10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 14, 2012

Ethiopia , a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa, has firmly established itself as one of Africa’s top birding destinations. Tours groups that I guided to Ethiopia ten years ago had to endure very basic accommodation, almost no surfaced roads and low levels of service. Not much was known about Ethiopia’s birds and there was no decent fieldguide. Blue-winged Goose Occurring only in Ethiopia, this high altitude waterfowl is not uncommon on alpine lakes.

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Ethiopia Eritrea 2012 Sudan 85

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2013

These relics of times gone by now cling to a precarious existence on the sheer cliffs of Ethiopia’s mountains, from which each morning they materialize, to forage on nearby moorlands, before disappearing down the precipices in the evening. This was the local name meaning “ugly” used for these primates by the people of the Gonder area in northern Ethiopia when the German naturalist Rüppell “discovered” this species for science in the 1830’s. Mammals Ethiopia Gelada

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Ethiopia 2013 Primates Fur 56

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2015

Ethiopia, a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa, has firmly established itself as one of Africa’s top birding destinations. These 15 endemics and nearly 40 near-endemics (many of which were endemics until Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1991) are for the most part quite easily observed on the standard Ethiopian birding circuit. Birding best birding tours Ethiopia omo valley

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2015 Sudan Eritrea Leopards 78

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2012

Asides corvids EthiopiaScientists have wondered why the outstandingly adaptable Ethiopian Bush-crow ( Zavattariornis stresemanni ) refused to expand outside of its postage stamp-sized range. Apparently, these quasi-corvids are too cool for school and like it that way.

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2012 Ethiopia 55

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2017

The Sanetti Plateau in Ethiopia is a one of Africa’s greatest birding locations. Last year I had the weird (deeply, deeply weird) honour of working on a TV show in Ethiopia. I spent 3 weeks in Ethiopia, mostly in the Harenna Forest which is nestled on the southern slopes of the Bale Mountains, the range that the Sanetti Plateau caps. Wattled Ibis are common in Ethiopia, even in the capital, but are a special endemic too. Birding Africa Ethiopia

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2017 Rats Mammals Asia 40

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2011

home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Asides / Liben Lark Gets a Lifeline Liben Lark Gets a Lifeline By Corey • March 4, 2011 • 1 comment Tweet Share The Liben Lark Heteromirafra sidamoensis of Ethiopia is critically endangered, with less then 100 individuals left in one grassy plain. Here’s hoping the Liben Lark defies the odds and long graces the grassy plains of Ethiopia!

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2011 Deer Massachusetts Cats 52

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2017

Oh to be on the Sanetti Plateau in Ethiopia ! March, at least in my part of the world, is living up to its billing as a ferocious starter. Perhaps the time has come, though, to retire the bit about lions and lambs. Who outside of certain parts of Africa thinks about lions during this time of year? In fact, is the volatility of this month even measurably greater at its start than its end in places where lions actually live free?

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2017 Lions Ethiopia Lamb 40

10,000 Birds

JUNE 10, 2015

In the meantime, in order to rectify this I present some images of the Village Weaver, a widespread African species that ranges from Senegal to Ethiopia and down to South Africa. In many ways the weaver family is for Africa are similar beasts to the pseudowarblers of North America (sometimes called wood-warblers). There are a lot of them, they are generally attractive, and prone to being yellow.

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2015 Ethiopia Senegal Albatross 54

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2012

The diminutive Tinkerbirds are Africa’s smallest barbets, depicted here is Red-fronted Tinkerbird photographed at Lalibela, Ethiopia. The Banded Barbet is a medium-sized barbet that is endemic to Ethiopia and Eritrea. This image was also taken at Lalibela, Ethiopia. Banded is an attractive species endemic to Ethiopia and Eritrea. This image was taken at Lake Langano, Ethiopia. Image taken in the Afar Region of Ethiopia.

