10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2015

I’ll start off by naming the univerally accepted species, the House Sparrow propper Passer domesticus , the Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus and the ill-named Spanish Sparrow Passer hispaniolensis , which occurs from Spain all the way to central Asia and is rather difficult to find in the former.

Sparrows 221

Sparrows Italy Asia Austria 221

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 29, 2020

It originally served as the port of entry for goods brought from Asia by Spanish galleons. I had never birded this way before, and can confirm that what I had heard is true: Birds are much more tolerant of human presence when those humans are on a boat! They even seemed to enjoy going along for the ride.

Birds 163

Birds 2006 Mexico Morocco 163

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2022

While not on the scale of bird migration, it is routinely and somewhat lazily described as the biggest annual migration of humans in the world. The Spring Festival – or Chinese New Year – is a big period for traveling in China. Being somewhat allergic to crowds, I usually avoid traveling during the peak of this period.

China 212

China Birds Pythons Rabbits 212

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2022

We might have a few small farms nearby and the gift of a narrow riparian zone out back but in general, the main habitat is that of the modern human kind; housing and streets (lamposts included). It takes the place of prinias in Asia, maybe some “warblers” in Europe and Africa. The yellowthroat is larger than the Common.

Costa Rica 269

Costa Rica Farming Sparrows Birds 269

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 170

Feral Europe Asia North America 170

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2022

The Blue Whistling Thrush is presumably named for its loud human-like whistling, and possibly for being blue. The Latin name “ chinensis ” is somewhat misleading as is much more common in Southeast Asia than in China – apparently, it was chosen in the mistaken belief that the type specimen had come from China.

Birds 147

Birds Myanmar China Chicago 147

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 169

Africa Hunters Goats Sheep 169

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

JUNE 20, 2022

The Buff-necked Woodpecker (Taman Negara, Malaysia) is classified as Near Threatened, with the usual rationale of “habitat loss” (which sounds nicer than “evil humans destroying anything that does not immediately bring in money). Piculets are a subfamily of woodpeckers – most of its 25 species live in South America.

Woodpeckers 238

Woodpeckers South Africa China Singapore 238

Reddit Animals

JULY 7, 2023

In "Mayan Spirit Animals Unleashed," I invite you to join me on an extraordinary journey into the world of Mayan symbolism, where the profound connections between humans and spirit animals come to life. Brace yourself to meet the majestic ? Eagle, the fierce ? Jaguar, and the wise ? Get ready for a whole new realm of enchantment! ??

Animal 40

Animal Asia Eagles Humane 40

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2013

It breeds in a broad and not quite coherent band from Iceland in the west through central Europe and southern Scandinavia all the way to eastern Russia, wintering in Africa, parts of India, and Southeast Asia to Australia. Aspect one is feeding when humans are not around.

Germany 176

Germany Russia Iceland India 176

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 19, 2013

The bird flu, in Asia, has been out of the news but that’s just because the news ignores anything that happens for more than three days in a row that is not an election. The RSPB and the University of Exeter have teamed up to make this amazing footage using lightweight cameras strapped onto the back of gannets. Keep an eye on the bird flu.

Taiwan 192

Taiwan Iceland United States Humane 192

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2022

I do not get too many comments on my blog posts, but it seems that whenever I write about jacanas – whether in Africa, Australia, or Asia – there is an unusually high number of reactions (well, maybe one or two rather than the usual zero) from female readers. This is ok as birds do not have teeth anyway). How efficient.

Birds 162

Birds South Korea Japan Abandon 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2011

The absurdity of mob rule is summed up well, I think, by the idea of a fully healthy human male saying out loud, as evidence of a woman being a witch, that “She turned me into a newt!&# But what, exactly, is a newt? Newts can be found in Asia, Europe, and North America.

Salamander 161

Salamander Pythons North America Europe 161

Critter News

OCTOBER 6, 2011

Humane Society International (HSI) called on Wednesday for a ban on the fur trade to Australia. Verna Simpson, director for Asia Pacific of HIS, estimated about 10 million domestic dogs in China are killed yearly for their fur. Excerpted from the International Business Times. However, the fur is passed off as sheep skin.

Fur 100

Fur Australia Groups Raccoons 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

When you think of invasives, you think of the birds that have been helped by human beings to get where they are, such as House Sparrow or European Starling. In the east, this species can be found along the east coast of Africa, the Nile Valley,and into parts of the middle east and India and southeast Asia. ibis and the eastern B.

Cattle 170

Cattle South Korea Suriname Seychelles 170

10,000 Birds

MAY 31, 2013

Normally she would be living somewhere in Europe or Asia, but she was born and raised in captivity in the United States. Rehabbers have to grin and bear it during baby season; we raise incredibly cute wild birds behind masks, give them no human attention, and make sure they bond with each other and not us. Xena is a Eurasian Eagle Owl.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 170

Wildlife Rehabilitation Raised Eagles Owls 170

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2015

And, of course, the reputation of certain species of birds as troublemakers for humans is a problem in bird conservation, so this is worth watching. The big human and bird concern for H5N2 is, of course, that the virus will “mutate” into a novel highly virulent killer pandemic flu. Most viruses do not survive, or are not passed on.

