10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 25, 2022

Now, it is much easier for me to achieve first-time sightings of species in Europe than it is in Mexico, at this point of the game. So I might have assumed I would not see new species in the Palmones wetlands. The first gave me eight new species for Spain, of which four were lifers. But this time, I could.

Spain 184

Spain Mexico Europe North America 184

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

For Europe, only very few books exist that cover the topic at all. So here it is, the review of Tracks and Signs of the Animals and Birds of Britain and Europe by Lars-Henrik Olsen. This is like Sibley calling his bird guide “The Sibley guide to Birds of Massachusetts and North America” The latter sounds silly, right?

Europe 165

Europe Mammals Animal Birds 165

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

As I mentioned last week, my wife, son, and daughter-in-law spent much of the month of October in Europe. Visiting the continent after the end of most of the autumn migration meant that the number of bird species I could see in northern France, Switzerland, southern Germany, and Austria was much reduced. Boy, was I glad I got photos!

Austria 127

Austria Switzerland Europe Geese 127

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2020

Not far from its capital Lisbon lies Cabo de Roca, the westernmost point in mainland Europe. Beyond that is the entire expanse of the Atlantic Ocean, stretching some six-hundred leagues west to Newfoundland — and even further to the mainland shores of North America.

2015 158

2015 Portugal France Europe 158

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2018

to the Rocky Mountains and beyond, Alaska, throughout the Caribbean, and in seven countries in Europe. Of the 300 hummingbird species across the globe, North America only sees fewer than two dozen of them. Then, I learned that over 400 species of birds have been identified in and around these islands.

Texas 184

Texas North America Alaska America 184

10,000 Birds

JULY 26, 2015

I was still telling the truth when I mentioned the four subspecies, species, taxa, forms, you name it, of the Great Egret: modesta (Asia), alba (Europe, Asia), egretta (Americas) and melanorhynchos (Africa). This is particularly interesting for birders in North America and Europe (duh!), This is easy.

North America 172

North America Europe America Asia 172

10,000 Birds

JUNE 5, 2018

So many species that change eye color or leg color as they age. Gulls of the World: A Photographic Field Guide is a successor, or companion, as the author terms it, to Klaus Malling Olsen’s classic guide, Gulls of Europe, Asia and North America (Helm, 2004*). So many birds of white and gray touched with black.

2004 157

2004 North America America Europe 157

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2012

Throughout most of North America, European Starling is a four letter word. There are groups dedicated to species like Eastern Bluebirds and Purple Martins and with extensive writings on how to keep starlings at bay and even recommendations on how to legally trap and kill them should they drive away North American birds.

North America 152

North America Europe America Livestock 152

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

It was Montagu who first realised that the “Ring-tail hawk” and the gray male Hen Harrier were the same species, and that the bird he called the Ash-coloured Falcon was a different species to the Hen Harrier, an impressive achievement at that time.

Falcons 231

Falcons Collecting 2003 Wounded 231

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2015

I still know my audience - this is primarily a blog read by birders in North America, who see the term “squirrel” as little more than a synonym for house sparrow, starling, pest and cholera. Germany, like most of Europe and very much unlike North America, is home to only one species of squirrel.

Squirrels 162

Squirrels North America Germany Europe 162

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 13, 2017

Their abundance this summer may not be enough to herald a comeback – and the western populations of the species, in particular, are still facing major trouble – but it was a welcome sight for any nature lover nevertheless. The American snout periodically moves through Texas and Mexico in huge numbers.

North America 100

North America Colorado Texas New York 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 30, 2019

This month we were able to go to Europe again, for our first real vacation in a few years. One of the groups that doesn’t seem to become any less common in fall is the T**s, known in North America as Chickadees and their relatives. Some of my readers may recall that my wife and I went to Spain a few months ago.

Switzerland 113

Switzerland Austria Europe Spain 113

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2017

This is the first identification guide that I know of that covers Mexico (technically North America but rarely included in North American raptor guides) and Central America. Like Peterson’s Hawks of North America, 2nd edition (Houghton Mifflin, 2001), which Clark co-authored with Brain K.

Mexico 170

Mexico America North America Falcons 170

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2020

Plus a few truly difficult species. Sure, it is an introduced species in Germany. These two shorebirds are exceedingly common in western Europe. So seeing this beautiful (though common) European species was a special treat. But the Great Swallow-tailed Swift is one of the largest Swifts in North America.

Austria 151

Austria Spain 2019 Birds 151

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2012

Neither of us had ever seen any species of hedgehog and it is no wonder that we were both surprised and excited to see such a cool little creature. There are seventeen species of hedgehog found across Europe, Asia, and Africa, the only places where hedgehogs are native. concolor once that was split from the European Hedgehog.

Hedgehogs 169

Hedgehogs Hungary Opossums North America 169

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Typically, at least here in North America, we think of migration as a north-south affair. We are familiar with the story, birds flying north in the boreal summer, taking advantage of the warmth, long days, and abundant insect life, to raise their young. A male Northern Wheatear. Sexes are highly dimorphic.

Africa 201

Africa Somalia North America Nigeria 201

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2011

Newts can be found in Asia, Europe, and North America. The most familiar newt in eastern North America, where I live, is the Red Eft , which is the juvenile form of the Red-spotted Newt Notophthalmus viridescens , which is in the above image. You can what that one looks like in the image below.

Salamander 162

Salamander Pythons North America Europe 162

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

There is much to enjoy and appreciate here and I only wish I could have tested out some of these species accounts in pelagic waters before writing about them (sadly, the 10,000 Birds pelagic to Antarctica was canceled this year). SCOPE & SPECIES ORGANIZATION. It covers 434 species across 9 orders and 18 families of birds.

