10,000 Birds

AUGUST 19, 2014

There is a fantastic paper just out in Science : “Sustained miniaturization and anatomoical innovation in the dinosaurian anceestors of birds” by Michael Lee, Andrea Cau, Darren Naishe and Gareth Dyke. Whales emerge from within the larger group of mammals that includes cattle, deer, pigs, camels, with camels being the most deeply rooted. (So

Camels 201

Camels Whales Whaling Apes 201

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

CR being the highest category in the Red List , if I want to see some of those birds, I better hurry! In an open Maruti Gypsy, we are heading north from Dasada in the Little Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, along a rather decent tarmac road, between the wheat fields and passing camel carts. Locals being vegetarians, why are there no birds?

India 248

India Sudan Ukraine Camels 248

10,000 Birds

JULY 26, 2015

This is cattle country and it is actually fenced, which many parts of the Kimberley are not and you pass through Ruby Plains and then Carranya station to reach the crater. The first bird we observed as we climbed up to the rim was a Black-breasted Buzzard followed shortly afterwards by a Nankeen Kestrel. Camel bush. Mulla mulla.

Birds 166

Birds Camels Cattle Zebras 166

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 2, 2018

Whenever you encounter one bird species near the edge of the track it is worth stopping, because invariably there are several species in the vicinity. As soon as you come close to flowering plants there are birds taking off all around you. Grevillea refracta have been flowering for many weeks and the birds are attracted to them.

Marsupials 100

Marsupials Birds Camels Zebras 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. Globally, 1,313 bird species of a total of count of 10,064 are threatened, a frightening 13% of the total.

Endangered Species 194

Endangered Species Species South Africa Morocco 194