10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2020

Birders normally care about species and make species lists, how do families fit into those? Adding more species brings a lot of excitement, as long as you bird your own country or a continent. 11,000 species require lots of money and a good portion of one’s life. That gamble is rigged, so the house always wins.

Family 292

Family Birds South America Breeding 292

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2015

In its natural old-world range, the House Sparrow offers an interesting identification challenge and has vagrant potential since it is a polytypic species with a highly complex taxonomy. The genus Passer has several well-recognized and recognizable species in Europe, and still holds several enigmas.

Sparrows 214

Sparrows Italy Kyrgyzstan Asia 214

Critter News

DECEMBER 29, 2008

A breeding program in Malaysia will attempt to breed a rescued Borneo Sumatran rhino in order to save the endangered species. Experts cannot confirm how many Borneo Sumatran rhinos remain in the wild, but estimates range from 10 to 30 individuals, many of them isolated from others in their species.

Rhinos 100

Rhinos Malaysia Species Wildlife Reserve 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 15, 2016

It’s a bang-up breeding year for super-endangered birds! The species, which migrates from the Russian Arctic to Southeast Asia, is down to about 200 breeding pairs in the wild, due to habitat loss and poaching. For the past several years, getting the birds to breed has been an exercise in futility.

Louisiana 190

Louisiana Eggs Breeding Asia 190

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2012

There I found a study which showed that the ingenious little birds had found a protein source that allowed them to coincide their breeding with times of man-made, rather than natural seasonal abundance. They are popular as caged birds and escapees have established a number of feral populations beyond their normal ranges. Clever things!

Asia 189

Asia Feral Breeding Africa 189

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2012

The Rose-ringed Parakeet naturally occurs in two isolated areas: a thin strip across Africa just south of the Sahara, and south Asia where it is mostly found in India with smaller ranges in adjacent countries. and the White Storks are also wild and countable despite breeding at the zoo.

Germany 243

Germany Netherlands Zoos Costa Rica 243

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2022

From one side, the reserve is under the attack of spreading arable fields, from another by numerous wind generators and it is no easy task to support the surviving breeding birds within its borders. Shimmering in the distance, Nilgais , the biggest antelopes of Asia, walk by. After my trip, I followed the news of this species closely.

Gazelles 254

Gazelles India Pakistan 2012 254

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. Just so you know. But we’re far from done with the confusion. This may appear to make identification easy, but it is not.

Asia 178

Asia Europe Germany Breeding 178

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

Black-bellied Plover: Known as Grey Plover in Europe and Asia. Eurasian Oystercatcher: Not all of them are breeding at Claire`s beach in Australia. Grey-tailed Tattler: I already made fun of this poor species in my last post. Cuckoo species (Common?): Point for American birders, I am afraid. Proof that there is no god?

China 270

China Birds Asia Fish 270

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

Black Drongos must be breeding here – this juvenile was terrorizing his parents with constant calls for food. Edward Brown (1810-1867) was a Victorian-age bird collector particularly active in East Asia, in whose honor this shrike species was named. Black-tailed Gulls , I think.

Cats 215

Cats Kittens Birds Transported 215

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2012

Oriental Plovers Charadrius veredus are a species of shorebird that we see in varying numbers around Broome and they may be on the beach, feeding on insects across the plains or at the ephemeral lakes. During February there have been astonishingly high numbers some years and this has been as a result of insect activity.

Mongolia 180

Mongolia Asia China Shelters 180

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2011

Anas strepera is a common and widespread duck, breeding across northern Europe and Asia, as well as central North America. Here in New York, as on most of the east coast of the United States, Gadwall are a year-round bird, breeding in appropriate marsh habitat.

United States 162

United States North America Jamaica Asia 162

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 154

Turkmenistan Mongolia Asia Europe 154

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. Eurasian Wrynecks are found breeding across the temperate zones of Europe and Asia. They migrate to warmer climes in Africa and south Asia to winter.

Hungary 173

Hungary Asia Woodpeckers Africa 173

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2023

Before my first trip to the tropics many years ago I always wondered how is it even possible that new bird species are discovered with all the deforestation and general habitat obliteration going on all over the world. I mean, we as a species are today basically everywhere. But still new species are found.

Solomon Islands 214

Solomon Islands Ecuador Colombia Brazil 214

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2012

It has recently been reclassified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List; this category is reserved for only the most threatened species in the world. If this bird did become extinct, it would be the first pheasant species to have been lost in the 400 years since proper records began.

Vietnam 154

Vietnam 2000 Germany Asia 154

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2011

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

JULY 25, 2013

There are some seven birds among the 100 most endangered species on the planet on the list of fauna and flora listed as the rarest by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Zoological Society of London – and this morning, I am after one of those! He asks if the wind generators can influence the bird numbers?

India 239

India Gazelles Pakistan Endangered Species 239

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2020

This means that every year, millions of birds fly by the city on their way between their breeding grounds in Northern Asia and their wintering spots in Southeast Asia and Australia. In addition, some vulnerable bird species such as the Reed Parrotbill live in Shanghai year-round and rely on the reedbeds for survival.

