10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2014

The animals aren’t quite so closely packed as Hollywood can manage, and they tend towards slightly smaller species, in general, but still, its impressive. The river is a stronghold of the endangered Storm’s Stork , a stunning member of the family, and I saw at least one every day I was there. The birding was pretty ace too.

Rhinoceros 168

Rhinoceros Apes Elephants Monkeys 168

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2015

Its great diversity of habitats hosts an incredible bird count of over 900 species, including Africa’s 2nd highest list of endemics and near-endemics (after South Africa). Quality time was spent with a friendly Hamar family at their homestead of grass huts surrounding their cattle corral. Yellow-billed Stork.

Ethiopia 236

Ethiopia Sudan Leopards Game 236

10,000 Birds

JULY 30, 2014

My third trip was six months spend working on a monkey project in the jungles of Uganda. In Uganda I would often cross paths with Chimpanzees as they went about their lives and I went about mine (which was living with a troop of monkeys). Ugandan Mangabeys were part of my family once. And you’ll meet amazing people too.

Uganda 160

Uganda Sharks Africa New Zealand 160

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 31, 2012

Whether or not species are lifers or not in Asia for me is actually something of a guess, as my note-taking when I visited the region 10 years earlier could charitably be described as sloppy, and while I have some lists I lost a lot of sighting.

New Zealand 139

New Zealand Fur Malaysia Woodpeckers 139

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2017

Birds with white on them are much more likely to take the form of goodies like the Snowy Cotinga , or two species of tityras. The Caribbean slope of Costa Rica also differs from the islands in having a lot more bird species. White-crowned Pigeon might be on the list, but that rare prize for Costa Rica is far from regular.

Costa Rica 100

Costa Rica San Jose Bats Birds 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2013

The smellier the better, particularly as, unusually for birds, many species can boast a robust sense of smell. In any case, our hang-ups with vultures clearly stem from our own issues rather than any inherently bizarre trait of the species themselves. Vultures famously feed on carrion. Dead things. millions years ago.

California Condor 176

California Condor Turkey North America Jordan 176

10,000 Birds

APRIL 23, 2014

Sometimes in a forest you’d be forgiven for thinking there was nothing but birds, monkeys and squirrels (and mosquitos, obviously), and then at night you start seeing civets, wallabies, and tarantulas. We toured the Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre after dark, and we did it by foot in a group that was just my family and a guide.

Badgers 154

Badgers Wildlife Reptiles Monkeys 154

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2011

In spite of this New Zealand does have an iconic family of birds that has served as an emblem for the country for over a century, the kiwi. There are are presently thought to be five species of kiwi with a possible sixth extinct species, all of which have suffered varying degrees of range contraction since the arrival of humans.

New Zealand 143

New Zealand 2011 Deer New York 143

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2017

My personal favorites are the images that show the relationships that are at the heart of this book–a Linneated Woodpecker perched opposite a bromeliad on an exposed tree, Azteca ants on a cecropia tree whose decaying parts provide food, and, a little distressingly, two Capuchin Monkeys feeding on a Toucan (thanks to James Adams).

South America 145

South America Ecuador Reptiles America 145

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2016

They used Great T**s from non-urban and urban areas, and mixed them up through breeding, to rule out any possible family history of telomere length. Because these “extra” neurons are predominantly located in the forebrain, large parrots and corvids have the same or greater forebrain neuron counts as monkeys with much larger brains.

Mammals 108

Mammals Zebras Birds Primates 108

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2024

Familiar, but beautiful regardless: Blue-headed Parrot Another small parrot species landed on a tree in the distance. It was a Black-headed Parrot , a species that I had meagrely attempted to see in Trinidad once without success. In the distance, Capuchinbirds wailed. Painted Parakeet As predicted, we were off to a solid start.

Guyana 201

Guyana Parrots Trinidad Woodpeckers 201

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. Rather, cladistics is a way of looking at the process of evolution of species.

Monkeys 133

Monkeys Gorillas Whales Whaling 133

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 22, 2020

Despite depicting 540 species/56 families, it is a lightweight book of 173 pages, easy to pack and carry. Mammals of South Asia follows the latest taxonomy, describes all the species recorded within the region and provides a range map for each species. monkeys, deer, gazelles, etc.).

Asia 174

Asia Mammals Sri Lanka Bhutan 174

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2017

The site is famous for a place called Monkey Mia, where dolphins have learnt to come up to the beach a few times a day to get snacks. I have wanted to see a representative of this family for twenty years so it was quite a day as far as lifers went. That’s fine, and I like dolphins, but I usually prefer them away from a circus.

Sharks 100

Sharks Monkeys Dolphins Turtles 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2020

Knowing that there are reserves with long lists of 600 or more species, I set my threshold at more than 600 birds… and found only a few such hotspots. In early November 2020, there were 15 countries with more than 1000 species eBirded so far. Other than that, there are barely a few hotspots with over 500 species.

Asia 267

Asia Malaysia Papua New Guinea Thailand 267

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. Paul’s family noticed that whenever he was about to have an attack, Tinker would get agitated. Caledonian crows live in small family groups and youngsters learn to fashion and use tools by watching adults.

Emotional 100

Emotional Animal Whales Whaling 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 9, 2013

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.

Papua New Guinea 233

Papua New Guinea South Africa Africa Zimbabwe 233

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2013

We got good looks at Yellow-breasted , Crimson-breasted , Yellow-vented , and Orange-bellied Flowerpeckers along with more mundane representatives of the sunbird family, Plain Sunbird and Thick-billed Spiderhunter. Anyone considering a visit to Panti Forest should be enticed by the five different species that might be seen there.

Malaysia 171

Malaysia Singapore Monkeys Birds 171

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2017

Can a family-focused trip—even to one of the world’s most biodiverse countries—deliver enough opportunities for avian observation to satisfy this serious world birder? With enough planning, you can enjoy a family-friendly, bird-rich vacation in the Panama Canal zone. If you have kids, you’re probably as curious as I was.

Panama 100

Panama 2017 Monkeys Family 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2015

Nineteen days later we had racked up an amazing list of 436 species, including some of Africa’s least known birds such as Congo Serpent Eagle , Yellow-footed Honeyguide , Tessmann’s Flycatcher , Yellow-bearded Greenbul , Black-collared Lovebird and much besides. We also knew we had discovered Africa’s next hot birding destination.

Ghana 189

Ghana Hunters Guinea Gambia 189

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2014

This is not to say, however, that birders on holiday are, should they choose to travel with family, friends or other assorted loved ones, resigned to seeing nothing, or even nothing except the common stuff. I was thus able to pick an off-the-shelf ecotourism route and, having selected a company, customise it to my family’s needs.

Birds 180

Birds Bats Elephants Family 180