10,000 Birds

APRIL 30, 2020

Winter is not the greatest time for birding in Shanghai, and this year, there was no escaping to Southeast Asia due to Covid-19. And in Shanghai, the situation is relatively relaxed now – a big difference from what I hear from my friends in the US and Europe. The obvious local star of the bird world is the Reed Parrotbill.

2020 182

2020 China Asia Owls 182

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2016

I remember, several times while motionlessly surveying birds, I found myself being investigated by Striped Field Mice , who would dare to come to sniff me. Europe: The sun is scorching the area, and the birds are nowhere to be seen. Asia: We wait on the top of the hillock crossed by a barbed wire fence and topped by a scarecrow.

Wildlife 170

Wildlife Tigers Asia Europe 170

10,000 Birds

MAY 29, 2013

Admittedly, This next I and the Bird doesn’t offer a ton for our friends in Europe and Asia and I apologize for that, but it’s hard to ignore those wonderful little Troglodytes. In any case, the next I and the Bird is going to be all about Wrens. I and the Bird wrens' Wait, that sounds odd.

Asia 158

Asia Europe Birds 158

10,000 Birds

JUNE 28, 2015

You see, the Great (White) Heron/Egret is a polytypic species with four subspecies: alba in Europe, egretta in the Americas, melanorhynchos in Africa, and modesta in Asia and Oceania. Modesta should be considerably smaller than alba , which the gaudily-coloured birds are not. But we’re far from done with the confusion.

Asia 175

Asia Europe Germany Breeding 175

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2015

Bird blogging in May always gives me the creeps. This ridiculous focus of the Birding Internet on North American wood-warblers is boring on a quiet day and highly annoying during peak migration. It visits bird feeders, making it a worthy spark bird to new birders as they may see it closely. And do they ever try so hard.

Sparrows 206

Sparrows Italy Kyrgyzstan Asia 206

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2017

I was given my first real field guide to the birds of Europe by my parents, a guide beyond the species found at backyard feeders and city ponds. However, all my keen travel plans and strategies frequently hit a snag roughly two-thirds into the book when I got to the page depicting a fine, delicate bird: the Azure Tit.

Kazakhstan 100

Kazakhstan Europe Russia Birds 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 9, 2013

At the time this post goes live I’ll be wandering around Hong Hong in a bemused state of mind trying to identify not only the native birds but the multitude of other species released by the inhabitants into the area. The Brown-headed Gull is a bird of Asia, breeding from Turkmenistan to Mongolia, and winters along the coasts of Asia.

Turkmenistan 153

Turkmenistan Mongolia Asia Europe 153

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

Its natural range in Europe was restricted the the surroundings of the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea, and in Asia it ranged from Asia Minor to central China. Within its European range, it was heavily hunted until the late 19th century, and the Mute Swan was subsequently a very rare bird to encounter in the wild.

Feral 168

Feral Europe Asia North America 168

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2016

And what a bird I have for you today. The Azure-winged Magpie is a pretty member of the crow family found in Eastern Asia, from Siberia and Japan down to Hong Kong. As well as the population found in East Asia, another smaller population also occurred in the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain and Portugal. I’m back!

Spain 102

Spain Portugal Asia Japan 102

10,000 Birds

APRIL 8, 2015

I say weird because this isn’t a bird that I had ever given a large amount of thought to before. For a long time it was treated as a subspecies of the ubiquitous Black Kite, a species of scavenging bird of prey much hated by my grandfather (they used to steal food from troops during the war, if memory serves).

South Africa 160

South Africa Africa Botswana Wolves 160

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2013

Purple Herons Ardea purpurea are an old world element of the Ardeidae and range widely throughout sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and parts of Europe and central Asia. Within Europe, they are mostly found in the South (around the Mediterranean), and the East. Birds Germany herons and egrets Waghäusel'

Germany 152

Germany Asia Europe Africa 152

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2012

Two years the original I and the Bird passed on to that great server block in the sky, Mike, Corey, and I are resurrecting the venerable blog carnival in a new and improved format. All that and more is available at the re-inaugural I and the Bird. Mike announced the news last week and now the wait is finally over. Come join us!

