10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

Even the Latin species name soror (“sister”) indicates the similarity to another pitta species (blue-naped). The eBird description of the Small Niltava starts with the surprisingly dull statement that “size distinguishes this species from other niltavas” Who would have thought.

China 226

China Birds Pythons Eagles 226

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2022

It is not particularly big but has a reported 430 bird species including migrants, though during my short stay it seems I missed most of the key attractions among them. Poor researchers Nicola Coumi and Rob Slotow failed to find anything particularly interesting about vigilance in Bronze Mannikin groups.

South Africa 147

South Africa Africa Birds Research 147

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2022

The species also has something of a criminal record – the HBW reports that “Black-throated T**s [have also been] observed to steal nesting material from other species in central China” ( original source ). Taking photos of such a rare species is a bit of a double-edged sword.

China 147

China Birds Breeders Species 147

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2022

For this reason, the species is evaluated as Vulnerable.” The Rufous-tailed Robin used to be called Swinhoe’s Robin but apparently, somebody decided that there were already too many bird species (6, according to the HBW) named after him. The Eurasian Hobby was another notable raptor of the month.

Birds 196

Birds China Eggs Owls 196

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2023

Having come back to the blog in whatever form and persistency, the overarching subject of language in birding seemed to be a suitable and deserving theme since bird names were part of my original beat. As a rule of thumb, with quite a number of exceptions, if the species sports feathery ears and is not an eagle-owls, it’s an “Eule“.

Germany 180

Germany Birds Hunters Owls 180

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2023

In Alaska, they were found to mimic 30 different species ( source ). Apparently , the two main factors influencing double brooding are the individual quality of the breeder and the timing of the first clutch. Maybe they have decided to boycott species with Russian-sounding names as a way to protest against Putin’s policies.

Monkeys 147

Monkeys Birds South Korea Owls 147

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2012

There seem to be so many that some days the negative stories just seem to pile up in my reader, species lost here, habitat destroyed there, poisoning, illegal persecution, the list can seem endless. Further research revealed two more companies in Britain and several others across Europe all engaged in the same shooting tourism.

Morocco 172

Morocco Turtles Protest Protesting 172