10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2018

There are important details within that dictum that we will ignore here, but this has to do with knowing when a characteristic doesn’t really tell you about the relative position of species on a “tree of life” vs when the characteristic works for that purpose. That was useful, and it is still useful, even if there are often major exceptions.

Monkeys 180

Monkeys Gorillas Whales Whaling 180

4 The Love Of Animals

MARCH 17, 2011

Chimpanzees and elephants grieve the loss of family and friends, and gorillas hold wakes for the dead. Donna Fernandes, president of the Buffalo Zoo, witnessed a wake for a female gorilla, Babs, who had died of cancer at Boston’s Franklin Park Zoo. Sometimes the matriarch would even feed Babyl.

Emotional 100

Emotional Animal Whales Whaling 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2012

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.

Africa 266

Africa South Africa Gabon Uganda 266

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2011

This has happened before, Archaeopteryx and the bird family tree have had an often tenuous relationship. The trait must then be identifiable as to whether or not it exists in a certain species. That’s what Archaeopteryx is. Recently, the news came out that beloved Archaeopteryx is not really a bird ancestor.

Mammals 267

Mammals Europe Groups Family 267

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2011

Approximately 2,300 bird species inhabit Africa, however as impressive as that sounds, much smaller South America boasts nearly 1,000 species more. Vangas, asities, mesites, Malagasy warblers, ground-rollers and cuckoo-roller are all mouth-watering groups with very special members.

Papua New Guinea 254

Papua New Guinea Madagascar Africa Equatorial Guinea 254

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2012

Barbets are a group of medium sized, chunky, generally colorful, frugivorous, hole-nesting near-passerines, that are popular targets for anyone birding in the tropics. Originally they were all placed in the family Capitonidae , but over time taxonomists have determined that actual relationships between these barbets are far more complex.

Ethiopia 252

Ethiopia Tanzania Africa Uganda 252