10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2021

A typical description of the family is that of “a tropical African and Asian songbird that typically has a melodious voice and drab plumage”, another is “small, dull-colored passerine birds of Asia and Africa”, yet another states that they are “often rather plain” Individual species get even harsher reviews.

South Africa 234

South Africa Malaysia Africa China 234

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2022

36, if my counting is right and there has been no very recent split or lump. Presumably, in the early days of ornithology, some scientists spent most of their time transcribing bird calls. The Black-faced Laughingthrush (Longcanggou, Sichuan) is a real beauty, though this photo does not fully do the bird justice.

San Diego 214

San Diego Malaysia China Zoos 214

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2023

Well – I only saw two species, the most common ones at Sepilok, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia. It also happily calls in the early morning, at least where I found it, a service highly appreciated by bird watchers like me. But they are well worth their own post, even though I cannot really write too much about them.

Ghana 130

Ghana Malaysia Indonesia Singapore 130

10,000 Birds

JULY 29, 2017

FRIM (Forestry Research Institute of Malaysia) is open to the public who come to bathe in waterfalls, cycle, walk, picnic and attend educational events, but most of this takes part in a small section close to the entrance. The best birding of the day was found along the much quieter roads in the south east section.

Eagles 113

Eagles Malaysia Tail Banding Reptiles 113

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2023

Another item they feed on is hunting edible bird nest swiftlets, which are quite common in edible swiftlet houses in Sabah, Malaysia ( source ). Another paper reviews information on Oriental Pied Hornbills raiding the nests of various bird species in Singapore and even pet bird cages.

Rhinoceros 130

Rhinoceros Singapore Transported Hunting 130

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2017

I’ve never been to the Indonesian Archipelago, but I really like the birds there. Lynx Edicions, the ornithological (and now mammal) publisher that gave us the Handbook of the Birds of the World , has now published Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago: Greater Sundas and Wallacea , by James A. So, this is no ordinary bird guide.

Indonesia 131

Indonesia Brunei Birds Malaysia 131

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

And where all those birds are? This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. And it raises a question: if all the birds are having a party over there, am I in the wrong spot? I am talking 600 or 700+ bird species. Why am I here?

Sri Lanka 257

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 257

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2014

The danger of reviewing a field guide to the birds of an exotic country you’ve never been to is that you become obsessed with visiting that country, no matter how far away and how expensive it may be. I’m already looking up birding tours of Borneo and pricing airfares. Borneo, the authors say, is under-birded.

Brunei 177

Brunei Birds Asia China 177

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2014

When birding, as in life in general, it is important to stop occasionally and smell the metaphorical roses. This isn’t just because roses smell nice (although many do) or even because we need to remember that almost all birds depend in one way or another on plants (although they mostly do). Sure, they aren’t birds.

Philippines 164

Philippines Protection Malaysia Indonesia 164

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 31, 2012

The first of these was in the fine capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. KL, as it is widely known, has a reputation as a great place to cram in a days birding, in the form of day trips from the centre out to a number of (in some cases) world famous locations.

New Zealand 145

New Zealand Fur Malaysia Woodpeckers 145

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2019

We have just returned from an incredible three weeks in Singapore, where unlike many others who visit the country we spent the whole time in nature parks, forests and gardens observing birds. The only shopping we did was to buy fresh fruit and some Asian snacks for while we were out all day hiking and birding.

Singapore 114

Singapore Transported Boars Malaysia 114