10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2012

It is commonly kept in captivity and has therefore established many feral populations world-wide originating from escaped / released cage birds. This is what happens when people choose their pet birds on visual factors alone without taking vocalizations into account. Very stupid thing to do.

Germany 249

Germany Netherlands Zoos Geese 249

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 15, 2011

Thirteen Spoon-billed Sandpipers have arrived in England after spending sixty days in quarantine at Moscow Zoo. The birds were captured on their breeding grounds in Siberia and the hope is that they can be used to start a captive breeding program in an attempt to bring the species back from the brink.

Zoos 155

Zoos Breeding Species Birds 155

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

This bird was photographed a few years ago in Connecticut, by Corey Finger. I know birders just as well as I know birds, and I was not ready to put all my faith in this fantastic sighting. Sure enough, the bird’s true identity became known the next day.

San Francisco 173

San Francisco San Diego Connecticut South America 173

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. Furthermore we have another very special stork-like bird, the regal Shoebill , previously known as the Whale-headed Stork but now placed in its own family. It is also related to Wood Stork of the Americas and Milky Stork of Asia.

Africa 244

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 244

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

There’s lots of disheartening stuff going on in the bird world this week, so let’s start with some love in the air, in honor of Valentine’s Day: An avian version of “The Dating Game” at a Chicago-area zoo aims to reveal how best to manage mating in captivity. Bad news: The massive Common Murre die-off along the U.S. I know, right?!)

Penguins 100

Penguins Chicago Zoos Game 100

4 The Love Of Animals

MAY 26, 2010

Until recently, the population of tawny frogmouths in North American zoos was facing extinction — and breeding programs were largely unsuccessful. SeaWorld worked with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) to develop a program to sustain the species’ growth. To discover more, visit SeaWorld.org.

Zoos 100

Zoos 2010 Australia Raised 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2011

One of only two species in the plover genus Thinornis , the other being Australia’s Hooded Plover , this species is another New Zealand endemic. Actually, it’s one I originally thought was endemic to the Chatham Islands, a group of islands to the east of the main islands that hosts endemic species like the Black Robin.

New Zealand 162

New Zealand Penguins Endangered Species Species 162

4 The Love Of Animals

APRIL 23, 2010

Mother and baby are currently in an area out of guest view so they can be closely monitored by zoo staff to ensure the baby is nursing and growing properly. These births are part of a successful long-term breeding program at Busch Gardens. The addition brings Busch Gardens’ giraffe population to 15.

Giraffes 100

Giraffes Gestation Tampa Rhinoceros 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2012

Although extinction is a natural phenomenon, experts have determined that the current rate of bird extinction is somewhere between 1,000 and 10,000 times the background rate. The Gray Crowned-Crane is a new addition to the list of the world’s Endangered species, creeping up a category from Vulnerable.

Endangered Species 197

Endangered Species Species South Africa Morocco 197

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2022

“A reading of recent research shows that Australian birds are more likely than most to eat sweet foods, live in complex societies, lead long lives, attack other birds, and be intelligent and loud.” When going to Australia, one of the two birds I wanted to see most was the Tawny Frogmouth.

Birds 238

Birds Australia Ducks Mountain Goats 238

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

I’ve been fortunate to encounter many owls in my birding life, sometimes because I’m looking for them, sometimes happily by happenstance. 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.

Owls 221

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 221

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2022

In retrospect, this weekend at Wuyuan was not exactly my finest hour as a bird photographer – hopefully, I could do better now, and perhaps one day I will, should normal traveling ever be possible again in China. I’d rather see yellow birds than yellow plants. Such a cute bird deserves a better representation.

China 147

China Birds Breeders Species 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

Germany is underrated as a birding destination. We have, for instance, very beautiful birds, like European Bee-eater , Blue Tit , and Kingfisher. Then of course, we have amazing birds such as Wallcreeper , Hoopoe , and Black Woodpecker. Then of course, we have amazing birds such as Wallcreeper , Hoopoe , and Black Woodpecker.

Germany 252

Germany Birds 2000 South America 252

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2023

As you probably are aware, male Lady Amherst’s Pheasants regularly get into fights with other birds. The typical scene is something like this: the pheasant enters a bird bar and orders a beer. Some other bird in the bar asks for its name, and it gives an honest answer: Lady Amherst’s Pheasant. Judge for yourself.

China 241

China Research India Zoos 241

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2018

Pink Pigeons were featured on episode four of the second season of The Zoo , the excellent television series about The Bronx Zoo,* and their story was disturbing. Basically, this species is so dimwitted, it doesn’t know how to survive. Don’t these birds care about propagating their species?

