. The speaker turned out to be Tim Laman, and the topic was the incredible research he and Ed Scholes had spent years doing on birds of paradise in New Guinea. For many years it was thought the two bird families were related taxonomically.

Guinea 262

Guinea Birds Papua New Guinea Family 262

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2011

Among these white-headed/dark-winged gulls formerly lumped into the genus Larus , there were 18+ recognized species the last time I checked, sharing similarities that make telling them apart for the amateur birdwatcher very difficult. 1998), then the proper name for this species is L. fuscus – should be separated as species.

2011 157

2011 Cyprus Deer Species 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

This species is not only usually the earliest, but the most common. What’s remarkable about this species is what we don’t see here: the extremely long migration that this species makes, with some individuals traveling from Sub-Saharan Africa to Greenland and back every year. Get yours today!

Cyprus 145

Cyprus 2011 Deer New York 145

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 18, 2021

Instead, I want to talk about those bird species that look like being drawn by a talented cartoonist even when in fact it is just me having taken a photograph. Scientifically, of course, they all belong to the extended family of Larsonidae. In Africa, Larsonidae are represented by the African Penguin.

Birds 230

Birds China Penguins Asia 230

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2016

But, as with many avian families, the more you look, the more complicated it gets. And, the whole question of subspecies, which in the Northeast tends to focus on the Cackling Goose, but which I’m sure is a topic of fascination with other waterfowl species in all other parts of the world. There are the females, so many so brown.

North America 149

North America Asia Europe America 149

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. The archipelago consists of 17,000 islands stretching out over 2500 miles along the Equator with a varied history of avian research and study, most on the under- or not-studied side. Co-author Frank E.

Indonesia 125

Indonesia Brunei Birds Malaysia 125

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 169

Africa Botswana Nigeria Namibia 169

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2022

and in Asia, and his photos and articles have been published in many publications, including Birding and Birdwatcher’s Digest. Yellow-breasted Chat and Olive Warbler are listed in a section on “Similar Non-warbler Species”, but are given similar descriptive coverage as the “true” warblers, though not as extensive. But, then, aha!

United States 213

United States North America Species 2013 213

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2015

Mack tells the story of how he set up a research station, and a life, in Papua New Guinea. 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. This is also a good time to catch up on supplementary titles, such as guides to bird families.

Papua New Guinea 181

Papua New Guinea 2014 Penguins Birds 181

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2013

and in Asia, and his photos and articles have been published in many publications, including Birding and Birdwatcher’s Digest. I’m going to go right to a discussion of the Species Accounts, because I know that’s where you all want to be, with the warblers. But, then, aha!

United States 237

United States North America Species New York 237

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2024

This may be before the Fairy-Wrens developed the ability to detect Cuckoo young in the nest, an ability recently described by ornithologists, or this family may be one of the 60% who don’t detect Cuckoo chicks. As I said before, the book plates utilize the species names used in the original books and drawings.

Australia 186

Australia Birds Europe Collecting 186

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

There is much to enjoy and appreciate here and I only wish I could have tested out some of these species accounts in pelagic waters before writing about them (sadly, the 10,000 Birds pelagic to Antarctica was canceled this year). SCOPE & SPECIES ORGANIZATION. It covers 434 species across 9 orders and 18 families of birds.

Albatross 279

Albatross Penguins Groups Family 279

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2011

To the birder, this begs the question: what species of birds appear in the Twelve Days of Christmas ? On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me: A Partridge in a Pear Tree The partridge, a member of the pheasant family, has been a traditional game bird in England for centuries.

Turtles 279

Turtles 2004 United Kingdom Geese 279

10,000 Birds

JUNE 5, 2018

So many species that change eye color or leg color as they age. 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*). So many birds of white and gray touched with black.

2004 149

2004 North America America Europe 149

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. Swinhoe’s White-eye was just promoted to the rank of a full species in 2018. All three I have seen are males, which in this species are the subordinate sex.

Birds 147

Birds China Eggs Breeding 147