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Africa 2012 Ethiopia Tanzania 75

10,000 Birds

JULY 19, 2018

now the pace quickens: USA; Angola, Cameroon, Nigeria, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia; Nepal, Myanmar, Malaysia, Vietnam. Summer is normally the vacation season, for ordinary tourists at least. Birders follow different patterns of bird migration and their local activities and travel accordingly. But – where? I discovered this cover-photo map somewhere at the BirdLife International’s website. It illustrates the bird richness per country.

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2018 Equatorial Guinea Guyana Suriname 66

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2012

The Northern Carmine is readily seen in Ghana’s Mole National Park, Ethiopia’s Rift Valley and in Uganda’s Murchison Falls National Park. Excellent sites include Namibia’s Etosha National Park and Ethiopia’s Awash National Park. The former can easily be seen in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park and the latter on the forested edges of Ethiopia’s Rift Valley lakes.

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Africa 2012 Uganda Gabon 84

10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2015

The populations remain stable in Ethiopia, Tanzania and southern Africa, but have collapsed in West Africa and have declined in other parts as well. It can’t have escaped your notice lately that the blog has been overrun with articles about North America’s pseudo-warblers (or wood warblers, as some people, apparently unaware the name is taken by a proper European species, call them), and, even worse, no small amount of poetry.

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2015 Ethiopia Tanzania Feral 60

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 15, 2012

The Mantled Guereza , ( Colobus guereza ) The Mantled Guereza, also known as the Eastern Black-and-white Colobus or Abyssinian Black-and-white Colobus , is a common forest species found across the rain forests and savannah woodlands of central Africa from Cameroon to Kenya, with a separate population across most of Ethiopia.

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Uganda Monkeys 2012 Cameroon 57

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 27, 2018

The Diplobirder , birding Ethiopia where legends are born. I watched some movie the other day, in which an artist, a real historical figure, says something how art is a… well, I didn’t write it down immediately and couldn’t find it googling later (assuming that the thought is as historical as the artist), but I recognized birding in those words. Simply replace “art” with “birding” and it made perfect sense.

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2018 Ethiopia Science Raised 51

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Ethiopia’s Rift Valley lakes such as Lake Ziway and Awassa are famous for the gangs of Marabous that hang around the fish markets and allow close approach in the hope of a smelly handout. Marabous at Lake Awassa fishmarket, Ethiopia by Felicity Riley A male Saddle-billed Stork (note the dark eye and yellow wattles), St Lucia, South Africa by Adam Riley Second largest, and at the other end of the attractiveness scale, is the stunning Saddle-billed Stork.

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Africa 2012 Tanzania Ethiopia 77

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2013

This attractive (for a lark anyway) species is restricted to the dry savannah Somali-Maasai biome of north-east Africa (northern Tanzania, Kenya, southern Ethiopia and Somalia). It is found in higher-elevation woodlands from northern Zambia and Malawi northwards through Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia and Somalia and into the Arabian peninsula.

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Africa 2013 Somalia Mozambique 70

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2016

Last year scientists in Ethiopia discovered the jawbone of a 2.8 One might think that thanks to the Internet, all those ridiculous old wild animal myths handed down for generations would finally die a deserved death. But noooo. Thanks to the Internet not only don’t they die, they’re joined by more. I asked a group of wildlife rehabilitators: “What are some of the Worst Bird Myths? Feel free to vent!”.

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2016 Porcupines Raccoons Ethiopia 61

10,000 Birds

JUNE 29, 2011

Nyer is not grown in the United States and is imported from a variety of places including Burma, Singapore, Ethiopia and Myanmar. Have you had trouble keeping finches at your feeder? If so, you’re not alone, it’s a common bird feeding question. American Goldfinches are one of the prettiest reasons to keep your feeders full in the summer. It seems that goldfinches are so pretty they know they can afford to be a bit more finicky than other birds.

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2011 Burma Myanmar Ethiopia 75

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2012

The birds are thinly distributed in eleven sub-Saharan African countries and an isolated population possibly still remains in the highlands of Ethiopia. Its a hard life being a bird but its especially hard if you’re a crane. Of the fifteen species of cranes alive today eleven are considered vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The Wattled Crane unfortunately finds itself amongst the majority, with an estimated 7,000 birds remaining on the planet.

