10,000 Birds

AUGUST 26, 2021

A few years ago, in the American Birding Association FB group I posted a question: Where would you go if funds weren’t a problem? Peacocks and Picathartes’s author, Rupert Watson, was born in England but has lived in Kenya for over 40 years where he practices variably as a lawyer, mediator, naturalist and writer.

Congo 264

Congo Africa South Africa Madagascar 264

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2016

By the time this post publishes, I’ll be on an airplane heading back to the United States following a truly remarkable two week visit to Uganda as part of a group of western birders visiting there to promote the inaugural African Birding Expo. In the relatively brief period, my group had something on the order of 450 species.

Uganda 165

Uganda Africa Squirrels Tanzania 165

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2012

Thankfully the days of visiting Africa purely for slaughtering its wildlife have mostly come to a merciful end, and safari operators have adopted the Big Five term to market tours that offer sightings of the fortunate remanants of Africa’s once teeming great herds.

Buffalo 209

Buffalo Rhinoceros Elephants Leopards 209

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2014

It’s relatively easy to classify birds into family groups based on physical characteristics. We view them as our enemies when they eat our crops and as an extension of our family when we see them at our feeders. Remarkably, there are 59 bird families that have very little cultural significance; these are listed in Appendix III.

Birds 220

Birds Egypt Family Eagles 220

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

In 1903, the distinguished Elliott Coues declared , “This is a definite and perfectly natural group, which will be immediately recognized by the foregoing characters, one of which, complete webbing of hallux, is not elsewhere observed among birds.&# Reed Cormorant ( Microcarbo africanus ), Nairobi, Kenya © David J.

2011 154

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 154