10,000 Birds

APRIL 27, 2023

Yibin is a typical smallish Chinese city (which in China means slightly above 850,000 people in the metro area, which would make it the fifth-biggest city in Germany but does not get it into the top 100 in China). eBird admits that the black chin of the Black-chinned Yuhina is “not very noticeable” But it is a cute bird.

Italy 207

Italy Birds China France 207

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2012

That is very cold for the south of Germany. This thrush is extremely common in urban and suburban Germany and one of the most conspicuous bird species here, comparable to the American Robin in North America. It subsequently spread to Budapest/ Hungary (2005, 2006), Zürich/ Switzerland (2006), and north-east Italy (2008/2009).

Germany 162

Germany Blackbirds 2006 Denmark 162

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2015

As we move from Spain towards the east however, it starts getting interesting as soon as we reach Italy. Italy has an almost endemic … well … “form” of Sparrow, the Italian Sparrow , whose taxonomic affinities and rank have been a matter of dispute ever since scientists started to think about it.

Sparrows 234

Sparrows Italy Asia Austria 234

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 19, 2012

Europe… with such low herp diversity the locals split any sub-population of a species that occurs on either the Iberian Peninsula or Italy as a new species just to make them feel better out themselves, naturally is the continent that rose to the top of my trip list. Either that or having family friends in Germany.

Salamander 142

Salamander Germany Birds Blackbirds 142

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Dates of first arrival listed by Schorger (1966) are: Italy 1520, Germany 1530, France 1538, England 1541, Denmark and Norway 1550, Sweden 1556. Early research suggested that “Fragmented distributions and population bottlenecks due to human activities appear to have increased genetic differentiation among populations” (Leberg 1991).

Turkey 216

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 216