Albatross 279

Albatross Penguins Family Groups 279

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2015

I’m a big fan of the antelopes, a group that is most commonly associated with Africa but which also occurs in Asia and, if you stretch the term to be cladistically meaningful, Europe and North America. By this I mean applying the term antelope to cover all of the family Bovidae, which would include the sheep, goats and ox.

Africa 170

Africa Hunters Goats Sheep 170

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2016

Of course such a clear case of misjudgement would never have happened here in the Olde Europe. Well look, it’s a nice species – but visually that’s nothing you wouldn’t get by repeateldy crossing Canada with Barnacle Geese. And the Nene? Seabirds and albatrosses?

Hawaii 161

Hawaii Albatross Europe America 161

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2013

The six living species are all found in Sub-Saharan Africa. They were once a widespread and diverse group, however, with many fossils known from what are now North America and Europe. Mousebirds are social fruit-eaters that dangle precariously at odd angles in tight clumps, feet spread wide and long tails often splayed.

Kenya 175

Kenya Parrots Africa North America 175

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2018

The hope and claim is that transferring this process to gull identification works more easily and just as accurately (at least for species) as an examination of plumage and molt patterns. Species Accounts. Gulls Simplified covers 25 species. From the Laughing Gull species account. These vary according to species.

North America 205

North America America El Salvador Nicaragua 205

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2016

The country of Mexico as a whole, is host to 27 different species of doves, with the California Baja Sure home to six. With a large number of sub-species in many of these doves, I have listed the actual sub-species for this area. A common migratory species, is the Mourning Dove , Zenaida macroura marginella.

San Jose 100

San Jose North America Mexico America 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2015

Birds included common species such as Black Drongos , Jungle Babblers and a Hoopoe. During the Pleistocene, Dholes were found across the Northern Hemisphere, including Europe and North America, sharing their space with sabre-toothed cats. These days, the species shares habitats with Tigers, Snow Leopard, Bears, etc.

Tigers 243

Tigers Dogs India Snow Leopard 243

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2022

The latest edition of the Clements Checklist that I could find, last modified in August 2022, lists 965 species (a little more manageable!), including 355 endemics, 28 introduced species, 6 extinct species, and 77 globally threatened species. There are three to four species on each page, for the most part.

Australia 248

Australia Birds 2017 Groups 248

10,000 Birds

APRIL 9, 2011

If you are mildly interested, proceed and read the caption. Despite being taken in Europe, this image exemplifies why forest birding in North America might soon be rated NC-17. North America may currently feel very smug, safe and sound. have asked themselves for ages: Is the Brown Creeper more than one species

North America 145

North America Europe America Asia 145

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 27, 2012

Common Merganser female by John Borg There are six living species of mergansers, three of which are commonly spotted in North America: The Common Merganser ( Mergus merganser ) ranges widely throughout the northern hemisphere. Anyway, the hoodie is the only merganser endemic to North America. Notice the sawbill?

North America 236

North America Thailand Russia Ducks 236

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

I haven’t yet been birding in Europe but whenever I occasionally skim a field guide about the birds on the other side of the Atlantic, I’m always encouraged to find that I’m already familiar with many species found over there, even though most of my birding experience has been limited to eastern North America.

2017 118

2017 Portugal Rabbits Europe 118

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

This is “the deep cradle of Western ornithology: the birthplace of bird study,” he tells us as he writes about gazing at the 8,000-year old depictions of “flamingos, herons, raptors, avocets and many other species” (p. Birkhead knows that these are sensitive topics.

Dissection 229

Dissection Birds Research Europe 229

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

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. Contradicting this relentless shooting were efforts to establish feral populations in many regions of Europe, both within and outside its natural range.

Feral 170

Feral Europe Asia North America 170

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2012

Sure, their field guide, The Collins Guide , claims six species but two, the Corsican Nuthatch and the Algerian Nuthatch , have extremely limited ranges and one of those two isn’t actually found in Europe. That leaves only two species with a decent range and a distinct look. That’s a lot of one kind of nuthatch.

Hungary 128

Hungary Europe Portugal Georgia 128

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 30, 2020

are up next, with a wonderful Australian species: It is very hard to choose a Best Bird of the Year any year. The male of this species has a royal blue throat, a white chest and rump, and a long v-shaped tail with intermittent white patches that makes it looks like part of it are floating in space. Clare (and Grant!) Preposterous!

2020 241

2020 Birds Costa Rica Germany 241

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 13, 2022

Tap water is not as cold as in Europe (and, I presume, North America), but to be called lukewarm it should be warmer. Birds The local birdlist has reached 462 species, and some 30 more are expected. Merlin pulls the data out of eBird and was particularly useful in narrowing down the number of species to consider.

Colombia 249

Colombia Birds Cooking Fish 249

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2011

Anas strepera is a common and widespread duck, breeding across northern Europe and Asia, as well as central North America. Gadwall are, according to BirdLife International, a Species of Least Concern because of its huge range and population, though its worldwide population trend is unknown.

United States 162

United States North America Jamaica Asia 162

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. It is also called Chinese Bulbul.

Birds 130

Birds Iraq China Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2013

There is actually quite the overlapping avifauna between North America and Europe. Though birders on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean tend to want to focus only on the vagrants there are quite a few species that are native to each. In fact, you have to!

Ireland 184

Ireland North America Europe America 184

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

There is a total of 235 different bird species in Greenland, most of them are migratory birds with approximately 60 species breeding within the land. The Arctic terns are very enduring and have the longest bird migration from their way across the Atlantic Sea to western Europe and along the west coast of Africa to the Antarctic waters.

North America 179

North America Eagles Breeding Fish 179