10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 24, 2020

That means it also has many tropical birds that a foreigner living in China can see without risking to leave the country (which would mean 2 weeks of quarantine on reentry at best and complete exclusion at worst, depending on the ever-changing regulations). Apparently, many bird species have employed the same concept as me for a long time.

China 262

China Barn Owls Laos Myanmar 262

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2024

Do you take pictures of the birds you see? Are you a bird-watcher then? Shutting down one’s peripheral vision is not my idea of birding. What is a bird-watcher? My hypothesis: a birder is a bird-watcher with one or more lists. I have been a bird-watcher most of my life. What is a birder?

South Africa 201

South Africa 2002 Angola Africa 201

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2015

I only had a few days in California while visiting my brother at Berkeley, but we couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to visit one of the most famous birding sites in the country: Point Reyes National Seashore. Add those life mammals to the life birds I already expected to see, and I was practically vibrating with excitement.

Seals 182

Seals Elephants Whales Whaling 182

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2022

It is not particularly big but has a reported 430 bird species including migrants, though during my short stay it seems I missed most of the key attractions among them. It goes like this: While fishing, the bird tucks its head down and uses its wings to create a shady area. Pel’s Fishing Owl, where were you?

South Africa 147

South Africa Africa Birds Fish 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 13, 2014

So while you’re waiting for that or for low tide, here are a few reads and bits of news on bird taxonomy and systematics that have caught my eye over the past few weeks. Birds still are dinosaurs. Elephant birds and their kiwi kin. Birds AOU genetics sparrows taxonomy and systematics'

Elephants 193

Elephants New Zealand Sparrows Ostriches 193

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2022

Yesterday morning was simply one of those incredibly eventful birding sessions, about which I may expound upon in parts within the coming weeks. From genuine rarities to undocumented polymorphism – the magic of birding was truly in full swing. A concrete wall halving one of the ponds was a popular rest spot for several birds.

Elephants 266

Elephants Ducks Humane Family 266

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2014

It has been discovered that largosity and flightlessness, which perhaps fortunately tend to go together in birds, evolved more than once. Yes, the Ratites, as they are known, broke off from the other bird lineage as a separate monophyletic thing, separate from all the other birds today. This was on Gondwana.

Madagascar 198

Madagascar Ostriches Elephants New Zealand 198

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2022

The one bird I did not see here, however, was the Bateleur Eagle … One highlight in the area is the Saddle-billed Stork , likely to be the tallest species in the stork family. This bird is represented in an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph. Can’t say that it is a particularly obvious name from seeing the bird.

Ostriches 147

Ostriches Parrots Eggs Africa 147

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2018

There is a virtual flock of new and interesting bird science news all of the sudden, including the rediscovery of an extinct Bahama Nuthatch. One of those animals was the Giant Elephant Bird (including, but not limited to, Aepyornis maximus ). But here I want to note, and for now, dismiss, a find from Madagascar.

Madagascar 125

Madagascar Humane Elephants Bahamas 125

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2019

An expanse of habitat as vast as Murchison Falls NP in Uganda, as excessively generous in beauty and biodiversity, permits endless ways to experience both its birds and animals. The Masindi Hotel holds the distinction of being the oldest and most historic hotel in Uganda and has some terrific birds on premises. Mind boggling, I answer!

Uganda 180

Uganda Senegal Africa Game 180

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2012

What this land-locked country lacks in endemic birds it more than makes up for in accessibility of tough species, numbers of birds and the overall wildlife experience. It is also home to the largest concentration of African Elephants on the planet and over 450 bird species. We are currently filming in Botswana.

Botswana 201

Botswana Lions Zebras Elephants 201

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2021

10,000 Birds is running a series of articles by and about tour guides, tour companies, eco-lodges, and other birding travel organizations. We want to help the birding tourism industry come back strong from the COVID pandemic. All very exciting, but for the birder Africa has so much more to offer. My name is Ashley Boon.

Botswana 172

Botswana Africa Angola Elephants 172

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2022

While some bustards are the largest bird species capable of flight, the Black-bellied Bustard is only mid-sized. There is also a much older blog post on 10,000 Birds (by Adam Riley) specifically on Africa’s Barbets. Hopefully, as he is the owner of a birding company, Rockjumper, at least he gets some clients this way.

