10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

This is just one of the usual blog posts from me, trying to get you to look at some of my bird photos via adding some semi-funny words. Let’s start with band names referring to birds in general (and let’s keep in mind that this blog post only mentions music deemed of sufficient quality by the almighty writer).

South Africa 240

South Africa China Germany Birds 240

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2019

Apologies for the unintended three-weak break here at Birds and Booze. One of the highlights of the trip for me was seeing penguins for the first time. Of course, I’ve seen live penguins in zoos before, but these were real, honest-to-goodness (and countable!) members of the family Spheniscidae.

India 113

India Penguins San Diego Peru 113

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 19, 2020

For several years I lived and birded in the south of Africa , and still have my battered second edition (1997) of the Sasol Birds of Southern Africa, the most trusted local field guide. Perhaps birds of prey are somewhat overcrowded, but still well organised. The next page contains an alphabetical Quick Reference.

Africa 264

Africa South Africa Swaziland Lesotho 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2024

I don’t remember where I first learned about Elizabeth Gould–possibly when I was birding Doi Angkhang, Thailand and saw a stunning little bird named Mrs. Gould’s Sunbird–but I have been fascinated by her story and her art for the past five years. And I’m so happy I did. Twelve years!

Australia 202

Australia Birds Europe Collecting 202

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

Some people read cookbooks though they have no intention of whipping up a mushroom risotto, some people read bird guide books, even when the likelihood of actually seeing the creatures in those guides is remote. It covers 434 species across 9 orders and 18 families of birds. SCOPE & SPECIES ORGANIZATION.

Albatross 279

Albatross Penguins Family Groups 279

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2014

I’m in Sydney for a week of family, birding, diving and enjoying the subtropical climate. To celebrate this I thought I’d do a shout out to the great birds of Sydeny. Birds so good you can’t help but see them unless you try very hard. Blue Penguin. Pick up a Penguin! Rainbow Lorikeet.

Penguins 213

Penguins Pelicans Parrots Australia 213

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 8, 2019

There’s a King Penguin ( Aptenodytes patagonicus ) on the label, a very first appearance for the Spheniscidae family here at Birds and Booze. This is somewhat surprising, given the perennial popularity of these birds in culture and advertising. Good birding and happy drinking! Except birders. We know better.

2017 113

2017 Penguins Argentina Chile 113

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 31, 2011

As I have explained before these islands are the best place for a lot of the birding here because they are more easily protected from introduced mammals which wreck such havoc on the wildlife here. They are a common enough coastal bird that can been seen from shore on some days paddling around the marina, but a nice bird none-the-less.

Penguins 165

Penguins Parrots New Zealand Seals 165

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2023

Christian Cooper comes on screen about two-and-a-half minutes into The Central Park Effect , appreciating a Prothonotary Warbler at ‘the Point’ while telephoning a friend with the news (this is pre-text group), a nice hint of the collegial networks that underlie Central Park birding. Memoirs are rare in the birding world.

Emotional 228

Emotional Birds Minneapolis Nepal 228

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 10, 2014

Together, these birds compose the family Alcidae , and they share adaptations that we recognize as penguin-like: an upright stance on land, black-and-white plumage, and — most important — wings that propel them underwater in pursuit of prey ( see them in action here ). © David J.

Penguins 233

Penguins Puffins 2008 Sharks 233

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2015

It’s December and that means one thing—a great excuse to buy books on birding. I thought I’d do a round-up of some of the best bird books reviewed this year, a few memorable titles from recent years past, and one that wasn’t reviewed but which I love, that would be great holiday gifts. Books for Beginning Birders.

Papua New Guinea 187

Papua New Guinea 2014 Penguins Birds 187

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2022

Hannah Buschert was first exposed to birds and birding during a required ornithology course at Oregon State University and she quickly caught the birding bug. This is Hannah’s first contribution to 10,000 Birds. Hannah and Erik ready to see some birds! I love to go on cruises.

