10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2018

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. Best timing here is the dry season, June to September, when most birds are breeding (3). Mongabay.com has done exactly that.

Rwanda 221

Rwanda Equatorial Guinea El Salvador Costa Rica 221

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2012

The family Picathartidae consists of two very unusual birds; White-necked or Yellow-headed Picathartes , endemic to the Upper Guinea forests of West Africa; and Gray-necked or Red-headed , restricted to Lower Guinea forests of Central Africa. They also occur in Liberia, Ivory Coast and Guinea.

Sierra Leone 271

Sierra Leone Ghana Cameroon Equatorial Guinea 271

10,000 Birds

APRIL 9, 2013

A Long-tailed Sylph, one of the America’s many long tailed hummingbird species, photographed in Colombia by Adam Riley. A Long-tailed Sylph, one of the America’s many long tailed hummingbird species, photographed in Colombia by Adam Riley. The remarkable Resplendent Quetzal photographed in Guatemala by Adam Riley.

Papua New Guinea 245

Papua New Guinea South Africa Africa Zimbabwe 245

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2013

New Zealand, where I live, am the 10,000 Birds Beat Writer of, and of which I very occasionally actually write about, is home to several species of heron. Like most of the rest of the world this species is kind of new here, having recently colonised from, well, wherever those things actually came from. It wasn’t always this way.

New Zealand 149

New Zealand Indonesia Cattle Guinea 149

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2015

Nineteen days later we had racked up an amazing list of 436 species, including some of Africa’s least known birds such as Congo Serpent Eagle , Yellow-footed Honeyguide , Tessmann’s Flycatcher , Yellow-bearded Greenbul , Black-collared Lovebird and much besides. We also knew we had discovered Africa’s next hot birding destination.

Ghana 196

Ghana Hunters Guinea Gambia 196

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2012

They are feathered jewels with extraordinary breeding dances almost unrivalled in the bird world. Adding to their mystique is the remoteness of their home, the undeveloped and rarely visited islands of New Guinea and eastern Indonesia. There are, however, two species that are more accesible than the rest of the family.

Indonesia 196

Indonesia Birds Australia Guinea 196

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

Back in 2009, Tai Haku sent us a fascinating post exploring a question that ecologists worldwide grapple with: can the translocation of rare species into niches left empty by extinction be successful or justified? It persists in captivity at a breeding facility on Guam and in a number of American zoos. It is extinct.

Puerto Rico 192

Puerto Rico Guam Virgin Islands Feral 192

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2012

The IOC world birdlist recognizes 90 species that bear the name “weaver” or “malimbe” Not all of these are true weavers as we will discuss below. There are currently 64 recognized species in this genus, a remarkable number indeed, and this includes the 5 Asian and 2 Malagasy species.

Tanzania 228

Tanzania Buffalo Kenya Namibia 228

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 22, 2014

I had barely made it far into the place, and was about to start photographing some breeding Australian Pied Shags when I heard a call to my left that I didn’t immediately recognise. There are simply no middle gears for this species. I’ve been told its one of the hardest species to photograph here, so I am quite proud!

New Zealand 170

New Zealand Solomon Islands Sanctuary Vanuatu 170

10,000 Birds

APRIL 27, 2012

One of the more interesting aspects (in my opinion) of breeding in birds is their mating strategy. The most common mating strategy in birds is social monogamy, found in roughly 92% of birds species in the world (Jenni 1974, Owens 2002). of all bird species, is polyandry. Polyandry is found mostly in shorebirds (e.g.

2002 169

2002 North America 2000 2009 169

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 24, 2012

Australian Magpies are found across Australia, southern New Guinea and have been introduced to New Zealand (along with just about everything else). No, you see, the males are pretty defensive about their young, and in the breeding season will aggressively attack what they perceive as a threat to their nest.

New Zealand 154

New Zealand Birds Australia Kangaroos 154

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 15, 2012

The most common species when I was there that first morning was Great Knots , a life species for me. But there were other species too, including Bar-tailed and Black-tailed Godwits , Eastern Curlews and Curlew Sandpipers. Two lifers I was particularly pleased to see were Greater Sand Plovers and Lesser Sand Plovers.

Alligators 168

Alligators Guinea 2012 Australia 168

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2011

The Bronze Shining Cuckoo migrates to New Guinea and the Long-tailed Cuckoo disperses widely across the Pacific. A third species, the Welcome Swallow , is apparently partly migratory. The crazy weather will doubtless have an impact on the birds here, particularly insects specialists like the diminutive New Zealand Fantails.

New Zealand 113

New Zealand Sanctuary North America Guinea 113

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

Brown Pelicans , and the northernmost Brown Booby breeding colony on this side of the Pacific. Frigatebirds (Fregatidae) Five species of frigatebird ply the planet’s tropical skies and seas. Ringer Gannets and Boobies (Sulidae) Black-and-white gannets breed on the cold, rocky coasts of the northern and southern oceans.

2011 154

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 154

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2017

Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago covers 1,417 species, 601 endemics, 98 vagrants, 8 introduced and 18 undescribed species. Only one bird species has become extinct (Javan Lapwing), but many others are endangered, with some considered close to extinction (not surprising in an area with species restricted to one or two small islands).

Indonesia 131

Indonesia Brunei Birds Malaysia 131

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.

2011 188

2011 Birds South Korea North Dakota 188