Asia 102

Asia Turkey Europe Birds 102

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Furthermore we have another very special stork-like bird, the regal Shoebill , previously known as the Whale-headed Stork but now placed in its own family. Like the Adjutants in Asia and Jabiru of the Americas, the Marabou is our bare-headed scavenging stork. It is also related to Wood Stork of the Americas and Milky Stork of Asia.

Africa 231

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 231

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 13, 2012

Rather than trying to learn them North American birders are well-advised to do all of your birding in areas where old world warblers might be encountered in the company of old world birders. Great Reed Warblers breed across huge chunks of Europe and Asia and winter across large swaths of southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

Hungary 159

Hungary Asia Europe Africa 159

10,000 Birds

JULY 15, 2017

As an adult, he still finds fascination in watching birds swallow seemingly impossible mouthfuls. Perch are a fresh water species of fish that are native to Europe and N. Asia, but have been introduced elsewhere. First there was the Glaucous-winged Gull and the starfish , next, the Neotropic Cormorant with a plecostomus catfish.

Asia 100

Asia Fish Suffering Europe 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2013

Usually, it’s “Bird eating fish” but here we have a case of a “Bird-eating fish.” ” The Wels Catfish, Silurus glanis , is the second largest fish in its range, which covers much of Europe and parts of West Asia. Here is a video of some Wels Catfish foraging on Pigeons.

Fish 197

Fish Whales Whaling France 197

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2014

We sail into the relative calm of a cliff, the mast takes an upright position, navigation becomes calm and quiet… quiet enough for our bird guide, Andrea Bonetti to pick up a voice of a Western Rock Nuthatch coming from the rock face. We come closer to it, but I cannot find the bird with binoculars. Chukar (c) Marius Bolck.

Greece 223

Greece Malta Croatia Italy 223

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2012

There are two species in the Old World woodpecker genus that sounds like birds that birders would never be able to see. They are literal jinx birds in that their genus name is “ Jynx.” Eurasian Wrynecks are found breeding across the temperate zones of Europe and Asia.

Hungary 171

Hungary Asia Woodpeckers Africa 171

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2013

If you are a migratory bird in Europe and western Asia, this is your sweet spot. This grim scenario is a fact of life for millions of migrating songbirds, raptors, and other birds each year. A recent survey of the birds suggests that the effort has been a success. Fish and Wildlife Service). **And

Cambodia 142

Cambodia Slaughter Slaughtered Cyprus 142

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2015

Even where Common Starlings are not introduced, their homeland of Europe, they are hardly loved. One must travel to Africa and Asia to marvel at their diversity, and it is in Africa that you may come across one attractive species, the Red-winged Starling. This is grossly unfair. And they have done well for themselves.

Ostriches 146

Ostriches South Africa Africa Reptiles 146

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

2014 has been a good year for us at 10,000 Birds. We’ve traveled to lots of places, seen lots of great birds, and met lots of great birders. So, as we’ve done for the last several years we thought we would share our Best Birds of the Year with you. Below are our Best Birds of the Year. What was yours?

2014 182

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Penguins 182

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2012

There are seventeen species of hedgehog found across Europe, Asia, and Africa, the only places where hedgehogs are native. europaeus , found throughout most of western Europe and parts of northern Europe as well, though the hybrids that are often sold in American pet stores might be even more familiar.

Hedgehogs 168

Hedgehogs Hungary Opossums North America 168

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2011

On a recent visit to Cape May Point State Park in search of an elusive Purple Gallinule I did not find my quarry but I did find quite a few photogenic birds. Anas strepera is a common and widespread duck, breeding across northern Europe and Asia, as well as central North America. And Gadwall ducklings are CUTE! … a.

United States 162

United States North America Jamaica Asia 162

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

And where all those birds are? This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. And it raises a question: if all the birds are having a party over there, am I in the wrong spot? I am talking 600 or 700+ bird species. Why am I here?

Sri Lanka 256

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 256

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 24, 2015

This year’s results are 24 percent lower than last year’s, when 5,000 birds were recorded, but their presence still shows great value and importance of the river habitat in the inner city area. “The Pygmy Cormorant is a strictly protected bird species in Serbia, as well as in the European Union.

