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. Great White Pelican is not just the name of a non-existent glam-rock band but also of a bird species. Pel’s Fishing Owl, where were you?

South Africa 147

South Africa Africa Birds Research 147

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2019

Written in a friendly, inclusive style quietly grounded in science, How to Know the Birds is an excellent addition to the growing list of birding essay books by talented birder/writers like Pete Dunne and Kenn Kaufman. ” The essays are arranged in thematic order grouped in six sections: “Spark Bird!”

Birds 114

Birds North America Breeding America 114

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 25, 2013

BirdLife International believes that this might be maximum population the species can reach, as it seems to completely saturate its range. Also from BirdLife International: In general it prefers areas where vegetation, boulders or other landscape features at ground level provide tunnels in which to shelter and to breed.

Science 196

Science Transported Shelters South Africa 196

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2013

Peripatetic ornithologist Nick Sly has long been a friend of the blog here and has contributed such classics as Green-rumped Parrotlets from Egg to Adult and Forpus passerinus and the Ornithologists of Masaguaral. Juncos breed in much of the U.S. Thanks for your support! Maria’s Project. A junco thermoregulating in a snow bank.

Panama 201

Panama Research Investigation Chickens 201

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2011

Among these white-headed/dark-winged gulls formerly lumped into the genus Larus , there were 18+ recognized species the last time I checked, sharing similarities that make telling them apart for the amateur birdwatcher very difficult. 1998), then the proper name for this species is L. fuscus – should be separated as species.

2011 157

2011 Cyprus Deer Species 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2020

That’s pretty amazing–Bolivia has more bird species than India! The source of this ranking, BirdLife International, lists Bolivia as currently having 1,439 bird species, including 18 breeding endemics. The guide covers 1,433 species, the number of birds documented at the end of 2014, the cutoff point for the book.

Bolivia 168

Bolivia Birds Brazil Switzerland 168

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2014

Erika is a first year graduate student studying Ecosystem Science and Conservation at Duke. She has contributed many pieces to 10,000 Birds and writes about her birding adventures on her blog, newbirder.tumblr.com. Now, I don’t want anyone in the blogging audience to be alarmed. Lots and lots of birds.

Birds 174

Birds Florida Groups Breeding 174

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2012

More than 150 bird species are known to have become extinct over the past 500 years, and many more are estimated to have been driven to extinction before they became known to science. 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 183

Endangered Species Species South Africa Morocco 183

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 217

China Birds Pythons Eagles 217

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2023

It is kind of unappealing to see blog posts with highly specific and rather boring-sounding titles such as this one. On a positive note, in one study , when small swaths of dense bamboo were cut and cleared for an unrelated study, these were utilized by small insectivorous species including the Golden Bush Robin for foraging.

Birds 161

Birds Science Humane Species 161

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 12, 2024

” But of course, with this slight adaptation, it also works for blog posts and their writers, and allows me to plug another nice song by this underrated artist, before switching to birds. The scientific species name of the Golden-throated Barbet is franklinii , commemorating Capt. How many times was it played?”

Birds 167

Birds China Woodpeckers Breeding 167

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

MAY 15, 2023

For example, a researcher and presumed ornithologist set out with two hypotheses related to the Ashy Drongo (and another drongo species) and wrote a paper about it. For them, God probably was the one instructing the drongos to mob one species but not the other. Why show photos of species as boring as this Ashy-throated Warbler ?

China 176

China 2017 Birds Indonesia 176

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 Latin species name, however, is still elegans. And it is still justified.

Birds 191

Birds China Eggs Owls 191

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2012

Skimming through the myriad of posts in my blog reader yesterday I came across a post from the ever-watchful guys at the Raptor Persecution Scotland blog that left me cold with anger. Over the last 25 years they have recovered to the extent that they may now be Britain’s commonest raptor and breed in most of their former areas.

Industry 189

Industry Research Raised Killing 189

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2011

There is a very distinctive smell found on seabird colonies, where thousands upon thousands of birds come to breed and, coincidentally, deposit large quantities of waste. There comes a point in every season when simply providing target practice for gulls is insufficient, one needs to go and. well pretty much roll around in the stuff.

Breeding 178

Breeding Stray Seals Whales 178

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2018

Basically, this species is so dimwitted, it doesn’t know how to survive. Because, Pink Pigeons are not capable of doing the tasks required to create and bring up children of the species. And, as we find out in a blogged coda to the episode , they can’t even take care of their eggs. On the WCS web page, Ms. I know, that’s harsh.

Mauritius 101

Mauritius Stud Zoos Eggs 101

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

Hunting sandhill cranes in Kentucky is a bad idea from a public relations standpoint, considering the growing cadre of birders and nature enthusiasts for whom cranes are a touchstone species. Initiating a hunting season on a large, charismatic species like a crane is no way to resuscitate hunting. I overlooked the date.

2011 239

2011 Kentucky Tennessee Hunting 239

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2011

Another 170 are in captivity, many of them breeding stock for reintroduction efforts. It may be as sick as deliberately targeting an endangered species for death. Birders know that the light’s not always perfect or even particularly good when you’re trying to tell one species from another. The big white one. It flies on.

2011 239

2011 Hunting Kentucky Hunters 239

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2011

Even if you don’t live in the summer range of a particular species, you may have opportunities to observe it while it passes through, especailly if you live in an active flyway, like I happen to. In one simple blog post, it is impossible to address even the most basic questions about bird migration. Well, not really.

Research 187

Research Humane Compassion New York 187

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2023

Not a cover species The Black Kite is not actually black, but of course, misleading bird names are not exactly rare. No surprise then that the species is listed as Vulnerable. But then, sanity (or maybe respect for you, the reader) prevailed. Fortunately, they are quite common in Shanghai.

Birds 130

Birds Iraq China Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 15, 2022

Somehow, I feel this post about the few pheasants I have seen in China has gotten off to a wrong start – not quite the kind of motivation to blog readers to continue reading this post. The Latin species name of the Kalij Pheasant is leucomelanos , meaning “white” (leukos) and “black” (melanos, both Greek words).

Rhode Island 147

Rhode Island Research South Dakota North Dakota 147

10,000 Birds

APRIL 1, 2014

When my friend Victoria, who lives in Georgia and who is an avid birder but who is not an avid reader of blogs and social media, asked me “Should I buy the new Sibley? I’m going to start with a specific example: species accounts for Common Tern and Arctic Tern. Sometimes it takes an unexpected question.

North America 230

North America Birds Species America 230

10,000 Birds

JUNE 5, 2018

So many species that change eye color or leg color as they age. This encyclopedic identification guide covered 43 species in 608 pages, and was illustrated with both Hans Larsson’s exceptional artwork and color photographs by multiple photographers. Describing gull plumage is a combination of science, graphic art, and visual metaphor.

2004 142

2004 North America America Europe 142

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2022

Given the complexity of the research, the result feels like a bit of a letdown – “northern populations start migration earlier than southern populations, especially in autumn” The species name of the Chestnut-eared Bunting is fucata , from the Latin “fucare”, to paint red.

Birds 197

Birds Eggs Bangladesh China 197

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2022

After returning once more from Nanhui and almost admiring the extent of ongoing destruction there, what better song to start this blog post than with excerpts from the song “Give up” by The Burning Hell? The Little Grebe is of course a very common bird that can still surprise by its beauty in its breeding plumage.

Birds 147

Birds China Eggs Breeding 147