10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2014

There are the endemics, which are odd in their own way, and then there introduced species, which are so varied in their type and origin that you get the feeling you’ve arrived at the aftermath of a small zoo that escaped. What is surprising is quite how many species did end up here, and how economically unimportant they were.

New Zealand 161

New Zealand Possums Rabbits Ferrets 161

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2013

This was the local name meaning “ugly” used for these primates by the people of the Gonder area in northern Ethiopia when the German naturalist Rüppell “discovered” this species for science in the 1830’s. Mammals Ethiopia Gelada' they are the most terrestrial primate after humans. Photo by Adam Riley. Photo by Adam Riley.

Ethiopia 159

Ethiopia Primates Mammals Fur 159

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2016

Third, which we already suspected, bird brains are adjusted to provide extra smartness in a way not seen in mammals. Bird, at least the ones that fly, can’t afford this kind of waste, so bird brains have evolved to be much more efficient than mammal brains. City Great Tit ( Parus major ) telomeres shortened.

Mammals 107

Mammals Zebras Birds Primates 107

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 14, 2012

There are also dry areas but this great diversity has resulted in an incredible bird list of over 900 species including Africa’s 2nd highest count of endemics (after South Africa). A two-week birding tour could expect around 400 species and up to 550 in 3 weeks, including sightings of most of Ethiopia’s endemic and near-endemic birds.

Ethiopia 262

Ethiopia Eritrea Africa Mammals 262

10,000 Birds

JUNE 19, 2018

Great Kiskadees , White-winged Doves , and, above all, Great-tailed Grackles were the species that couldn’t be missed. The one notable bird I did find was Orange Oriole , an endemic species and one I was really hoping to spot during my trip. Nonetheless, it was nice to see a second endemic species. It was pretty awesome.

Family 100

Family Monkeys Deer Pelicans 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 23, 2014

It brings mammals, and frogs in profusion, and reptiles, and insects. Sometimes in a forest you’d be forgiven for thinking there was nothing but birds, monkeys and squirrels (and mosquitos, obviously), and then at night you start seeing civets, wallabies, and tarantulas. So many insects. And spiders, and scorpions.

Badgers 154

Badgers Wildlife Reptiles Monkeys 154

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2013

The smellier the better, particularly as, unusually for birds, many species can boast a robust sense of smell. That bald head, so odd and homely, is actually an adaptation for sticking one’s head deep inside the gut of a deceased mammal. Vultures famously feed on carrion. Dead things. Griffon Vulture , photo by Alan Tilmouth.

California Condor 175

California Condor Turkey North America Jordan 175

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2017

My personal favorites are the images that show the relationships that are at the heart of this book–a Linneated Woodpecker perched opposite a bromeliad on an exposed tree, Azteca ants on a cecropia tree whose decaying parts provide food, and, a little distressingly, two Capuchin Monkeys feeding on a Toucan (thanks to James Adams).

South America 142

South America Ecuador Reptiles America 142

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2016

We are facing a plague of poaching that is again decimating the species. Will the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) conference delegates up-list them to Appendix I of the Convention, forbidding any future sale over international borders? One may say so.

Elephants 180

Elephants Botswana Zimbabwe Africa 180

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2018

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. Rather, cladistics is a way of looking at the process of evolution of species.

Monkeys 132

Monkeys Gorillas Whales Whaling 132

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2017

The site is famous for a place called Monkey Mia, where dolphins have learnt to come up to the beach a few times a day to get snacks. Cruises are available to go out and spot them, and we took one and after twenty five years of trying to see one of these odd sea mammals we finally did, and actually saw a mother and calf to boot!

Sharks 100

Sharks Monkeys Dolphins Turtles 100

4 The Love Of Animals

MARCH 17, 2011

It’s not surprising that animals—especially, but not only, mammals—share many emotions with us because we also share brain structures—located in the limbic system—that are the seat of our emotions. After publishing my stories I got emails from people all over the world who had seen similar behavior in various birds and mammals.

Emotional 100

Emotional Animal Whales Whaling 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2011

The data here are from the site of Manaus: All animals: 200 Mammals: 8.4 This is also because mammals are large. A single large spider monkey, which might be out of view, equals a large number of lightly built and small birds which may be scattered across the landscape. The top histogram is mammals, the bottom one birds.

Mammals 172

Mammals Rodents Birds Reptiles 172

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2017

Despite the golf course, this place host all manner of birds and mammals. In fact, we saw two species of monkey, our only sloths, lots of coatis, and my rarest ever mammal sighting—a Jaguarundi —right on site. This species is a Summit Ponds specialty. All in all, the Radisson Summit delivered what we all wanted.

Panama 100

Panama 2017 Monkeys Family 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 7, 2014

Mai Po Nature Reserve : world famous locale for shorebirds, waterfowl, waders, and wetland birds; wintering grounds for certain endangered species. The combination of these scheduled and informal birding efforts culminated in an amazing 135 species seen, many of which were lifers for me! SPECIES LIST. Deep Bay mudflats panorama.

2014 206

2014 Eagles Asia Groups 206

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2023

Anyway, in case you are still reading, the main attraction at this hide is Lady Amherst’s Pheasant, which perversely is not featured in this post (it is treated in a separate one, thus grudgingly acknowledging the almost disgusting flamboyance of that species). This species tends to use plenty of hair gel to get the perfect wet look.

Birds 147

Birds Mammals St. Louis Monkeys 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 28, 2022

Lango Camp deck overlooking Lango Baï, by Congo Conservation Company The forests of the Congo Basin contain more than a 1,000 species of birds, together with 400 species of mammals, including Okapi, Hippos, Leopards, Chimpanzees and Bonobos. Game viewing on foot, by 4×4 or by motorboat.

Central African Republic 278

Central African Republic Congo Gabon Gorillas 278

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2023

In Alaska, they were found to mimic 30 different species ( source ). Maybe they have decided to boycott species with Russian-sounding names as a way to protest against Putin’s policies. Red-billed Blue Magpies are occasionally eaten by snub-nosed monkeys. days) than in autumn average 3.4

Monkeys 147

Monkeys Birds South Korea Owls 147

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 28, 2019

Slightly larger than Wales and about the size of the US state of Maryland, this country’s lure is its 703 bird species and three dozen Albertine Rift endemics among them. The endemics of the Albertine Rift Mountains are marked in bold, 10 mammals and 26 birds. are covered in the remaining 49 pages. Published by Lynx Edicions.

Rwanda 200

Rwanda Primates Wildlife Gorillas 200

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2015

Nineteen days later we had racked up an amazing list of 436 species, including some of Africa’s least known birds such as Congo Serpent Eagle , Yellow-footed Honeyguide , Tessmann’s Flycatcher , Yellow-bearded Greenbul , Black-collared Lovebird and much besides. We also knew we had discovered Africa’s next hot birding destination.

Ghana 187

Ghana Hunters Guinea Gambia 187

10,000 Birds

MAY 24, 2014

Open from dawn to dusk 7 days a week, it has an eBird hotspot list of 79 species from 16 submissions. It has an eBird score of 197 species from 25 checklists. Look out for the Howler Monkeys too. The eBird list for PE Tiete contains only 123 species from 11 checklists submitted. Timings are 08.00 ‘til 17.00.

Brazil 160

Brazil Birds Transported Game 160

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2014

Between the 22 of December and the 31st I managed to see 171 species of bird, this had climbed to 219 by the time I had left of the 11th of January. This included 5 days without family, but I didn’t get more than 35 extra species without them. And the birds? I saw plenty. Think of the Jungle Ride at Disney.

Birds 179

Birds Bats Elephants Family 179