South Africa 264

South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2020

They looked out their windows and across their patios and up from their apartment terraces and saw–birds. This is a delightful book, large (8-1/2 by 11 inches), filled with Sibley’s distinctive artwork and an organized potpourri of research-based stories about the science behind bird’s lives.

2020 264

2020 Birds Groups North America 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2021

Here are the picks of the 10,000 Birds reviewing team (Tristan, Donna, Dragan, Mike, Corey, Carrie, and Mark) for 2021 bird books and other things with high quality, uniqueness, and giftability. * There are lots of big, well-produced books with exquisite photos of birds from around the world. Tristan). ==.

Birds 246

Birds Colombia Collecting Bald Eagle 246

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2019

It’s never too late or too early to buy a children’s book about birds. It’s been a few years since my last roundup of children’s bird books, and children’s book writers, illustrators and publishers continue to produce picture books that feature avian protagonists. First, the board books.

New York City 158

New York City Pelicans Birds New York 158

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

Are seabirds the last frontier of bird identification? They say so right here in the Preface of Oceanic Birds of The World: A Photo Guide —seabirds are “some of the most challenging of all birds to identify.” Which makes the publication of Oceanic Birds of The World: A Photo Guide a significant and happy event.

Albatross 167

Albatross North America Birds Groups 167

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2021

There was a time when I thought each bird species had its own individual song. Then I found out that there was this vocalization called a ‘call,’ so I thought each bird species had its own individual song (but just the males) and individual call. Bird communication is a complex and evolving science.

North America 279

North America Research Birds Groups 279

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

They may be about bird eggs ( The Most Perfect Thing: The Inside (and Outside) of a Bird’s Egg , 2016), or a 17th-century ornithologist ( Virtuoso by Nature: The Scientific Worlds of Francis Willughby, 2016), or How Bullfinches learn songs from humans ( The Wisdom of Birds: An Illustrated History of Ornithology.

Dissection 234

Dissection Birds Research Europe 234

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

This shouldn’t have to be stated, especially in a book on bird evolution by an evolutionary biologist with a Ph.D. How Birds Evolve: What Science Reveals about Their Origin, Lives, and Diversity by Douglas J. Futuyma is a synthesis of theory and research about evolution and birds. that’s three birds).

Science 228

Science Albatross Research Birds 228

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 26, 2021

I did that with Peacocks & Picathartes – Reflections on Africa’s birdlife (published by Penguin Random House South Africa ). This book is essentially about those birds that breed on the continent south of the Sahara, a topic few birders are familiar with. Some are incredibly rare and hard to find.

Congo 264

Congo Africa South Africa Madagascar 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2020

I should add that the Big Owls taking over NYC social and even hard print media, dominating conversations with my nonbirder friends and family, are not the only owls in the five boroughs, but like a musical, the closer you are to Broadway, the closer you are to fame and fortune (and maybe even a higher quality rodent for dinner, who knows?).

New York City 198

New York City Birds Owls Fox 198

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

This place is such an epic birding location that one cannot possibly do the city and its surrounds justice in one post. These birds, and their closely-related counterparts, the Drakensberg Rockjumper, constantly find themselves on the most-wanted list of pretty much every visiting birder. And rightly so. But by George is it worth it!

South Africa 250

South Africa Penguins Birds Africa 250

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2017

Are there birders out there who do not dream of birding Australia? Possibly birders who have already birded Australia (but, wouldn’t you want to go back?) or birders who live there (but, how can you bird it all?). So, I welcomed the opportunity to review The Australian Bird Guide.

Australia 109

Australia Birds Penguins 2015 109

10,000 Birds

MAY 14, 2014

First off, it seems that New Zealand’s two iconic families of ratites, large flightless southern birds that includes emus, rhea, ostriches, cassowaries and the extinct elephant birds, are not particularly closely related. New Zealand’s birds and mammals come from a number of sources.

New Zealand 163

New Zealand Penguins Sea Lions Lions 163

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2011

My 8-year old daughter got interested in birds from a VERY early stage. By age 2 she could identify over 10 species of birds in our Johannesburg, South Africa, yard by call alone. So I guess for some people birding skills come naturally but, for others, birding skills need to be learnt. And perhaps 20 others by sight.

