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Picathartes – Africa’s strangest birds

10,000 Birds

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. White-necked or Yellow-headed Picathartes, Bonkro, Ghana.

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Our Favorite Bird Books (and one pair of Binoculars) of 2022

10,000 Birds

Lees and Gilroy delineate vagrancy status and trends for every bird family worldwide, highlighting examples, synthesizing research, and framing it all with their own thoughts and conclusions. The guide covers 265 of Maine’s 461 bird species: common nesting species, common migrants, and wintering birds.

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Africa’s remarkable long tailed birds

10,000 Birds

A Long-tailed Sylph, one of the America’s many long tailed hummingbird species, photographed in Colombia by Adam Riley. A Great Argus in full call, this species’ tail consists of the longest feather in the bird world. The 9 species of whydah are brood-parasitic seedeaters belonging to the Indigobird family.

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Ghana – Rainforest Birding on the Brink by Adam Riley

10,000 Birds

My connection with Ghana began rather unexpectedly (and as it turned out, rather humorously) more than ten years ago. We already had South Africa, Zambia and Uganda under our belts, but my clients’ request for the next year came right out of the blue: Ghana! What makes Ghana so special?

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The Bee-eaters of Africa

10,000 Birds

The wonderful family Meropidae contains 27 dazzling species, of which Africa is endowed with no less than 20 species, the balance occurring across Asia and with one as far afield as Australia. We have both resident and migratory species, and this post will briefly discuss each of the 20 species of African bee-eaters.

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Birding – An Extreme Sport

10,000 Birds

Phoebe Snetsinger was an American birder who first passed the 8,000 species mark. Before leaving the safety of the car I heeded the park’s advice and checked for animal tracks belonging to any biting, gnawing, mauling, trampling, stabbing or disembowelling species. She died in a car accident during a birding trip.

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Weavers

10,000 Birds

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. Image taken by Adam Riley in Ghana. Photo taken by Adam Riley in Ghana. Of these 90, all occur in Africa bar 5 Asian and 2 Malagasy weavers.

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