10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

While these birds are very much liked by Chinese birders, the species could unfortunately not be named the National Bird of China as the Latin species name of the bird is Grus Japonicus. It is not quite clear why they do this as it apparently does not affect breeding success. A nice example of gender equality of sorts.

Birds 193

Birds Eggs Bald Eagle Owls 193

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2023

Today, I invite you to join me, Kai Pflug, on an extraordinary avian expedition as we explore the vibrant cityscape of Shanghai, a hidden gem for birdwatchers in the heart of China. The Majestic Wetlands: Within Shanghai’s boundaries lie several pristine wetland habitats that serve as vital sanctuaries for a plethora of bird species.

China 159

China Endangered Species Sanctuary Protection 159

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2022

According to the HBW, there are 41 species of African Barbets and 34 species of Asian Barbets. There are also 14 species of New World Barbets and 2 species of Toucan-Barbets (all in South America). T he Golden-throated Barbet (Baihualing, Yunnan) has an interesting species name, franklinii.

South Africa 196

South Africa Africa India China 196

10,000 Birds

JUNE 13, 2022

Readers with a pornographic mindset will enjoy the following information about the Dusky Moorhen: “Simultaneously promiscuous, forming breeding groups of 2–7 apparently unrelated birds; individuals sometimes switch groups between seasons. Honeyeaters are a large bird family (190 species) with a strong presence in Australia.

Australia 187

Australia Birds Feral Cats Kangaroos 187

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2023

Such programs are somewhat inefficient anyway – in one study , the breeding success of wild male pheasants was 2-5 times higher than for hand-reared and released ones while for females, hand-reared birds were 3 times as vulnerable to predation as the wild ones. Apparently, there is a website just showing stamps depicting bird species.

Birds 186

Birds Blackbirds Indonesia Bhutan 186

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 29, 2022

According to Tim Low (in “Where Song began”), “so easy were they to breed that by 1859 they cost less to buy in London than in Sydney.” ” Funny how the difficulty of breeding a species can be illustrated in simple monetary terms. We even had some chicks – not that this was a big achievement.

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Birds Australia Sheep Zebras 147

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 15, 2021

These are the tradeoffs of modern life in China. Apparently, Longcanggou is a great place to see a variety of parrotbill species. I can only partly confirm this, with my sightings restricted to two species. ” Always a good property in a bird species, from the perspective of a bird photographer.

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Pandas Birds Mammals China 197

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2022

I was surprised that this species is named for its vocalization – which sounds like laughter. For example, the Diamond Dove is the world’s second-smallest species of the columbidae order ( source ). The Latin species name haematonotus (“blood-backed”) sounds a bit more exciting but not necessarily more accurate.

Australia 147

Australia Birds Parrots Ostriches 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2022

Wikipedia seems not too impressed with the species, stating that “the brown honeyeater is a medium-small, plain grey-brown honeyeater” The Latin species name indistincta (indistinct, obscure) sounds similarly underwhelming. The species was bred at the zoo of Memphis, Tennesee ( source ). ” ( source ).

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Birds Australia Parrots Memphis 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2022

After writing this last sentence, I looked up the species in the HBW and found the sentence “Song poorly documented” in the appropriate section, while with regard to calls, the description is that “call is a two-note raspy nasal ‘ryeeh-reh’”. The Hair-crested Drongo is a bit more common here.

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Singapore Mountain Goats Birds Giraffes 147

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2021

Being a bit older myself now, I have to point out that young human males usually do not look that good, at least to me. If that band had had to name themselves after a bird species rather than after a surname, they probably would have called themselves the Asian Brown Flycatchers. A juvenile male. The real thing: an adult male.

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Birds LACS France Japan 218

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2022

According to the HBW, when breeding, male birds do most of the incubation and parenting while females often leave the nest up to one week before the eggs hatch. Maybe better not to ever meet such a “mother” (given that I have been living in China for too long to be up-to-date regarding political correctness etc.,

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Birds South Korea Japan Abandon 162

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

In China, wherever there is one real tourist attraction (like the Great Wall), the local strategy seems to be to add some fake attractions – replicas of palaces or tombs, amusement parks, shopping centers – in order to maximize the income from tourists. Sir James McGrigor (1771-1858) Director Gen.

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China Birds Pythons Eagles 217

10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2021

On the other hand, in April, some other species start breeding here in Shanghai. Interestingly, these heronries frequently seem to be near highway exits – either because these relatively ugly places are less likely to be disturbed by humans, or because this shortens the commute of those birds working in downtown offices.

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Birds Farming Alaska Breeding 171

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 10, 2022

For some reason that I do not quite understand myself – given that I really rather dislike children and am not too positive about the rest of humanity either – I recently put up a little display of bird photos inside my Shanghai compound, which I share (as the only foreigner) with about 1700 Chinese.

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Birds Fish Germany China 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

Mute Swans are large, white, and decorative, and as such their natural range has been significantly altered by humans who generally enjoy having them around. Its natural range in Europe was restricted the the surroundings of the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea, and in Asia it ranged from Asia Minor to central China.

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Feral Europe Asia North America 168

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2014

Did I dare dip my toe into this catalog of tantalizing species? Kinabalu (at 13,455 feet the highest peak in southeast Asia), and human development that has resulted in freshwater rice fields, secondary forest, and oil palm plantations, this means that Borneo offers an incredibly high degree of biodiversity. Now, I’m not so sure.

