10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 28, 2014

The colorful Purple Swamphen ( Porphyrio porphyrio ) lives in wetlands from Portugal and Senegal all the way east to New Zealand and the Samoan Islands, and a feral population is now well established in Florida. There are numerous subspecies in this group; if split, they could be called Australasian Swamphen , Porphyrio melanotus.

Papua New Guinea 188

Papua New Guinea Philippines New Zealand Florida 188

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 9, 2019

The Southern Brown Kiwi on Stewart Island, New Zealand, that ran down the path in front of me, was never captured. The birds are now breeding in the area, but are quite happy to keep coming to the daily feeding station in groups of over 100 birds. The first bird in that grouping would be the White-crowned Helmut-shrike.

2018 153

2018 Costa Rica South Africa New Zealand 153

10,000 Birds

JULY 13, 2014

For one thing, as other studies have recently found, New World sparrows belong in their own family, Passerellidae; they are not closely related to Old World Emberiza buntings (see John Boyd’s treatment of the groups ). A new paper by Keith Barker furthers our understanding of relationships among several passerine groups.

New Zealand 192

New Zealand Elephants Sparrows Ostriches 192

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2016

The English language, or at least the adherents thereof with more time on their hands than sense, has bestowed us a great number of names to collective nouns for groups of birds. The site also seemed to suggest a few that seemed flat out wrong; parrotlets aren’t baby parrots, they are a type of small parrot, same with owlets and peeps.

New Zealand 103

New Zealand Parrots Rats Bats 103

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2014

The original story is that emus and ostriches and moas and such evolved as a separate group of birds from all the other birds, from the basal birdish thing that gave rise to all the living birds, and became a large land bird. This was on Gondwana.

Madagascar 197

Madagascar Ostriches Elephants New Zealand 197

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

As I sat waiting for the bus home there was a wind, hardly a rarity here in New Zealand, but it was a warm wind, and that certainly is. The spring the birds I’ll show you today is far from the seat of New Zealand’s government where I now work. And it really does feel like spring, finally. Long may it last.

United Arab Emirates 160

United Arab Emirates Saudi Arabia Oman Yemen 160

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2011

One of only two species in the plover genus Thinornis , the other being Australia’s Hooded Plover , this species is another New Zealand endemic. Actually, it’s one I originally thought was endemic to the Chatham Islands, a group of islands to the east of the main islands that hosts endemic species like the Black Robin.

New Zealand 161

New Zealand Penguins Endangered Species Species 161

10,000 Birds

MAY 9, 2017

Ashy Storm-Petrel : Approximately 50% of the world’s Ashy Storm-Petrels breed on Farallones NWR , a group of rocky islands 30 miles from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. A handful of Hawaiian Petrel chicks were recently translocated to Kilauea Point NWR on Kauai. Channel Islands NP , also in California, supports most of the other 50%.

Albatross 137

Albatross Hawaii Alaska Puerto Rico 137

10,000 Birds

JULY 19, 2011

I’m not sure what the collective noun for a group of petrels is, but the vets and wildlife carers of New Zealand might be forgiven for thinking that it might be a wreck after this week. It breeds on the Chatham Islands and some of the islands south of New Zealand, as well as Gough and Tristan da Cunha in the Atlantic.

New Zealand 185

New Zealand Vet Collecting Geese 185

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 31, 2011

When it comes down to it New Zealand is all about islands. Somes, less interestingly, was a rich backer of the New Zealand Company called Joseph Somes (who never went near the place). The island represents one of only three places in North Island that has this New Zealand endemic. I’ll work on that.

Penguins 165

Penguins Parrots New Zealand Seals 165

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

Godwits are spectacularly powerful fliers; the Bar-tailed Godwit makes an eight-day, non-stop flight from Alaska to New Zealand each autumn, a distance of more than 7,000 miles (11,500 kilometers). Also in this group is one of the rarest birds in the world, the Spoon-billed Sandpiper.

Family 171

Family North America Netherlands New Zealand 171

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

Long before I moved in New Zealand, or visited or even knew much about the wildlife here, way back then I knew about the Poor Knights. In New Zealand I’d even dived the astonishing Milford Sound in Fiordlands National Park, but I didn’t make it to New Zealand’s most famous dive site until January of 2009.

