10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

Paging through a fieldguide, it’s always with a sense of dismay and sadness that I come across reference to an extinct species. Madagascar, however, has had more than its fair share of extinct or lost species and Madagascar Pochard was firmly on this list. Then in 1991, a fisherman on the lake caught a male in his fishing net.

Madagascar 233

Madagascar Lemurs 2006 Owls 233

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 27, 2012

Are humans a part of nature or a force (sometimes benevolent, more often destructive) that acts upon it? As a result, the flow of the sections is a bit jumbled — now we focus on a particular species, now on a geolical formation and the associated habitat, and back and forth. For adventure and danger?

Madagascar 157

Madagascar Lemurs Humane Protection 157

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 19, 2014

So, for example, humans are apes. In other words, the group of mammals that includes all the monkeys, which is rather large (and not accurately defined because I’ve not said what a “monkey” is … am I including lemurs?) and contains apes is referenced to indicate the complete clade.

Camels 196

Camels Whales Whaling Apes 196

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2018

Humans have always classified organisms in a variety of ways, depending on need. 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.

Monkeys 134

Monkeys Gorillas Whales Whaling 134

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2011

Approximately 2,300 bird species inhabit Africa, however as impressive as that sounds, much smaller South America boasts nearly 1,000 species more. Birding here is a joy, further augmented by the world’s most intact mammalian megafuana, fascinating tribal cultures, breath-taking scenery and the cradle of human history.

Papua New Guinea 214

Papua New Guinea Madagascar Africa Equatorial Guinea 214