Birds 279

Birds Game Wildlife Family 279

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2021

“Gamebirds” to some, cool, cryptic understory birds to the birding people, grouse crouch protected as unfettered winds sway the top of the tall prairie grass. Then there are the ones that live in PA , the state bird, “the grouse” that a great many non-birders are aware of, my Uncle Fred was one of them.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Chickens Pennsylvania Litter 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2018

The sight of the large bird, so awkward on the ground, trying to launch itself with the coaching of an indefatigable parent, was funny, charming, and amazing in its uniqueness. Where does the female Emperor Penguin go after she has produced that one egg and handed it over to the male for incubation?

Albatross 114

Albatross Penguins Research Breeding 114

10,000 Birds

JUNE 29, 2011

The Gods of Birding, being both capricious and wrathful, decided to punish my insolence by washing up an Emperor Penguin on the coasts of the island upon which I make my home. Any given area has a general set of birds you might expect to see in it. I’d rather see a bird where it belongs. But the thing was news.

Penguins 166

Penguins New Zealand Zoos Birds 166

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2011

And the famous Wandering Albatross has the largest wingspan of any living bird, nearly 12 feet across in the largest individuals. — penguins. Four families are often recognized: storm-petrels, albatrosses, shearwaters and petrels , and diving-petrels. Do you get far enough from land to see tubenoses?

Albatross 187

Albatross Penguins Groups New Zealand 187

Reddit Animals

MAY 11, 2024

One of the issues with this is that most people dont know anything about oceans or marine animals etc, and a lot of animals would be easier to guess with only continents (like seals and penguins etc).

Game 40

Game Animal Seals Lifestyle 40

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. It is a really neat bird that I have not seen before. It would mean that I was birding in a really cool place! Come quickly!”

Brazil 216

Brazil 2011 Birds Wildlife 216

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 3, 2016

My reasons for doing so were actually bird related, namely a PhD in bird evolution, the less said about the better. As I go about any part of my life here were I’m not looking for birds I’ll never see much more than the same twenty or so birds, a decent number of which are introduced species. But… but.

New Zealand 108

New Zealand Albatross Parrots Penguins 108

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2017

There’s not always any rhyme or reason to the appearances birds make on beer labels, which makes finding the unexpected ones almost as exciting – for me, at least – as any birding tick. Good birding and happy drinking! And its challenges aren’t nearly as vexing as accipiter identification, I promise.

Penguins 100

Penguins Cooking Belgium New York 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 9, 2016

So, last time I promised to write about some of the other birding spots around Cape Town in South Africa. Rooi Els is a small community under a large cliff with a private road you’re welcome to wander along in search for birds. Rooi Els and Betty’s Bay are a great place to start. A terrible shot of a Cape Rockjumper.

South Africa 124

South Africa Penguins Africa Whales 124

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 9, 2011

One common feature of the relationship between early explorers and colonists and the birds of the New Worlds was the tendency of said explorers to name birds after familiar birds from back home (although of course there was the counter notion that the same species deserved a new name – I’m looking at you loons/divers).

New Zealand 160

New Zealand Australia Penguins Family 160

10,000 Birds

JULY 14, 2011

southern Australia’s cool winter weather and wonderful birds sound mighty appealing right now and 2. The following points stood out to me: “Metaves,&# a collection of disparate and puzzling birds recently grouped by the position of a few molecules in one nuclear gene, is probably not an actual clade.

Madagascar 164

Madagascar Birds Louisiana Groups 164

10,000 Birds

MAY 22, 2013

I’ll be splitting my time between my family, diving and a spot of birding. I’ve written before about how Sydney is a great place to bird, and I’m hoping to add a few good species of bird to my year list, even a few lifers. But is it the ultimate defining bird of Sydney? Probably not.

Thailand 171

Thailand Penguins Australia Africa 171