10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 3, 2014

Well, this time next week I’ll be winging my way to Cape Town via Auckland and Singapore (air transport is weird sometimes), so this is my last beat post of the year. It’s a species that has bedeviled and bewitched me over the years. Cave species obviously excluded, they can go extinct for all I care.

Sharks 182

Sharks Leopards Whales Whaling 182

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2011

Wood Storks are an exceptionally old species, and its existence predates the last Ice Age, around 15,000 years ago, by tens of thousands of years more. Fossils discovered in Brazil are indistinguishable from modern Wood Storks, and date from at least the late Pleistocene. This is a bird with some pedigree.

North America 171

North America Pedigree South Carolina Brazil 171

10,000 Birds

MAY 24, 2014

On June 12th, FIFA’s Football World Cup will kick off in Brazil, with the home side hosting Croatia for the opening match in Sao Paulo. Anticipation is building as the date approaches and football fans will soon be arriving in the city to pay homage at the birthplace of Brazil’s fabulous version of the beautiful game.

Brazil 160

Brazil Birds Transported Game 160

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2018

No, I am not talking of Brazil or Columbia, they are not just in the tropics but more importantly, they are officially huge. When you compare the species richness not per country, but per square kilometre, that is when you get a more realistic picture, and then those tiny tropical countries rightfully stand out in the spotlights.

Rwanda 231

Rwanda Equatorial Guinea El Salvador Costa Rica 231