10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2015

Walking along a dirt track next to a prairie, my friend and I were on the look-out for different sparrow species when a large bird suddenly darted into the clearing. In fact, they are central to many Mexican and Native American spiritual beliefs, and have been named the state bird of New Mexico.

New Mexico 102

New Mexico Mexico Coyotes Rattlesnake 102

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2019

But come spring, an even luckier few may even find a fellow survivor of their own kind with whom to start a family, unwittingly causing contentious debates among birders about the countability of established feral populations in the process. What’s in a name?

North America 113

North America Vermont America Farming 113

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 24, 2015

I didn’t realize how many new species I would see within the city itself! Comical with their green feathers and unique faces, they have established feral populations in cities across the country since their accidental release in the 1960’s.

Austin 116

Austin Texas Birds Non Human 116

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

The very first thing we notice about this large member of the Galliformes is that there is a wild version and a domestic version, and although the two are rather different, they are both given the same species name, Meleagris gallopavo. This is not entirely unknown among domestic animals, but many domesticates have no living wild version.

Turkey 216

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 216

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2021

In 2012, I reviewed The Jewel Hunter , an absorbing narrative in which author Chris Goodie travelled throughout Asia, Africa, and Australasia to observe and photograph every Pitta species in the world. Hummingbird species, on the other hand, number in the hundreds. Jonas D’Abronzo.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Brazil Ecuador Bolivia 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 4, 2020

December’s numbers looked like this; 10 beats visited 11 countries (Bahrain, New Zealand, USA, UK, Costa Rica, China, Mexico, Australia Nigeria, Uganda and Serbia) during December. They contributed 150 lists accounting for 1032 species and more than 36,000 individual birds. They came home exhausted.

2019 186

2019 Chile Texas Sanctuary 186