10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2012

They are not necessarily the biggest African animals, but represented those that were considered a real hunter’s worthy prey or “game” – the African Elephant, Cape Buffalo, Black Rhinoceros, Leopard and king of the jungle, the Lion (which of course doesn’t inhabit jungle but savanna!). In Asia they are even commonly kept as pets!

Buffalo 195

Buffalo Rhinoceros Elephants Leopards 195

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2020

Hence, for the rest of the world, I lowered my threshold to 400 and that worked well in Africa, but I soon discovered that for Asia I need to go further down, to 300. In this first part, I’ll focus on continental Asia, its south and south-east (Oriental region). Indian Rhinoceros in Kaziranga, photo Anuwar Hazarika/Wikimedia Commons.

Asia 266

Asia Malaysia Papua New Guinea Thailand 266

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. I mean, how do you pick between a handful of broadbills, Rhinoceros Hornbills , two pittas, a falconet and the Whiskered Treeswift ? A lot of Asia’s storks are threatened by human activities.

2013 171

2013 Birds Rhinoceros Thailand 171

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2014

Not a great place for a family vacation, though I think Duncan will disagree. Kinabalu (at 13,455 feet the highest peak in southeast Asia), and human development that has resulted in freshwater rice fields, secondary forest, and oil palm plantations, this means that Borneo offers an incredibly high degree of biodiversity.

Brunei 172

Brunei Birds Asia China 172

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

MARCH 11, 2011

That larger clade is in turn sister to a clade containing the four remaining totipalmate bird families, which do still seem to be related, and which needed a new order name once pelicans were removed. But meanwhile, let’s look at the four avian families that comprise the brand new order Suliformes.

2011 151

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 151

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2014

This is not to say, however, that birders on holiday are, should they choose to travel with family, friends or other assorted loved ones, resigned to seeing nothing, or even nothing except the common stuff. I was thus able to pick an off-the-shelf ecotourism route and, having selected a company, customise it to my family’s needs.

Birds 180

Birds Bats Elephants Family 180