10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2021

Not too many highlights, not too many species … hard to say whether this is just the usual nostalgia for a better but probably nonexistent past or a real phenomenon. Their strong presence here at Nanhui in combination with their highly threatened status should be a good argument to protect Nanhui better.

Birds 233

Birds Humane Japan Ducks 233

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 14, 2021

This is the second post in the Birding crème de la crème series (the first, focused on southern Asia, is here ). Geographic patterns of species richness for birds (1,558 species) in East Africa at 0.25° resolution (blue indicates low species richness, while brown indicates high species richness).

Africa 198

Africa Kenya Uganda Tanzania 198

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2022

The Common Pochard is listed as Vulnerable – not because it is particularly rare, but because of the rapid decline in its numbers (a decline of 50% within 10 years means a species is listed as Vulnerable – and a 50% loss in 10 years sounds quite dramatic and frightening indeed). And it does not even live in reeds. Did it f*ck.

Raccoons 213

Raccoons Birds Oregon China 213

10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2015

It can’t have escaped your notice lately that the blog has been overrun with articles about North America’s pseudo-warblers (or wood warblers, as some people, apparently unaware the name is taken by a proper European species, call them), and, even worse, no small amount of poetry. And they are always a pleasure to see.

Africa 174

Africa Feral Ethiopia Tanzania 174

Critter News

OCTOBER 9, 2010

A coordinated international law enforcement operation has led to the arrest of 25 individuals suspected of taking part in the illicit trade of tigers, one of the world's most endangered species. Tags: wildlife smuggling tigers interpol asia endangered species.

International Fund For Animal Welfare 100

International Fund For Animal Welfare Tigers IFAW Nepal 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Africa has more than its fair share of storks, with 8 of the world’s 19 species gracing the continent. Storks are typically viewed as wetland species and whilst some storks are restricted to aquatic habitats, others are not. Like the Adjutants in Asia and Jabiru of the Americas, the Marabou is our bare-headed scavenging stork.

Africa 239

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 239

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2014

So, on seeing my lifer Bassian Thrush in Sydney, I was glad to have a) finally seen that species and b) finally glad to tick that arbitrary odometer up to a meaningless milestone. We seem to live in an age of splitting, only last week it was announced that another 460 odd species have been split. An armchair split, no less.

Tonga 175

Tonga Fiji Samoa Vanuatu 175

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2013

If you are a migratory bird in Europe and western Asia, this is your sweet spot. Fearing that a natural disaster, introduced species, or disease could wipe this fragile population out, the U.S. The survival of songbirds depends in part upon eliminating illegal hunting. Photo by David Guttenfelder, courtesy of National Geographic ).

Cambodia 143

Cambodia Slaughter Slaughtered Cyprus 143

4 The Love Of Animals

NOVEMBER 23, 2011

The fins are then utilized in a wide variety of ways, especially in areas of Asia. For example, shark fin soup is a delicacy in most of Asia, especially China. While there are laws in place protecting endangered species of shark from shark finning, international waters are rarely regulated when it comes to the practice.

Sharks 100

Sharks Asia Endangered Species Hunters 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. I used to live in Botswana, where there are about 450 bird species in an area a few dozen miles from the capital; then somewhat naively moved back to Serbia with mere 250 species around the capital.

Sri Lanka 257

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 257

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2017

I was given my first real field guide to the birds of Europe by my parents, a guide beyond the species found at backyard feeders and city ponds. As cheesy as it may sound, these experiences with what I was taught all my life were foes wanting nothing more than my demise were life-changing. My first ever Azure T**s. For better. Much better.

Europe 100

Europe Birds Kazakhstan Russia 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2013

The smellier the better, particularly as, unusually for birds, many species can boast a robust sense of smell. In any case, our hang-ups with vultures clearly stem from our own issues rather than any inherently bizarre trait of the species themselves. Vultures famously feed on carrion. Dead things. New World Vultures.

California Condor 180

California Condor Turkey North America Jordan 180

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2014

A range of hills protects the cove from the eastern wind, yet, the bushes are swaying in the rythm of it. Nick finds a bird-shaped protrusion at the top of the rock – Black-eared Wheatear , not exactly a species I expect to observe from a boat deck. The Sun already sets and I haven’t seen a new species in a while.

Greece 233

Greece Malta Croatia Birds 233

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

Finally, the Similan Islands are perhaps one of the most beautiful islands in the world and form a stunning backdrop to this species, one of the loveliest pigeons in the world. Once endangered, they lead happy, protected lives, oblivious to the tourists who love them. Carlos’s BBOTY – the Nicobar Pigeon.

2014 188

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 188

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2012

They diverged at approximately the same time as the rockjumpers (two quite unique bird species endemic to Southern Africa and now in their own family), and as a result for a while were even placed in the same family. 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

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. Especially of all the species that had been introduced to the US. The proposal from U.S.

Montana 134

Montana 2011 New York Bahamas 134

10,000 Birds

APRIL 12, 2011

reduce traffic casualties amongst Badgers , get the White-tailed Eagle back as a breeding bird, increase the number of protected plant species etc.). Any plans for further afield (USA, Asia, Africa)? so far you have focussed on European nature. In the Crossbill Guides it is no different. The Crossbill Guides explain why this is.

Badgers 145

Badgers Ethics Africa Spain 145

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 30, 2013

It’s kind of an odd spot, a mix of protected wetland and mangroves mixed with some manicured lawns and parking. Also known as the Flyeater, this tiny bird is the only representative of the Australasian warbler family found in mainland Asia, and very similar to my own Grey Warblers in New Zealand, even their songs.

