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

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

JUNE 7, 2017

When it comes to a one stop shopping for food and shelter, no other plant is as widely used as the Cardon Cactus family. The Aborigines Hairbrush , and the Elephant Cactus. And this is the bloom for the Elephant Cactus. The larger birds will break open the round fuzzy balls to get at the white pulpy fruit and black seeds.

Elephants 105

Elephants Woodpeckers Squirrels Shelters 105

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

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

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, 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

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

MARCH 16, 2016

I was planning a trip to South Africa, I had about five days to fill, I wanted to get a bunch of desert species (particularly the Springbok – not a bird) in a way that wasn’t too hard to reach from Johannesburg. Madikwe has perhaps too many elephants. Oh, this is a bird site, almost forgot. Yes, there are birds.

South Africa 143

South Africa Leopards Giraffes Africa 143

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

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. I am reminded of the ducks’ perilous and arduous existence on each family outing to Heidelberg Zoo.

Zoos 186

Zoos Elephants Tigers Ducks 186

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2015

Ethiopia, a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa, has firmly established itself as one of Africa’s top birding destinations. Its great diversity of habitats hosts an incredible bird count of over 900 species, including Africa’s 2nd highest list of endemics and near-endemics (after South Africa). Yellow-billed Stork.

Ethiopia 237

Ethiopia Sudan Leopards Cattle 237

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

APRIL 29, 2015

By this I mean applying the term antelope to cover all of the family Bovidae, which would include the sheep, goats and ox. One of the spiral-horned antelope (the antelopes are a huge family and much sub-divided) it resembles an intermediate between a Lesser Kudu and a Bushbuck , albeit with much longer and more attractive hair on the males.

Africa 163

Africa Wolves Goats Sheep 163

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2011

As part of the Wildlife Conservation Society Birds of Brazil giveaway we asked readers of 10,000 Birds to name the bird in Brazil that they would like to see more than any other species. It is a really neat bird that I have not seen before. It would mean that I was birding in a really cool place! Come quickly!”

Brazil 199

Brazil 2011 Birds Penguins 199

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 5, 2015

Shot an elephant. Is it fair her life was destroyed because hers was public and mine was among family a decade ago? The mobs that once enforced “justice” in the streets now do so online. I think we’ve all done it. We’ve posted a link of someone doing something shameful. Shoving a cat in a bin.

Animal Cruelty 168

Animal Cruelty Hunters Sharks Hunting 168

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2012

The wonderful family Meropidae contains 27 dazzling species, of which Africa is endowed with no less than 20 species, the balance occurring across Asia and with one as far afield as Australia. Besides being colorful and energetic, another plus of these lovely birds is that they are relatively easy to track down.

Africa 263

Africa Gabon Uganda South Africa 263

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

Which, naturally, got me to thinking about the newly erected order Suliformes, a development I mentioned in my December column, 2010′s Top 10 Developments in Bird Taxonomy and Systematics , but which I thought deserved further examination, for it’s one of those stories that defines the era in which we are living and birding.

2011 151

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea California 151

4 The Love Of Animals

MARCH 17, 2011

Elephants, whales, hippopotamuses, giraffes, and alligators use low-frequency sounds to communicate over long distances, often miles; and bats, dolphins, whales, frogs, and various rodents use high-frequency sounds to find food, communicate with others, and navigate. Empathy Among Elephants. Elephants have strong feelings.

Emotional 100

Emotional Animal Whales Whaling 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2020

Knowing that there are reserves with long lists of 600 or more species, I set my threshold at more than 600 birds… and found only a few such hotspots. Such places are clearly under-visited, under-birded or eBird isn’t that popular in those parts of the world. Other countries still have to reach the 300 birds threshold.

Asia 268

Asia Malaysia Papua New Guinea Thailand 268

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2012

“ There is, perhaps, no better place in the world for birds than this country. Despite discovering dozens of bird species, he is however not remembered in any English names of birds. The famous Verreaux family who made several expeditions into the province through the 1820’s and 1830’s procuring specimens for rich collectors.

