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Nyala, Southern Africa’s Stunning Antelope

10,000 Birds

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 163
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Birding Hongbenghe, Yunnan

10,000 Birds

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
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Africa’s Big Five and Little Five

10,000 Birds

Originally a hunting term, the Big Five were the most dangerous and prized targets of the great white hunters on safari. 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. In Asia they are even commonly kept as pets!

Buffalo 197
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The Jewel Hunter: A Book Review About One Birder’s Quest for Pittas and Beer

10,000 Birds

I get my own idea of the lunacy of Gooddie’s quest when I talk to a friend who has birded Asia and Africa. Each chapter of The Jewel Hunter reads like a mini-travel novel. Beer looms large in Gooddie’s daily routine, and much text is devoted to finding beer in the middle of rural Asia and evaluating its quality.

Hunters 188
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The Glitter in the Green: In Search of Hummingbirds–A Hummer Book Review

10,000 Birds

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!

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Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World’s Largest Owl–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

And the most outlandish–Anayoliy, the sweet, strange hermit and Katkov, possibly the most bizarre, annoying field assistant of all time–are drawn with empathy and an urge to understand, an emphasis on the human and not the caricature. The fish owl is Jonathan Slaght’s grail and also, more prosaically, his dissertation topic.

Owls 132
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Feral Cats Are An Invasive Species in North America (and elsewhere)

10,000 Birds

That was a wild cat, a wild Wildcat, the cat that lives in the wild because that is where it is from and where it belongs, at the southern end of its pan-African range that extended at one time well into Europe and Asia. It isn’t like not killing the cat is in any way humane, considering the number of animals it will kill over time.