Critter News

AUGUST 25, 2008

State wildlife officials are investigating a possible poaching case in which someone removed the gallbladder of a black bear -- which can sell for thousands of dollars in Asia -- after the animal was struck and killed this week by a car in the Lake Tahoe area. Mark Lucero of the Department of Fish and Game's Northern Enforcement District.

Bears 100

Bears Asia Trafficking illegal 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Like the Adjutants in Asia and Jabiru of the Americas, the Marabou is our bare-headed scavenging stork. Only slightly shorter, but more elegantly built than the Marabou, the Saddle-billed also has a sister species in Asia, the Black-necked Stork. It is also related to Wood Stork of the Americas and Milky Stork of Asia.

Africa 243

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 243

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2014

A housecat in Buenos Aires got its start in Africa, a sheep in Australia to the Middle East, a chicken in Ireland can trace its origin to the jungles of Asia. There were no mammals, little game, and not many birds either. But man cannot live on bread alone, and the homesick settlers wanted more than just game.

New Zealand 162

New Zealand Possums Rabbits Ferrets 162

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2022

Note to US birders: According to information found in the depths of the internet, at least the pheasants in Oregon may well originally have come from Shanghai: “Native to Asia, the ring-necked pheasant was first introduced as an Oregon game bird in March of 1881, when United States Consul General Owen Denny and his wife Gertrude shipped 60 of (..)

Raccoons 223

Raccoons Birds Oregon China 223

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

The range of Rock Pigeon includes remote parts of the Mediterranean, North Africa, Middle East, Central Asia and Indian Subcontinent. Once Feral Pigeons lived all over Europe, their export to former European colonies started, mostly as game birds (pigeon shooting was particularly popular in late 19th and early 20th century).

Feral 258

Feral Meat Species Serbia 258

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 14, 2021

This is the second post in the Birding crème de la crème series (the first, focused on southern Asia, is here ). Finally, South Africa has three 400+ hotspots, namely 1 Mkhuze Game Reserve 458 sp. 3 Lake Manyara NP 573 sp. 4 Arusha NP 565 sp. 5 Tarangire NP 519 sp. 2 Phinda GR 447 sp. 3 Kruger NP–Skukuza Camp 428 sp.

Africa 207

Africa Kenya Uganda Tanzania 207

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2011

We played a game where we thought of a number and then looked it up in the bird book to see what it was. The big excitement for him last week was seeing a Dollarbird there, as we get them come as far south as Broome, but have not seen them in Asia. When we were not talking about birds we talked about sharks and sea snakes!

South Korea 160

South Korea Penguins Sharks Singapore 160

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

I have no idea what kind of wagtail, there are several it could be, and I am not particularly familiar with the wagtails of Eastern Asia and Alaska. It was astonishing, like a game drive in the savannah of Africa. I saw a wagtail there once, which was exceptionally cool for California (I’m told). A Humpback Whale.

Whales 157

Whales Whaling Sharks Bats 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2016

Surely, cases like this demonstrate the advantage of being a bilingual birder: I can choose whichever name I prefer, and in the case of Larus cachinnans I am sorry to report that the German name rules the game – again. In Germany, your Caspian Gull is called Steppenmöwe, which translates to Steppe Gull.

Kazakhstan 117

Kazakhstan Germany Ukraine Asia 117

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

Besides being an impressive bird, its always found in breath-taking montane wildernesses which adds to thrill of finding this sought-after bird, despite its wide range through most of the major mountain chains of Africa, Europe and Asia. Adam’s BBOTY – Lammergeier. They were big enough that when they flew you felt it!

2014 193

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 193

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

Originally from India and the vicinity, it is believed that they had already undergone two major expansions – through Asia Minor in the 1600s, and then across Europe in the 1900s – when they first appeared in North America. Or, to be perfectly honest, playing games on Facebook, but let’s not talk about that.

Montana 136

Montana 2011 New York Bahamas 136

10,000 Birds

APRIL 12, 2011

Besides that, I teach environmental ethics courses for biology students at the university and currently I am working also on an exciting project of producing a simulation game called ecosim (primarily an education tool for students) in which the player has to fulfil conservation tasks in an interactive ecosystem (e.g.

Badgers 145

Badgers Ethics Africa Spain 145

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

There are a lot of other large Galliforme birds around the world, and before the Spanish were busy conquering the New World, one of these, from Central Asia most likely, was already being imported as a food product and as live birds into Europe. This is where they got their name.

Turkey 207

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 207

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 31, 2015

Most will be familiar with a game that matches the face value of playing cards and prompts a loud “snap” to win a hand. As the Sober Year List would be subjective, difficult to police and highly ambitious, The Management have conceded that a second list criterion should be employed. – Pilanesberg NP – Jan 14 th.

2015 157

2015 Ghana Sanctuary Senegal 157

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. These beaters usually take the form of grazing herds of game and domestic animals, and large flocks of carmine bee-eaters may gather overhead.

Africa 265

Africa South Africa Gabon Uganda 265

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2022

I used to play Subbuteo as a kid … a kind of tip-kick football game that was named after this species (apparently, the inventors first wanted to name the game “Hobby” but that was rejected as too generic, or so the story goes). The Eurasian Hobby was another notable raptor of the month.

Birds 203

Birds China Eggs Owls 203

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2011

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. Common (Ring-necked) Pheasants ( Phasianus colchicus ) were introduced to England from China and other parts of Asia in medieval times.

Turtles 279

Turtles 2004 United Kingdom Geese 279

10,000 Birds

JUNE 30, 2022

This relatively modest national checklist also makes Sri Lanka a great starting point for first-time visitors to Asia, since most genera are represented by a few species only, meaning you don’t face the daunting identification challenges inherent to countries where 1,000-plus species have been recorded.

Sri Lanka 147

Sri Lanka Ghana Uganda Eagles 147

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. Image taken in Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania. This image was taken in Namibia’s Erongo Mountains.

Ethiopia 237

Ethiopia Tanzania Africa Uganda 237

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. Actually, as I just found out, this is not really new information.

Birds 147

Birds China Eggs Breeding 147