Africa 147

Africa Eagles Birds Barn Owls 147

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 13, 2023

Seriously though, we were walking our dog at the local park when out of the blue she said (and she is not into birding at all) “ You know what would be great. Imagine looking at birds through that.” There were rumours of cameras, some devices for bird ID, etc. Like binoculars have but with further reach. and Aaaah’s!

Serbia 221

Serbia Austria Elephants Ducks 221

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2015

I’ve never been one to be overly concerned about whether a bird “counts” People, and organisations, have complex and elaborate rules about whether a bird you saw or heard actually is a bird you saw or heard, which seems a very unnecessary way to add complexity to an already complex hobby. Red Lechwe.

Botswana 162

Botswana Lesotho Bald Eagle Elephants 162

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

David Tomlinson The recent announcement by the American Ornithological Society that it intends to replace names of all birds named after people has caused quite a stir here in the UK. I have a fascinating little reference book called Whose Bird? Collecting birds was clearly a dangerous pastime. We don’t need any more.

Falcons 216

Falcons Wounded 2003 Killing 216

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 14, 2021

This is the second post in the Birding crème de la crème series (the first, focused on southern Asia, is here ). The bird-richest region of Africa is its equatorial East: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi (unlike the rest, the last one, Burundi, is politically unstable and not recommendable). Lake Nakuru.

Africa 193

Africa Kenya Uganda Tanzania 193

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2017

The Aborigines Hairbrush , and the Elephant Cactus. And this is the bloom for the Elephant Cactus. The Elephant Cactus , puts out a white tubular flower that open from late March, until early, June, and are visited by nectar feeding bats at night and many birds during the day. The male came and went several times.

Elephants 105

Elephants Woodpeckers Squirrels Shelters 105

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2014

And Flamingos and Hornbills and a Secretarybird and birds with names like Hamerkop and Thick-knee and Eremomela (which I know is a scientific term, but which, when pronounced correctly, reminds me of a Yiddish term of endearment my grandmother used). And so, I went on the American Birding Association Safari to South Africa.

South Africa 252

South Africa Africa Leopards Penguins 252

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2012

They are not necessarily the biggest African animals, but represented those that were considered a real hunter’s worthy prey or “game” – the African Elephant, Cape Buffalo, Black Rhinoceros, Leopard and king of the jungle, the Lion (which of course doesn’t inhabit jungle but savanna!).

Buffalo 197

Buffalo Rhinoceros Leopards Elephants 197

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2011

Most of the time when we think of birds, we think of the things that make them birds, and not the things that make them dinosaurs. You’ll hear people tell you that birds are dinosaurs, and that is supposed to blow you away and make you go all gaga about birds and evolution. are convenient secondary uses.

Birds 268

Birds Marsupials Primates Whaling 268

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

You may have read my recent piece on Birding the Okavango Delta in Botswana here on 10,000 Birds. If you have never thought of India as a birding destination, I’d urge you to give it a good look. Fly into Delhi and within an hour you can be birding the lovely Sultanpur wetland reserve. appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

India 183

India Wildlife Tigers Rhinoceros 183

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2021

I know many of us seek birds as an escape from dreary, depressing news that seems to permeate almost everything of late. I have been using birding as an escape, it’s why I’m a poor eBirder (I rarely take my phone when I’m already juggling between camera and binoculars). Reproduced with permission.

Litter 263

Litter ALA Endangered Species Elephants 263

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2012

Several years ago, I was asked to visit my nephew’s preschool class and talk about birds. Jake lives in southern Florida, so he and his friends had to be interested in learning about these birds, which they saw everyday, right? How old were the baby birds? I chalk it up to the original baby bird book, P.D.

Switzerland 207

Switzerland Birds Owls Lions 207

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2013

Rather, my trip to the American Museum of Natural History last week was enlivened, however slightly, by spotting a Rock Pigeon perched on top of the elephants in the Hall of African Mammals, safely out of the elements and unexposed to Central Park’s hawks. The pigeon seemed very comfortable. So what does it really mean?

