10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2012

They are not necessarily the biggest African animals, but represented those that were considered a real hunter’s worthy prey or “game” – the African Elephant, Cape Buffalo, Black Rhinoceros, Leopard and king of the jungle, the Lion (which of course doesn’t inhabit jungle but savanna!).

Buffalo 237

Buffalo Rhinoceros Elephants Leopards 237

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2014

The animals aren’t quite so closely packed as Hollywood can manage, and they tend towards slightly smaller species, in general, but still, its impressive. The two star attractions for most tourists are Asian Elephants and Bornean Orangutans. I dipped on the elephants, but the river certainly delivered for orangutans.

Rhinoceros 180

Rhinoceros Apes Elephants Monkeys 180

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 19, 2023

Photos courtesy of Mosetlha Bush Camp A dusty-red road leads me through Marico bushveld deeper into the 750 square kilometers large wilderness of the Madikwe Game Reserve – the 4th largest reserve in South Africa, home to 350 bird and 66 mammal species, some 4 hours’ drive from Johannesburg. And on the road, an elephant rules it.

South Africa 264

South Africa Africa Game Elephants 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

A slightly more surprising threat for the vultures comes from elephants. Elephants destroy the trees the vultures live and nest in. Vultures, therefore, tend not to nest in areas with high elephant populations ( source ). Maybe the bird thinks this will drive the elephants away?

Elephants 147

Elephants Birds Congo Africa 147

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2020

Knowing that there are reserves with long lists of 600 or more species, I set my threshold at more than 600 birds… and found only a few such hotspots. In early November 2020, there were 15 countries with more than 1000 species eBirded so far. Other than that, there are barely a few hotspots with over 500 species.

Asia 279

Asia Malaysia Papua New Guinea Thailand 279

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

That larger clade is in turn sister to a clade containing the four remaining totipalmate bird families, which do still seem to be related, and which needed a new order name once pelicans were removed. But meanwhile, let’s look at the four avian families that comprise the brand new order Suliformes.

2011 166

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 166

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2022

The one bird I did not see here, however, was the Bateleur Eagle … One highlight in the area is the Saddle-billed Stork , likely to be the tallest species in the stork family. The African Spoonbill is one of the six global spoonbill species, and the main African one (there are also some Eurasian Spoonbills in Africa).

Ostriches 147

Ostriches Parrots Birds Eggs 147