New Zealand 178

New Zealand Belize Vanuatu Fish 178

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2021

Only recently was it discovered that one group, which breeds on the Shetland Islands, flies across the Atlantic to winter off the coast of Ecuador – ten thousand miles away from its cousins who breed in Scandanavia and western Russia. Once it was thought that all Red-necked Phalaropes migrated overland to the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean.

Alaska 197

Alaska Breeding Kenya Africa 197

Critter News

MAY 2, 2011

From Radio New Zealand. The disaster came shortly after Japan recalled its Antarctic whaling fleet a month early, citing the threat posed by the environmentalist group Sea Shepherd. Nothing stops the Japanese whalers!

Japan 100

Japan Whales Whaling Hunting 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2011

But genetic and morphological data both point to this conclusion, and additional evidence places tubenoses and penguins within a group recently dubbed Aequornithes, or “higher waterbirds.” Within Procellariformes, the arrangement of major groups of tubenoses is not entirely settled.

Albatross 177

Albatross Penguins Groups New Zealand 177

Critter News

DECEMBER 16, 2008

According to this post , a police spy in New Zealand who infiltrated animal rights groups as well as other activist organizations.

New Zealand 100

New Zealand Animal Rights Groups Rights 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2019

They give short shrift to New Zealand’s birds, lumping them with odd names no one here uses because the names are shared elsewhere and God knows America isn’t going to take a hit for us. I’m not blind to the list’s faults, though. But if the list has one real problem, it’s a tendency towards verbosity.

Iran 126

Iran Barn Owls New Zealand Europe 126

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2011

While I often tease Corey about how many albatrosses we have down here in New Zealand, the fact is that the United States has three species of Albatross that breed within its boundaries, albeit one of them only very rarely, and visit the western shores of North America. Laysan Albatross, Phoebastria immutabilis Some young adults.

Albatross 172

Albatross Hawaii New Zealand United States 172

10,000 Birds

MAY 14, 2014

But today, briefly, let’s recall that I am supposed to be the New Zealand beat writer. I’m pleased to do this because two bits of the puzzle of New Zealand’s faunal history were in the news today, and besides, it means I don’t have to think about some tropical idyll in this miserable Antipodean winter day.

New Zealand 161

New Zealand Penguins Sea Lions Lions 161

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2018

We have finally broken away from Christchurch, New Zealand. The afternoon was spent fishing for Blue Cod, and diving for Lobsters, or Crayfish as they are called here in New Zealand. These Tomtit’s are fast becoming one of my favorite New Zealand Birds. We headed south for the small city Te Anu.

New Zealand 101

New Zealand Dolphins Cooking Ducks 101

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2014

Earlier this year a cyclone blew through New Zealand and uprooted a lot of native trees on government land on South Island. The focus of the Department of Conservation has seemingly been turned from conservation to extracting maximum economic benefit out of New Zealand’s large amount of conservation land.

Rhinos 166

Rhinos Hunting New Zealand Science 166

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2018

After nearly 8 weeks here in New Zealand, the sun is setting on our visit. This amazing group of islands, is without a doubt, enchanting and beautiful. The local New Zealand people, across the board have been the most hospitable, welcoming folks I have ever met. 93 New Lifers. 107 eBird Checklists for 2018.

New Zealand 109

New Zealand 2018 Groups Australia 109

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2013

Puffbacks belong to the bush-shrike family Malaconotidae and this group are called puffbacks due to several of the species forming a habit of puffing out their fluffy white back feathers during display. This is rather a difficult bird to photograph as its a denizen of the canopy and sub-canopy of Africa’s rainforests. Pink-headed Dove.

Africa 202

Africa Somalia Pelicans Mozambique 202

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2012

Fluttering Shearwaters are a small species of shearwater that is fairly common in New Zealand. Compared to these two groups the shearwaters have long wings seemingly ill suited to underwater propulsion, yet they manage it. Fluttering Shearwater ( Puffinus gavia ) not taken yesterday.