Elephants 156

Elephants Gorillas Buffalo Mammals 156

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2011

He had always ignored my pointing out anyway and had continued to play with his toy elephants, and he will ignore my failure to point out anything now and continue to play with his toy elephants. Sure, every season has its typical set of birds. The birds of summer have gone. But to me, their departure means a lot.

Elephants 166

Elephants Neglecting Europe Breeders 166

10,000 Birds

JULY 11, 2013

A dusty-red road leads me through Marico bushveld deeper into the 750 square kilometers large wilderness of the Madikwe Game Reserve – the 4th largest reserve in South Africa, home to 350 bird and 66 mammal species, some 4 hours’ drive from Johannesburg. Two young bull elephants slowly walk along the road in front of us.

Africa 187

Africa South Africa Elephants Rhinos 187

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2014

The two star attractions for most tourists are Asian Elephants and Bornean Orangutans. I dipped on the elephants, but the river certainly delivered for orangutans. The birding was pretty ace too. This species was my bird of the year last year. What a bird! Trips apes Birding Borneo' A side tributary.

Rhinoceros 168

Rhinoceros Apes Elephants Monkeys 168

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 27, 2017

Co-sponsored by Bushnell and Charles Martell & Sons, this fascinating expedition is the first in a proposed series meant to track down species on the critically endangered/extinct border in the hopes that they, and their remaining habitats, can be protected.

Ducks 119

Ducks Myanmar Elephants Wildlife 119

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2013

JOHOR, MALAYSIA, DECEMBER 2012 – If you’re traveling to Singapore for birding, you might want to think outside the box or, in this case, the island. Some of the best birding in the area is just 90 minutes or so north in peninsular Malaysia, home of the infamous Panti Forest. Wanna try to ID this bird?

Malaysia 171

Malaysia Singapore Monkeys Asia 171

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 23, 2015

The reactions of the birding scene to this addition have been rather varied. 2 – Inspite of being a hardy species by nature, a trait formed over millions of years of having to make a living where elephant and lion come to drink, they will indeed and on rare occasions escape human presence by taking off and flying away from an observer.

Florida 160

Florida Fur Lions Elephants 160

10,000 Birds

MAY 9, 2019

Just imagine a family excursion to Yellowstone to photograph grazing herds of elephants – equally wrong. When I started to bird, sometime in the last millennium, the common knowledge was that there were about 8,500 species of birds in the World (by some evolutionary miracle, nowadays we have 2,000 more). Map by Wikipedia.

Protection 147

Protection Elephants Owls Laws 147

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2011

This country boasts over 1,000 bird species, vast wildernesses, a superb network of protected areas, the greatest concentration of large game and predators on the planet, excellent lodges and friendly people. The Baobab-studded woodlands and wetlands of the park harbor over 550 bird species and they sure come thick and fast!

Tanzania 211

Tanzania Africa Stud Leopards 211

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2013

It is built to reach out into the water when the dam is full and is reached along a raised walkway, screened from the mammals, reptiles and birds that may be roosting, resting, feeding, drinking or waiting in ambush close by. Mammals visit the dam as well as the birds. Birding Destinations Pilanesberg National Park South Africa'

South Africa 171

South Africa Reptiles Mammals Giraffes 171

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

The magnificent history and diversity of birds on Earth came into sharper focus this month with the publication of 28 new scientific papers in Science and other journals. One of the central papers, Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds (Jarvis et al. American Flamingo photo by Dick Culbert).

Family 279

Family Parrots 2014 Birds 279

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

It’s when we lost the mammoths, the sabre-tooth cats, the giant ground sloths, the elephant birds, the marsupial lions, and other iconic giants. And some of the extinctions were of small animals, like the many dwarf goats and elephants in the Mediterranean. We’ve lost perhaps 200 birds that we know of since 1500.

Marsupials 166

Marsupials Costa Rica Elephants Cuba 166

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2011

I am cautious, I am vigilant, and I will go anywhere, so long as the place has birds. Seriously, ducks must be the toughest creatures ever, the Chuck Norrises of the bird world, because they endure this thing all the time. But there is one thing I would rather avoid at almost all costs – swimming in murky waters.

Zoos 186

Zoos Elephants Tigers Ducks 186