Thailand 102

Thailand New Zealand Family Bats 102

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2014

Furthermore, the total population in Hemis National Park is estimated at 50-60 individuals, making the park an important genetic reservoir for this species which is classified on the IUCN’s Red Data List as Endangered. The 4,400 square kilometre Hemis National Park is the largest park in the whole of South Asia.

Snow Leopard 279

Snow Leopard Leopards Hunting Sheep 279

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

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. Also, feral Cats on islands seem to be a serious problem, causing the extirpation of some indigenous species.

Feral Cats 255

Feral Cats North America Feral Cats 255

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2016

Published by Princeton University Press in early 2016, Waterfowl of North America, Europe, and Asia (I’m going to use this shortened title for the rest of the review), covers 83 species of Anseriformes–ducks, geese, and swans–of, yes, Europe, Asia and North America.

North America 149

North America Asia Europe America 149

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. The African Spoonbill is one of the six global spoonbill species, and the main African one (there are also some Eurasian Spoonbills in Africa).

Ostriches 147

Ostriches Parrots Birds Eggs 147

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 11, 2011

Frigatebirds (Fregatidae) Five species of frigatebird ply the planet’s tropical skies and seas. Ringer Cormorants and Shags (Phalacrocoracidae) Cormorants are more speciose than other families in the order; 30-40 species range widely on every continent and many islands. The proposal from U.S.

2011 152

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 152

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. Hummingbird species, on the other hand, number in the hundreds. Jonas D’Abronzo.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Brazil Ecuador Bolivia 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2019

Yet, the fact that tiny Panama is as popular as huge Brazil, with twice as many bird species, speaks volume for Brazil’s stage of ecotourism development. A lot more needs to be done to protect and sustainably utilise that biodiversity, although with the Brazil’s current president, it seems highly unlikely.

Papua New Guinea 214

Papua New Guinea America Costa Rica Sri Lanka 214

10,000 Birds

MARCH 26, 2014

If the whole thing passed you by then Mother Jones did a good piece on why zoos sometimes have to kill individuals for the good of the species. For those that don’t remember, diclofenac is the veterinary drug that just about wiped vultures out completely in Asia. Like much of conservation, its the best of a bunch of bad options.

Lions 150

Lions Giraffes Zoos Killing 150

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

And, to give his dream year a little more oomph, he created a grand once-in-a-lifetime goal: to track down and see every pitta species in the world in one year. I get my own idea of the lunacy of Gooddie’s quest when I talk to a friend who has birded Asia and Africa. I’m reading a book about a man who is doing a Pitta Big Year,” I say.

Hunters 192

Hunters Sri Lanka Asia Solomon Islands 192

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2013

Asia is home to all kinds of cuckoos, but none are as elaborately colorful as malkohas with those gaudy faces and painted bills. Anyone considering a visit to Panti Forest should be enticed by the five different species that might be seen there. 57 species total ( includes commute from Singapore to Malaysia ).

Malaysia 174

Malaysia Singapore Monkeys Birds 174

10,000 Birds

APRIL 23, 2020

Having more than 1300 bird species, including over 75 endemics, it is hard to resist the lure of India – something I know from personal experience. The 100 Best Birdwatching Sites in India allows you to focus on species (Index at pg. Yet, with larger protected areas things get more complicated.

India 243

India Lions 2020 Groups 243

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2021

The fish owl is an endangered species, and before Slaght’s work, very little was known about it, especially in Russia. (It It is also native to Japan, where it is protected and protectively studied to the point where Slaght had trouble getting any information.). So, Blakiston’s Fish Owl it was.

Owls 135

Owls Russia Fish Research 135

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2011

home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birds / Orange-headed Thrush Orange-headed Thrush By Redgannet • March 6, 2011 • 18 comments Tweet Share The Orange-headed Thrush , Zoothera citrinus, is common across much of India and south-east Asia.

2011 181

2011 Deer India New York 181

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 19, 2023

The species name is cyanouroptera , meaning dark blue tailed and -winged. Originally, the gorget was a piece of armor that protected the throat or gorge. Of course, me writing about the meaning of “gorgeted” rather than providing bird-specific information indicates a lack of papers on the species.

China 203

China Birds Burma Afghanistan 203

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 30, 2023

The Ashy Tailorbird is a good example of the different perspectives of describing a bird – while the English name focuses on the body of the bird, the Latin species name ruficeps refers to the rufous head. The split makes the bird one of the six species endemic to Sabah, Borneo ( source ), four of which I saw during my week at Sepilok.

Woodpeckers 207

Woodpeckers Birds Eggs India 207

10,000 Birds

JUNE 15, 2011

It didn’t take long to be set right though, as I managed to get my first native species, the Polynesian Starling , while drinking a Coke on the waterfront of Nuku’alofa, the small town on Tongatapu which is Tonga’s capital. Whereas Tongatapu was flat, ‘Eua was quite hilly and had a great deal more forest.

Tonga 162

Tonga Fiji New Zealand Parrots 162

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2023

Germain has lived in East Asia since 2014. Birds of different species gather in bird waves to improve foraging efficiency (the insect escaping one bird will most likely be caught by another bird of the wave) and increase protection against predators. Where are my binos?”

Birds 189

Birds China Emotional Vietnam 189