Albatross 163

Albatross Penguins South Africa New Zealand 163

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2018

New Zealand had been good, Australia was incredible, and South Africa was almost life altering. Speaking of Bank Swallows , here is one of those family groups. After leaving Africa, I was fearing a real let down in my birding. Where do you go from there? Well, for us, we went to Doha, Qatar.

Qatar 112

Qatar Sparrows South Africa Africa 112

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2015

Each chapter begins with a brief introduction to the group and a table of contents of subgroups that includes brief but key descriptions. Composite group photographs and brief text descriptions present the core information, the species accounts. western waters in the fall. That’s when this book would have really come in handy!

Dolphins 162

Dolphins Whales Whaling Porpoises 162

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 21, 2016

Consequently, the Ross Sea has become a focus of numerous environmental groups who have campaigned for a world marine reserve. The Oceanwide Expeditions are giving away one free cruise ticket for the month long expedition from New Zealand through the Ross Sea to Argentina.

Russia 165

Russia Penguins Whales Whaling 165

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2014

Second, they occupy an astonishing variety of habitats from temperate Araucaria forests in Chile to alpine scree in New Zealand to seasonally flooded rainforests in Brazil to rocky sea cliffs in Australia. There are nectar feeders, dedicated frugivores, specialized seed predators and more.

Parrots 167

Parrots Brazil Mauritius Dominica 167

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 28, 2015

While not in New Guinea and the tropical Pacific, he helped establish natural history-based undergraduate student programs that integrate indigenous communities with wildlands conservation in threatened landscapes of western North America and Central America.”

Collecting 157

Collecting Papua New Guinea Science Birds 157

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2016

The noddies form their own little subgroup within the terns, a small tropical group (how related they are to each other I am unsure) that will be familiar to anyone birding on tropical islands, especially those far from continents.

Groups 100

Groups Breeding Species New Zealand 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

Each chapter focuses on a specific geographic area of penguin population: (1) Antarctica, (2) South Georgia, (3) Falkland Islands, (4) South Africa and Tristan de Cunha, (5) New Zealand and Australia, (6) South America and Galapagos. The organization works out quite logically if you are planning a trip to, let’s say, New Zealand.

Penguins 277

Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 277

10,000 Birds

JULY 11, 2012

This is a very serious business here in New Zealand. New Zealand has been the recipient of a higher than average number of introduced species, in particular a range of mammals from elk to mice. This is quite a big deal for an island group that had no mammals save bats for millions of years.

Animal Rights 257

Animal Rights Rights New Zealand Animal 257

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2012

But, within the frog group there is a tremendous range of diversity. For example, I was going to add “no tail” to the list of features above, what all frogs share, when I remembered that there are indeed a small family of Tailed frogs, four species in New Zealand and two in North America (though, the tails are quite tiny).

Reptiles 182

Reptiles Madagascar Family New York City 182

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

You can easily see that this blog post is trying to appeal to two very different target groups – birders and those who like independent/alternative music. Unfortunately, I have never been to New Zealand and thus have not had a chance to see a kiwi. Well, nevermind. Also shown at the top of this post. Thus, Kiwi Jr.

South Africa 215

South Africa China Germany Birds 215

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

If you’re into family ticks, and into armchair ticks, well, I hope you’ve been to New Zealand, because the island just got another endemic bird family. That the three species of mohoua (genus Mohoua ) are New Zealand’s newest family is hardly a surprise. Say hello to the Mohouidae.

Family 177

Family New Zealand Birds Parrots 177

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2012

New Zealand has one of the direst records of extinction is modern times, second on really to Hawaii in terms of bird species lost. I’ve also touched on how New Zealanders have responded to these extinctions, but not in as much depth. Where does New Zealand go from here? Well, people are talking big.

New Zealand 172

New Zealand Rats Mammals Possums 172

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2018

For any of you that read my posting last week, you know that I am hanging around here on the North Island of New Zealand, and all forward progress has stalled once we arrived here at Whananaki. If there was nothing more than the large group of Brown Teal here, it would be enough to keep me around for a while.

New Zealand 106

New Zealand Ducks 2018 Fish 106