Mississippi 176

Mississippi Fowl Turkey Minnesota 176

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2022

The author of the eBird entry for Elliot’s Laughingthrush (various locations, Qinghai and Sichuan) seems almost a bit contemptuous of the bird, remarking that on its habit of “scrounging for human-made trash” I thought that is more of a gull thing to do?

San Diego 212

San Diego Malaysia China Zoos 212

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2012

Leading scientists, conservationists and aviculturalists from Europe and South-east Asia met at Walsrode in Germany recently to formulate a rescue plan. Concern for the future of this species is such that the WPA and BirdLife International-Vietnam Programme are working together to organize immediate action.

Vietnam 155

Vietnam 2000 Germany Asia 155

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2014

A lot of Asia’s storks are threatened by human activities. I described it as stunning in an earlier post, and it is, but it also has an unfinished look about it too. The adults don’t look as crisp as you’d expect, or as you’d get in an adult White Stork or Saddlebilled Stork.

2013 176

2013 Birds Rhinoceros Thailand 176

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2013

If you are a migratory bird in Europe and western Asia, this is your sweet spot. Thanks to a little human intervention, the future looks much brighter for Millerbirds. The survival of songbirds depends in part upon eliminating illegal hunting. Photo by David Guttenfelder, courtesy of National Geographic ).

Cambodia 144

Cambodia Slaughter Slaughtered Cyprus 144

4 The Love Of Animals

APRIL 24, 2012

Like humans, dogs are susceptible to dehydration, overheating and sickness due to the sun and heat. As the preferred product for professional groomers for 22 years, Espree provides a solution-specific line with more than 75 different products created for the well-being of the pet, their devoted human and the professionals who care for them.

Dogs 100

Dogs Pets Puppies Asia 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2016

The key to solving the puzzle of Germany’s large white-headed gulls was banding juveniles of all forms in their breeding colonies and the fact that some humans find immense joy in driving around garbage dumps, looking at birds with pricey scopes and trying to decipher tiny codes on plastic or metal rings of various shapes and sizes.

Kazakhstan 116

Kazakhstan Germany Ukraine Asia 116

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2014

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. Borneo, the authors say, is under-birded. I think we need to do something about that.

Brunei 177

Brunei Birds Asia China 177

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2012

They are part of the scarab beetle complex and over 300 species have been described, occurring not only in Africa but also Europe, Asia and the Americas. They are harmless to humans and their horns are used for wrestling other males for mating rights. In Asia they are even commonly kept as pets!

Buffalo 207

Buffalo Rhinoceros Elephants Leopards 207

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.

Pedigree 170

Pedigree North America South Carolina Brazil 170

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2017

Yes, in the face of all the human tragedy the Cold War caused it may seem a miniscule aspect, but to a young boy who was passionate about birds, it wasn’t. This made me truly sad. This was where the Cold War hit home, more direct and unjust than all the nuclear threats in the world could ever do. Azure T**s. My first ever Azure T**s.

Europe 100

Europe Birds Kazakhstan Russia 100

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

The gulls that spent months attacking any human on the place are content to loaf around and ignore you. 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. And there aren’t just cool birds rocking up, migratory bats do too.

Whales 157

Whales Whaling Sharks Bats 157

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2013

Shimmering in the distance, Nilgais , the biggest antelopes of Asia, walk by. In the world where increasing human population demands ever more space and more arable land, largest of birds are the first to lose the battle. One Chinkara (Indian gazelle) male follows the female keeping his head low and sniffing her.

India 245

India Gazelles Endangered Species Pakistan 245

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2013

As impressive as these birds are, many species, particularly in southern Asia , have seen precipitous population declines having to do somewhat with the old habitat issues that plague animals around the world , but more to do with the widespread use of anti-inflammatory drugs on cattle, who then die and are eaten by vultures who are poisoned.

California Condor 185

California Condor Turkey North America Jordan 185

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2013

It’s clear that ibis have been part of human civilization for as long as there has been civilization of which to be part. Biblical tales? No wonder ibis are so beloved. Scarlet Ibis , photo by Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela. The group has a worldwide distribution; 28 species living and two additional extinct.

Birds 217

Birds North America Charlotte New Jersey 217

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. Secondly, New Zealand had already experienced on wave of extinction due to the introduction or rats and human hunting.

New Zealand 161

New Zealand Possums Rabbits Ferrets 161

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

I got to see a beautiful female and owlet on a trip to a secret nest location near Howard Prairie Lake (human-made nest structures have enhanced local breeding for these huge owls whose nest success is boosted to 83% on artificial platforms vs. 66% at natural sites). Adam’s BBOTY – Lammergeier.

2014 192

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 192

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2011

Within the Chiffchaff’s rather coherent continental range from Western Europe to East Asia, we can observe a gradual change in colouration and song. This is all easy stuff because the populations are geographically isolated, and you can analyse their songs and DNA and thus come to more or less convincing conclusions. There’s more.

Kazakhstan 157

Kazakhstan Europe Russia Asia 157

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. As the names and habitats imply, not all owl species are alike, in behavior, adaptation, relationship to humans, and in how humans perceive them.

Owls 217

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 217

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2021

In 2012, I reviewed The Jewel Hunter , an absorbing narrative in which author Chris Goodie travelled throughout Asia, Africa, and Australasia to observe and photograph every Pitta species in the world. It provides goals and a definite direction for your birding travels and thoughts; sometimes it even becomes the basis of a book!

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Brazil Ecuador Bolivia 264