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Brunei Birds Asia China 172

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2019

After getting to the letter C last week in a roughly alphabetical order, I will show the second 10 species today. Still, a bird that has its moments – and I am always surprised how this sparrow really seems to enjoy human presence, however destructive it may be. The Little Grebe is the default bird on Shanghai`s many ponds.

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Latvia Birds Sparrows Abandon 121

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2023

I visited Tengchong in late 2020 and wrote about it – but I also went there earlier, in 2017, and this post shows some photos I took during that trip, along with the usual comments that seem to be much more about ridiculing my fellow humans (especially ornithologists and the like) than providing useful information on birds.

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China 2017 Birds Indonesia 176

Animal Person

NOVEMBER 21, 2010

And managing means killing them, breeding them, and otherwise fiddling with their populations. It has entertaining stories, includes animals people care about because they like them (and also addresses that concept), and it describes how the numbers of various species decreased to the point of being classified as "endangered" or worse.

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Polar Bears California Condor Bald Eagle Lions 100

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 16, 2023

Shanghaibirding describes the Brown-headed Thrush as “a scarce passage migrant through northern and central coastal China, including Shanghai” – given that I only saw it once on Tianmashan, that is probably correct, though the date (January 09) seems rather late for a migrant.

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Birds China Killing Reptiles 147

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2022

.” This should make the bird somewhat unpopular with the socially rather conservative Chinese government – maybe the birds in China do not show this behavior in order to adapt to local customs? On the other hand, given China’s low birth rate, they might serve as an example for the future.

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Birds China Pythons Breeding 197

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2022

Around this time of the year, the first few waders are back in Shanghai from their breeding grounds far further up north. Generally, being back here early is not a very good sign – it may indicate a failed breeding attempt, as suggested for Asian Dowitchers in a paper on their presence in Lianyungang somewhat further north of Shanghai.

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Cattle Portugal Buffalo Breeding 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2023

Being lazy, a bunch of researchers used camera traps to investigate the species rather than following the birds directly (which would have had some health benefits). They found that the species is diurnal (well, using cameras, would they even have seen nightly activities?),

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Birds China Science Research 130

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2023

What most people do not know is that this common occurrence was actually the inspiration for a Johnny Cash song, “ Boy named Sue “ Of course, as this song was written for humans rather than for birds, the situation was adapted accordingly. Read it there if you want. Read it there if you want. Sexism, realism, or both?

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China Research India Zoos 221

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2022

The falcon breeds in south-eastern Siberia and Northern China but winters in Southern and East Africa. ” If in doubt, just classify species as LC? Should you be impressed by this list and the underlying ambitions, take a look at the migration route of the Amur Falcon ( Wikipedia ). Still as impressed as before?

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Falcons Japan China South Africa 233

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 19, 2011

It is my best bird because it is just such an incredible species, and looking at it made me realize that I had temporarily stopped to fully appreciate birds during the stressful last few years. This year I watched them from the day they arrived , until two chicks successfully hatched, the northernmost breeding record for the species.

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2011 Birds South Korea North Dakota 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 Eurasian Hobby was another notable raptor of the month.

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Birds China Eggs Owls 191

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2021

192) from the timing of seasons to the ferocity of weather to the shape of breeding, wintering, and stopover habitat to even the size of birds themselves. This is big, global-level stuff with amazing findings but worrisome data. It is often hard to be positive. But Weidensaul seems to have optimism in his DNA.

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Cyprus Slaughter Slaughtered Research 244

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2021

The fields near the Tiaozini mudflats look very much like a lunar landscape, but this does not seem to keep a number of species from breeding there, sometimes directly on dirt roads. But now back to birds … Little Ringed Plovers also seem to like to breed directly on the road. Blandness sells. Not this one.

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Birds Uganda Breeding Rats 205

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. Don’t these birds care about propagating their species? They hang baskets to be used as nests and fill the room with soft nesting materials.

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Mauritius Stud Zoos Eggs 101

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2024

Interestingly, these juveniles look more similar to another species, the Pale-billed Parrotbill, than the adult babblers – and they sometimes are part of the same flock. If you want to see how this species builds its nest, see here.) These roads are much less of a hindrance for the Pin-striped Tit-babbler , a mid-story bird.

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Burma Birds Vietnam Laos 181

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2023

For birders, the Wolongshan area is like a poorer cousin of Balangshan – due to the lower elevation, the bird species here are more common and thus less interesting. Some Chinese Babax waste part of their lives feeding chicks of Large Hawk Cuckoos, which parasitize the babax species.

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Hamburgers Birds Science China 198

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.

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Birds Iraq China Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2023

The family has about 37 species, but that includes several fulvettas – only 21 of the species have “parrotbill” in their names (and frankly, the bills of fulvettas do not look like those of parrots at all). A paper on breeding of the species was actually researched right here at Wawushan.

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Pandas Birds Eggs China 194

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

The adults presumably have already learned that humans are not usually good news even if not named Donald Trump. The White-shouldered Starling is not very common in Shanghai or even in China in general, despite its species name sinensis. Soldiers could probably learn a lot about camouflage from this species.

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Birds Tigers Humane Ecuador 130

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2023

In Alaska, they were found to mimic 30 different species ( source ). Maybe they have decided to boycott species with Russian-sounding names as a way to protest against Putin’s policies. Evil people in Southern China catch the bird and eat it. What keeps the endangered Chinese Yew awake at night?

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Monkeys Birds South Korea Owls 147