Serbia 174

Serbia Protection Europe 2007 174

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 24, 2016

After getting to spend some time with a few of these birds recently, I decided to feature them in my story this week. Like many birders, ever since I was a child, these wonderful, shy birds have been known as the Common Moorhen. That and the fact that I have barely been able to get out in the field for the last three weeks.

Chile 100

Chile Breeders Asia Mexico 100

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2013

Sure, this is normal occurrence across much of Europe and southwest Asia but this particular tale comes from out on the east end of New York’s Long Island, in the town of Medford, where this happened to an unsuspecting non-birder, Celeste Rovner. That’s a lot more fun than a bird that sneaked out of the zoo, isn’t it?

New York 163

New York Hungary Zoos Asia 163

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2011

Birds & birding were definitely the last thing on my mind. The Black Stork ( Ciconia nigra ) has a very wide distribution in the Old World, ranging from Spain (an isolated population) and northern France through central and eastern Europe all across northern and central Asia to the Pacific coast of Russia and China.

Germany 151

Germany Asia Russia China 151

10,000 Birds

APRIL 9, 2011

Okay, this post will provide fair warning: If torment, torture, and terror in birding aren’t your thing, or if you are underage and your parents are watching, just take a last glance at this artistic rendering of a flying Great Tit in low light and then click this post away. And you might live to bird another day.

North America 145

North America Europe Asia America 145

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2015

I’m a big fan of the antelopes, a group that is most commonly associated with Africa but which also occurs in Asia and, if you stretch the term to be cladistically meaningful, Europe and North America. By this I mean applying the term antelope to cover all of the family Bovidae, which would include the sheep, goats and ox.

Africa 161

Africa Wolves Goats Sheep 161

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2015

For both forms, their little patches within the WP are but outlying exclaves of a much wider range elsewhere in Africa and Asia, respectively. All the birds we saw were banded, as they had been released in an effort to re-introduce the species to those areas within their former range where hunters had been all too effective.

Spain 157

Spain Hunters Africa Hunting 157

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

Will Raup is a birder from upstate New York who helped Corey learn a lot about birds when Corey was first starting out as a birder. When you think of invasives, you think of the birds that have been helped by human beings to get where they are, such as House Sparrow or European Starling.

Cattle 169

Cattle South Korea Suriname Seychelles 169

10,000 Birds

MAY 31, 2013

Normally she would be living somewhere in Europe or Asia, but she was born and raised in captivity in the United States. The great thing about raising an education bird,” says Lisa, “is that you can do everything you’re never allowed to do with the wild ones.” At 14 pounds, Xena is a huge bird and makes a huge mess.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 161

Wildlife Rehabilitation Eagles Raised Owls 161

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2011

Newts can be found in Asia, Europe, and North America. The Smooth Newt Lissotriton vulgaris is the most common newt across most of Europe, and is also, as a matter of fact, called the Common Newt , and is most likely the type of newt that a witch would turn a peasant into in England.

Salamander 161

Salamander Pythons North America Europe 161

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

On a parking lot, I pass by an invisible bird and continue to my local patch of the Ada Huja Danube Riverbank , where my first bird becomes the Rook. Ornithology, as well as birding, deals with wild birds. While my invisible bird didn’t exactly walked out of a henhouse, it almost did. The one I do not count.

Feral 250

Feral Meat Serbia Species 250

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2013

I fully realize that my last post was not a bird post in the strictest sense. That’s why I won’t talk too much this time – just the birds. Birds Germany godwits shorebirds' Therefore I have decided to right my wrong by providing first and foremost some avian eye candy, and not talk.

Germany 172

Germany Russia Iceland India 172

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2024

These birds are out here creating architectural masterpieces while we struggle to assemble flat-pack furniture without swearing. So, without further ado, let’s dive into the top five bird nests that will put your DIY skills to shame. These birds construct intricate hanging nests that resemble high-end condominiums.

Sri Lanka 179

Sri Lanka Malaysia Asia Uruguay 179