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2012 Ethiopia South Africa Leopards 53

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2011

Most of it comes from Singapore, Ethiopia and Burma. When trying to attract finches, it can be feast or famine. Some days you get bunches and bunches, other times you might feel totally rejected by them. I recently had a conversation with a colleague who works for the Department of Natural Resources. He’s a smart guy, a wildlife biologist and what he knows about native swans is incredible, but what he knew or didn’t know about bird feeding was surprising.

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2011 Burma Hoarding Niger 77

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2011

Ethiopia – the roof of Africa, fascinating endemic birds and wildlife and an incredible cultural and historical destination; Namibia , Botswana & Zambia – a fantastic overland tour can combine these three countries boasting vast wildernesses and superb birds and wildlife; and Ghana – the friendliest country in the world and great birding opportunities with Africa’s only rainforest canopy walkway and endangered Upper Guinea endemics.

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2011 Madagascar Equatorial Guinea Papua New Guinea 72

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2012

Image by Markus Lilje (Rockjumper Birding Tours) Liben Lark Previously called Sidamo Lark and currently only known for certainty from the tall grass prairie of the Liben Plains near Negele in southern Ethiopia, this species has a population estimated at less than 250 individuals occupying just 30-36 sq km. Although extinction is a natural phenomenon, experts have determined that the current rate of bird extinction is somewhere between 1,000 and 10,000 times the background rate.

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Endangered Species Africa Species 2012 64

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2017

Both men lead trips for tour company Tropical Birding (Barnes is a founder), and they have also co-authored Wildlife of Madagascar (another WildGuide volume, 2016), Birding Ethiopia (with Christian Boix, 2010) and Wild Rwanda (with Christian Boix, 2015).

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2017 Ecuador Reptiles Rwanda 59

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2012

Its sister species, Chestnut-backed, shows a similar range but in the Miombo woodland zone of south-central Africa, and finally Donaldson-Smith’s occurs in the Somali-Maasai arid zone, with a rather restricted range from northern Kenya to southern Ethiopia and Somalia. Weavers are truly magical birds, combining bright plumages with ingenious weaving talents and cheerful, noisy social lives.

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2012 Tanzania Buffalo Kenya 73

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

He is currently a birding tour guide for Tropical Birding, based in Madagascar, and has co-authored a book on Birding Ethiopia. In the old days, I watched the Atlantic Ocean to enjoy the view—the wavering line between sky and water, the infinite shades of blue and green, the threatening height and roar of waves on a windy morning. Well, now I’m a birder and all that beauty is beside the point.

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2013 Ethiopia North Dakota Madagascar 75

10,000 Birds

APRIL 8, 2012

source ) As for the final catbird, Abyssinian Catbird Parophasma galinieri , well, it is a babbler that comes from a monotypic genus and is endemic to Ethiopia. So if you are from North or Central America, Ethiopia, New Guinea, or Australia make sure to check out that meow coming from the bushes: you might just be surprised to find a bird instead of a cat! We can start first with what catbirds are not.

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2012 Papua New Guinea Ethiopia Guinea 62

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2012

2012 has certainly been a bumper year for me with an estimated year list of around 3,000 species after extensive travels to South Africa, Ethiopia, South Korea, Indonesia, the Russian Far East, United Kingdom, Peru, Guatemala and Panama. As 2012 draws to a close we here at 10,000 Birds thought that it would be a great idea if we, like we did in 2010 and 2011 , shared our Best Birds of the Year.

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2012 Guatemala Jordan South Korea 53

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2016

Through Botswana during the first week of September, then into Ethiopia with a late flourish, he has carried the list to 2191 as at September 30t h. Contributions this month have come from; Costa Rica, USA, Australia, Mexico, Serbia, South Africa, UK, Botswana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Iran. Duncan has been in Africa, sweeping all before him like a brush fire.

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2016 Ghana Sanctuary Australia 54