Wildlife Reserve 165

Wildlife Reserve Asia China Factory 165

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2013

The Hypocolius (sometimes styled as Grey Hypocolius , Hypocolius ampelinus ) is a fruit-eating, migratory bird of southwest Asia. Its genus name refers to supposed similarities between it and the African mousebirds , and its species name refers to waxwings. Here’s the only known video footage of that species: Kauai Oo.

Saudi Arabia 213

Saudi Arabia 2008 Indonesia Colombia 213

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.

Germany 153

Germany Asia Europe Africa 153

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2013

Or else I’d be tempted to mention that the cold rainy weather has given way to a massive heat wave and drought, or that the summer doldrums this year are more boring than ever, or that it is so unfair that Corey is more than 100 species ahead of me in his year list, or that I really would enjoy some nice birds for a change!

Germany 174

Germany Russia Iceland India 174

10,000 Birds

APRIL 22, 2021

Just last year, 5 new bird species and 5 new subspecies were discovered in a few short weeks of fieldwork on the islands of Taliabu, Peleng and Batudaka. In recent years Indonesia has been competing with the Andes as the region giving rise to the biggest number of undescribed bird species (naturally, all of them endemics).

Indonesia 264

Indonesia Timor Brunei Guinea 264

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. It is very likely that the white morph was directly promoted in captive breeding and favoured in releases to establish feral populations.

Feral 169

Feral Europe Asia North America 169

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 13, 2012

Great Reed Warblers breed across huge chunks of Europe and Asia and winter across large swaths of southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. If that makes any sense at all.)

Hungary 160

Hungary Asia Europe Africa 160

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 19, 2013

The mechanism by which this is happening in at least some species of birds is very interesting. The breeding season is longer, starts earlier. ” This can also explain why advances in migration timing are not common among species migrating over long distances. Birds have been migrating earlier. ” GannetCam.

Taiwan 188

Taiwan Iceland United States Chickens 188

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. The crest on the back becomes erect during breeding displays.

Africa 164

Africa Wolves Goats Sheep 164

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2022

The Black-tailed Godwits that we observe here in Australia breed in east Siberia and Mongolia. Both the female Black-tailed Godwit and Bar-tailed Godwit are larger than the male of the species. In non-breeding plumage they are almost brown, but add a reddish brown colour when they are in breeding plumage.

Mongolia 147

Mongolia Australia Asia Breeding 147

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2014

Did I dare dip my toe into this catalog of tantalizing species? Kinabalu (at 13,455 feet the highest peak in southeast Asia), and human development that has resulted in freshwater rice fields, secondary forest, and oil palm plantations, this means that Borneo offers an incredibly high degree of biodiversity. Now, I’m not so sure.

Brunei 174

Brunei Asia Birds China 174

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 24, 2015

. “The Pygmy Cormorant is a strictly protected bird species in Serbia, as well as in the European Union. It belongs to a group of species of special conservation concern, which under the European Birds Directive requires Member States to designate Special Protection Areas (Annex I species).

Serbia 180

Serbia Protection Europe 2007 180

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

The HBW even mentions the importance of Ruoergai for this species: “Key sites for migrants include the Ruoergai Plateau (China), which is also an important breeding area” Common Mergansers also seem to use these wetlands as breeding area. The raptors of Ruoergai deserve a separate post.

China 171

China Mongolia Russia Birds 171

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2012

They diverged at approximately the same time as the rockjumpers (two quite unique bird species endemic to Southern Africa and now in their own family), and as a result for a while were even placed in the same family. They are also believed to be related to the Rail-Babbler of Tropical Asia.

Sierra Leone 266

Sierra Leone Ghana Equatorial Guinea Cameroon 266

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 24, 2013

If you are relying on leg colour or bill colour or bill length then you will really have quite a challenge sorting through all of the species present, but with perseverance you will eventually work it out! They are all in non-breeding plumage to add to the challenge, though some male Bar-tailed Godwit are still carrying a trace of colour.

Asia 145

Asia Australia Bats Breeding 145

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2014

The scope is to give you the illusion you might be able to work out the species). My first view of this amazing species! Note bonus swift in background (no idea what species). I saw the species in one of it’s remaining strongholds, the Kinabatangan River. All you need is a boat, or a scope on a windy day.

2013 173

2013 Rhinoceros Thailand Birds 173

10,000 Birds

APRIL 9, 2014

Borneo is blessed with a surprising amount of endemic species, considering that the island was linked to the mainland in the last ice age. By and large these endemic species are associated with the mountains and upland areas, rather than the lowlands, which are more isolated from other mountainous areas. So that’s Tambunan.

Eagles 160

Eagles Asia Birds Parrots 160

10,000 Birds

MARCH 9, 2014

They have been here for several months and are currently changing into their breeding plumage and fattening up. It won’t be long and we will watch them fly off into the sunset as they make their journey north to breed. It changes into its breeding plumage and heads off, but has never been seen back in Hong Kong!

Japan 173

Japan 2012 Taiwan China 173

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2019

Always interesting to see the same species both in Germany (in my parents’ garden) and in Shanghai. Grey-faced Buzzards are also on migration in October, passing Nanhui on the way to their wintering grounds in South East Asia. Not that easy to spot outside of the breeding season, though relatively quite common.

2019 189

2019 Japan Owls China 189