10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2012

Prime destinations for seeing African Elephant in the wild include Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Uganda. The Afrotheres consist of several groups of mammals that evolved in Africa and include elephants, hyraxes, elephant shrews, aardvark, pangolin and golden moles.

Buffalo 213

Buffalo Rhinoceros Elephants Leopards 213

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2022

While hoopoes are in their own family, DNA studies suggest that the hoopoe diverged from hornbills, and the wood-hoopoes and scimitarbills from the hoopoe. If you come across a group on the ground foraging for food, look around and you will find one bird sitting in a vantage point, ready to give the alarm call in case of any danger.

Zimbabwe 147

Zimbabwe Birds South Africa Benin 147

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2012

Or, Pygmy leaf-folding frogs, Afrixalus brachycnemis, from Tanzania, tiny climbing frogs who lay their eggs in leaves and then fold the leaves over them for protection, sealing the nest with secretions. But, within the frog group there is a tremendous range of diversity. It turns out there is no scientific difference!

Reptiles 190

Reptiles Madagascar Family New York City 190

10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2014

The targeted age group is 6 to 11 years. The first, The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families , tells the story of Dr. Gordon Sato’s mangrove tree-planting project, which transformed the African village of Hargigo. My favorite was the Greater Flamingo in Tanzania (Pinkest bird!). It really isn’t.

Puerto Rico 241

Puerto Rico Parrots New York City 2013 241

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? The rest of the 216 pages long book is devoted to various African bird families and half a dozen individual species. He has authored several other books and many articles, largely on natural history.

Congo 264

Congo Africa South Africa Madagascar 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2012

The famous Verreaux family who made several expeditions into the province through the 1820’s and 1830’s procuring specimens for rich collectors. Gurney’s Sugarbird was discovered by the Verreaux family and named after wealthy English banker and amateur naturalist John Gurney from Norwich. Image by Hugh Chittenden. Image by Adam Riley.

Mozambique 195

Mozambique South Africa Africa Collecting 195

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2022

The one bird I did not see here, however, was the Bateleur Eagle … One highlight in the area is the Saddle-billed Stork , likely to be the tallest species in the stork family. Another member of the stork family, the African Openbill , looks like it is could benefit from a good orthodontist. And sadly, it is listed as Endangered.

Ostriches 147

Ostriches Parrots Birds Eggs 147

10,000 Birds

MAY 27, 2015

This time it is the Old World that has misnamed a group of birds, or in fact several groups. It all comes back to a split in one of the great bird families, the Turdidae, or thrushes. Once upon a time, when I started birding, this great family included a wide range of species collectively known as the robins and chats.

Mozambique 169

Mozambique Zambia Zimbabwe Namibia 169

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. They are usually found in small family groups perched atop bushes or short trees, from whence they sally out to catch their prey.

Africa 265

Africa Gabon South Africa Uganda 265

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2012

Image taken by Adam Riley in Tanzania. Image taken by Adam Riley in Tanzania. Bubalornis – the black Buffalo Weavers A male Red-billed Buffalo Weaver photographed in Tanzania by Adam Riley The two species of black buffalo weavers are large, noisy birds of drier areas of East and southern Africa. Image by Adam Riley in Namibia.

Tanzania 232

Tanzania Buffalo Kenya Namibia 232

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2011

Quintessential African scene from Tarangire National Park, Tanzania Africa boasts a fabulous and unique avifauna. Besides these truly African families, Africa abounds in a wealth of species in other more widespread groups; weavers, barbets, kingfishers, sunbirds, rollers, bee-eaters, and dare I mention them, cisticolas!

Papua New Guinea 231

Papua New Guinea Madagascar Africa Equatorial Guinea 231

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 240

Ethiopia Tanzania Africa Uganda 240