Mauritius 102

Mauritius Stud Zoos Eggs 102

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2011

As part of the Wildlife Conservation Society Birds of Brazil giveaway we asked readers of 10,000 Birds to name the bird in Brazil that they would like to see more than any other species. What follows are the responses that readers offered, a veritable aviary of sought after species. My most-desired Brazilian bird?

Brazil 212

Brazil 2011 Birds Wildlife 212

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2018

Following passage of the United States Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966, the California Condor ( Gymnogyps californianus ) was among the first 75 species listed for protection, the so-called “Class of 1967”. They’re becoming an expected sight there – and one that’s hard to miss given their immense size.

California Condor 105

California Condor Oregon California Zoos 105

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

The species that manage to colonize these islands evolve in competition with relatively few other species, developing survival strategies based on interdependence, co-evolution, and mutualism rather than adapting to deal with a broad range of predators and competitors. A species, wiped off the earth, never to exist again.

Cuba 250

Cuba Parrots Collecting Columbus 250

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

Long-time readers of this blog probably also know Tai Haku, the scuba-diving, tree-planting, bird photographing nature blogger at Earth, Wind, and Water. For a successful relocation, check out Rare Birds: The Extraordinary Tale of the Bermuda Petrel and the Man who Brought it Back from Extinction.) It is extinct.

Puerto Rico 192

Puerto Rico Guam Virgin Islands Feral 192

10,000 Birds

MARCH 26, 2014

Well, Copenhagen Zoo is back in the news; a few weeks after killing a giraffe and feeding it to some lions, it went and killed some of those same lions. I’m not gong to go into the ethics and reasons behind why a zoo might want to, well, manage its stock. My reaction would be pretty much the same.

Lions 150

Lions Giraffes Zoos Killing 150

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2019

If they can spare a glance upward, the busy grape-pickers might also be treated to another portent of the changing seasons in the Iberian skies overhead: the sight of flocks of White Storks ( Ciconia ciconia ) heading south from their summer breeding grounds in Europe to Africa, where they spend the winter on the warm savannas.

2017 114

2017 Spain California Condor California 114

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

It is the 100th Anniversary of the extinction of the species known as the Passenger Pigeon and writers are paying attention. And, when you think about it, it is pretty remarkable that anything new can still be said about the bird. We have a lot of source material. “Winter Sports in Northern Louisiana: Shooting Wild Pigeons.”

2014 161

2014 Killing Michigan Kentucky 161

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 19, 2012

No matter, the warm fire and comforts of home are nice, as is the winter birding here. On the way I managed to sneak in a manic day of birding in and around the capital of Thailand, Bangkok. So much birding was squeezed into this day that I have had to break it up into two posts! If you have two days there are even more options.

Thailand 154

Thailand New Zealand Terrapins Asia 154

10,000 Birds

JULY 11, 2012

Wildlife conservation is concerned with protecting wildlife at the level of species or perhaps population. With the exception of species that number in the hundreds, conservation biologists are not as concerned with the fates of individual animals, it is only when such fates of many individuals are added up do they begin to worry.

Animal Rights 266

Animal Rights Rights New Zealand Animal 266

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2014

Reports abounded of a huge variety of birds, from thrushes to nightjars, terns to vireos. I spent as much time as I could out and about in the parks of Queens and enjoyed every single second, spotting twenty-two species of wood-warblers. But I had two birds in particular that stood out for me this weekend. And was it ever!

New York City 172

New York City New York Kentucky Abandon 172

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2019

Happy New Year, 10,000 Birds readers and writers, listers and photographers, friends and fellow travelers near and far! Writing a post scheduled for January 1st for a birding blog is a big responsibility. On the first of the year, every bird is a new bird! It was a United States lower-48 birding year for me.

2018 163

2018 New Jersey Michigan North Dakota 163

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 17, 2022

According to a local African superstition that I just made up, it is not harmful to eat toxically colored birds if you eat them in the dark. Colonial history reflected in bird names. Unfortunately, the Fork-tailed Drongo is not the honest and god-fearing bird one could wish for. young in 1.5 years to keep the population stable.

South Africa 193

South Africa Africa Birds Cape Verde 193

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2015

They are software mascots, cartoon characters, animated film dancers, children’s book heroes, zoo celebrities, and documentary film stars. Every section is excellent, Going from back to front, the Species Natural History section is where to go for answers to all your questions about penguins and then some.

Penguins 205

Penguins New Zealand South Africa Albatross 205

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2022

To be precise, “Birding Shanghai from June 10 to June 30, 2022” – but that is even less of an exciting title than the one above. The reason for this post only covering the period from June 10 being that an earlier post, “Revenge Birding”, was about the first 9 days of June. You should try it too.

Birds 193

Birds Sparrows Protection Humane 193