10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2015

As for the pseudo-warblers, I’m not actually against them so much, they are after all a family that, while wanting for a name that is descriptive and not derived from a misapplication of European names, are easy to identify and pleasant enough on the eye (with a few exceptions).

Africa 174

Africa Feral Ethiopia Tanzania 174

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2011

Tanzania is without a doubt the quintessential African safari nation. Despite being a proud South African, my honest answer is Tanzania. For this post, I have selected what is in my opinion the three essential and must-visit sites in Tanzania and these all fall within the classic Northern Tanzania safari circuit.

Tanzania 214

Tanzania Africa Stud Leopards 214

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. Black Rhinos are best sought in South Africa, Namibia and Tanzania. Lions are most easily found in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Buffalo 199

Buffalo Rhinoceros Elephants Leopards 199

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. Of course, the second explanation makes a lot more sense. The African Hoopoe looks very much like the Eurasian one but is now considered a separate species by most authorities.

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. There is a large family of frogs, Bufonidae, that includes most of the warty, hoppy creatures we think of as toads.

Reptiles 183

Reptiles Madagascar Family New York City 183

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 12, 2015

If tourists are too dim to tell Sierra Leone from Botswana or Tanzania, do we really want to rely on them to save Africa’s species? Reasonable people can disagree on the conservation impacts on hunting, on the benefits and costs, and on the morality and wisdom of using it as a conservation tool.

Lions 205

Lions Hunting Sierra Leone Buffalo 205

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.

Mozambique 185

Mozambique South Africa Africa Collecting 185

10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2014

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!). This is the second nonfiction book by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore.

Puerto Rico 231

Puerto Rico Parrots New York City 2013 231

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2012

This is a family site so I won’t mention the what it managed to extract from that bag of garbage. At a certain point I stopped being an observer and photographer and intervened. For one, I knew that someone would have to clean up the mess the bird was bound to make. But what actually snapped me out of documenter mode was disgust.

Emotional 206

Emotional Collecting Family Birds 206

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

AUGUST 26, 2021

A lot of destinations were mentioned, with Central and South America leading the way, New Guinea, Indonesia and Australia appearing only at the middle of the list, and African countries (South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Madagascar) lagging at the end of the list.

Congo 264

Congo Africa South Africa Madagascar 264

10,000 Birds

MAY 27, 2015

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. The family reunited in safety. Collared Palm-thrush with no collar visible. They remain little know.

Mozambique 163

Mozambique Zambia Zimbabwe Namibia 163

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 263

Africa Gabon South Africa Uganda 263

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 218

Tanzania Buffalo Kenya Namibia 218

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 217

Papua New Guinea Madagascar Africa Equatorial Guinea 217

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2012

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. Gray-throated Barbet is one of the plainer members of the African Barbet family. Image taken in Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania.

Ethiopia 228

Ethiopia Tanzania Africa Uganda 228