Mozambique 184

Mozambique South Africa Africa Collecting 184

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2018

He roots the theft in the history of collecting bird skins, in the brief life history of Edwin Rist, in the secretive world of classic fly tying, and in his own efforts to follow up on a police investigation that got the man but not all of the loot. Only, birders don’t require pieces of dead birds to satisfy their desires.

Collecting 103

Collecting Iraq Ostriches Science 103

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 12, 2015

Take an example, Tembe Elephant Park in South Africa. And don’t forget that Africa’s population continues to grow, putting more and more pressure on the land and many eyes watch the remaining wild spaces asking why the animals should have them and not hungry families. Not if we want to hang on to what we have left.

Lions 203

Lions Sierra Leone Hunting Buffalo 203

4 The Love Of Animals

APRIL 16, 2009

Disneynature’s first film, Earth , which comes out on Earth Day (April 22,2009), follows three animal families across the globe. I also loved the birds of paradise. In my case, I suppose it would be filming the elephants caught in a sandstorm in the Okavango Delta. Here they are! Me: I’m from 4theloveofanimals.com.

Polar Bears 100

Polar Bears Bears Walruses Norway 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2016

We –participants of the ABA South Africa Safari—were on a small plane when one Lori Conrad looked out the window and screamed, “There are elephants down there!” This is the thing—no matter how devoted you are to birds and birding, once you get to Africa, you can’t resist the mammals. and everyone ran to Lori’s side of the plane.

Rhinos 235

Rhinos Animal Mammals White Rhinos 235

10,000 Birds

MAY 14, 2014

First off, it seems that New Zealand’s two iconic families of ratites, large flightless southern birds that includes emus, rhea, ostriches, cassowaries and the extinct elephant birds, are not particularly closely related. New Zealand’s birds and mammals come from a number of sources.

New Zealand 161

New Zealand Sea Lions Penguins Lions 161

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2011

They are cryptically plumaged birds whose camouflage helps them to blend in with their often arid environments. The Water Thick-knee’s , Burhinus vermiculatus, preference for moist areas may contribute to the eroneous habit of considering them amongst the wading birds. Two or three eggs may be laid and either bird may incubate.

2011 161

2011 Deer Africa Peru 161

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 5, 2011

I thought after my recent look at the more angelic end of the avian spectrum it would be illustrative to descend into the circles of birding hell in order to regard, through the safety of the Internet, one of the baser demons in the pantheon of the birding gods. The effect, a feathered maelstrom, is genuinely disconcerting.

Breeding 174

Breeding Collecting California Hunting 174

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2014

When you read trip reports of birders going to remote and interesting locations to see interesting (and not so interesting birds, I’m looking at you LBJs), these accounts are typically written by people who have either gone with groups of like-minded people or those that have gone it alone.

Bats 181

Bats Birds Elephants Badgers 181

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2012

Barbets are a group of medium sized, chunky, generally colorful, frugivorous, hole-nesting near-passerines, that are popular targets for anyone birding in the tropics. Originally they were all placed in the family Capitonidae , but over time taxonomists have determined that actual relationships between these barbets are far more complex.

Ethiopia 225

Ethiopia Tanzania Uganda Africa 225

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2011

I had spent several holidays with my family in the USA in the 1980′s and then worked in Maine during the summer of 1985-beware the poison ivy and the snapping turtles! It has the common names of the birds in English, Afrikaans and Eastern Bantu and Native languages!

South Africa 158

South Africa United States Alligators Austin 158

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

To get out to the deep water we have to cruise for hours which necessitates leaving late in the evening, trying to sleep on an uncomfortable, moving boat, and waking up in the predawn hours to spend not-enough-time amid amazing birds before suffering through the long, boring ride through the “dead zone” back to shore.

Whales 108

Whales Whaling Albatross Sea Lions 108

10,000 Birds

JUNE 28, 2018

In 1850, the Passenger Pigeon ( Ectopistes migratorius ) was the most abundant bird in North America and possibly the world. That year Congress passed the Lacey Act, followed by the tougher Weeks-McLean Act in 1913 and, five years later, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which protected not just birds but also their eggs, nests, and feathers 1.

Hunting 109

Hunting Hunters Gorillas Wolves 109