10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2013

I grew up in one of the most beautiful cities in the world – Cape Town, South Africa. The birdlife in the Cape is nothing short of spectacular, with a healthy dose of charismatic endemic species. In fact, there is no other region in Africa that offers such a fantastic level of endemism in such an accessible location.

Penguins 242

Penguins South Africa Leopards Sharks 242

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Africa has more than its fair share of storks, with 8 of the world’s 19 species gracing the continent. Storks are typically viewed as wetland species and whilst some storks are restricted to aquatic habitats, others are not. During breeding season, their white plumage turns a delicate pink color, a lovely sight indeed.

Africa 250

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 250

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

I don’t think I’ve ever done a post on my home patch of Cape Town, South Africa. The little seaside village of Rooiels is famed for being a wonderful location to pick up some choice South African endemics but it is also one of the most beautiful spots in the Cape.

South Africa 256

South Africa Penguins Africa Birds 256

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2022

According to the HBW, there are 41 species of African Barbets and 34 species of Asian Barbets. There are also 14 species of New World Barbets and 2 species of Toucan-Barbets (all in South America). The Crested Barbet (Kruger Park, South Africa) looks a bit like a pointillist painting gone wrong.

South Africa 245

South Africa Africa India China 245

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2013

Of course Africa could not to be left out of the pink weekend so I have researched all African species whose official or alternative names include the word “pink”. Definitely my personal favorite of Africa’s pink birds is the delicate Pink-throated Twinspot. Great White Pelicans showing the pink flush of breeding plumage.

Africa 239

Africa Somalia Mozambique Pelicans 239

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2024

Jacob suggested the Wagbachniederung, a well-known wetland that is particularly popular amongst photographers for being one of the few locations in Germany where Purple Herons breed. We still focused on the birds of course and saw quite a good number of species, although few were unexpected.

Squirrels 235

Squirrels South Africa Germany Ducks 235

10,000 Birds

JUNE 15, 2024

While I’ve heard and seen both species multiple times, these atmospheric songs in the humid dawn, with songs of other species and the sound of water dripping through the foliage in the background, was already a highlight of the day. Common Nightingales and Common Cuckoos where calling everywhere.

Sri Lanka 241

Sri Lanka South Africa Transported Africa 241

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2012

Of the fifteen species of cranes alive today eleven are considered vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. Like many other species of cranes, the primary reason for its decline is the degradation, destruction and loss of wetland habitat. Its a hard life being a bird but its especially hard if you’re a crane.

Botswana 176

Botswana South Africa Africa Ethiopia 176

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

I’ve been fortunate to see two Penguin species in the wild (African and Galapagos) and have dreamed of seeing more–maybe even all!–especially –especially when reviewing books like A Field Guide to the Wildlife of South Georgia or Far from Land: The Mysterious Lives of Seabirds.

Penguins 279

Penguins Georgia Albatross New Zealand 279

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2011

Growing up within an hour of one of the world’s premier shorebird destinations -- West Coast National Park in South Africa -- helped for sure. Getting to know the subtleties in differences between closely related species takes years of dedication and practice. For me, there’s a few things that drive this fascination.

Florida 220

Florida South Africa 2011 Africa 220

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 26, 2021

I did that with Peacocks & Picathartes – Reflections on Africa’s birdlife (published by Penguin Random House South Africa ). In case you didn’t know, yes, there is an indigenous peacock living in Africa, the Congo Peafowl. So, could sunbirds actually have evolved in Indomalaya and spread west into Africa?”

Congo 264

Congo Africa Madagascar Kenya 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. I live in the southeast of Europe, for a while lived in the south of Africa and also have extensively birded western and central India. Which leaves only East Africa.

Sri Lanka 257

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 257

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 9, 2019

In the end, I truly did set out to reduce the number of birds that I feature here from 1302, my years total species, down to 10-12. Our first Day In South Africa, I spotted the Burchell’s Courcal, as it flew across the road in front of us we entered Kruger National Park. I present to you, my favorite birds of 2018.

2018 190

2018 Costa Rica South Africa New Zealand 190

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2012

Even in the tropics there are few birds that excel some of our own in elegance and beauty of plumage and we have an unusually large number of species considering the smallness of the area they inhabit. ” (Woodward brothers, “Natal Birds”, 1899) The mighty Drakensberg Mountains run along the western boundary of KwaZulu-Natal province.

Mozambique 213

Mozambique South Africa Africa Collecting 213

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2011

’ These were found in Cape Town, South Africa and appeared oblivious to the excitement that their cousin was causing in New York. This one has not yet taken the grey head of the breeding bird.

South Africa 190

South Africa Pedigree Africa New York 190

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 10, 2012

Cape Petrels, also known as Pintados (Spanish for painted) or in the vernacular Cape Petrels, are a common species of fulmarine petrel from the Southern Ocean. They have a circumpolar distribution, breeding in vast numbers in the islands around Antarctica, as well as on Antarctica itself.

New Zealand 160

New Zealand Albatross South Africa Brazil 160

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 14, 2021

Geographic patterns of species richness for birds (1,558 species) in East Africa at 0.25° resolution (blue indicates low species richness, while brown indicates high species richness). SERVIR Africa Workshop. Finally, South Africa has three 400+ hotspots, namely 1 Mkhuze Game Reserve 458 sp.

Africa 239

Africa Kenya Uganda Tanzania 239

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). White-cheeked Turaco Also occurring in Eritrea and Sudan, this species range is mostly centered around Ethiopia.

Eritrea 275

Eritrea Ethiopia Africa Mammals 275

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 25, 2013

BirdLife International believes that this might be maximum population the species can reach, as it seems to completely saturate its range. Also from BirdLife International: In general it prefers areas where vegetation, boulders or other landscape features at ground level provide tunnels in which to shelter and to breed.

Science 232

Science Transported Shelters South Africa 232

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2017

Birds of Kruger National Park covers the 259 species most frequently seen in the park, about half of the total number of birds documented there. This still leaves the user flipping through sections, looking for the species in question, though I don’t think there are many species with this habitat overlap.

Ecuador 188

Ecuador Wildlife Reptiles Mammals 188

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2016

A couple of years ago Adam posted a story on this site that so entranced me that when I went to South Africa a bit over a year ago the location he described was top of my bucket list. But I did visit it, and saw many of the incredible species he described, one of which, my major target of the day, was the Drakensberg Rockjumper.

South Africa 107

South Africa Africa Family Groups 107

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2014

Four teams with renowned birders from United States, South Africa and United Kingdom will travel through the diverse and endemic bird rich region of Northern Peru, from May 12 thought May 20, 2014. Gray-hooded Gull. Photo Credit: Diego Garcia Olaechea.

Peru 160

Peru United Kingdom South Africa 2013 160

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2019

Getting to actually see four species, in the last two weeks, and to hear two more is almost unheard of in my experience. The only owl species that were around when I was a child were the Great Horned Owls, so any other species found since then have been a huge level of special for me.

Owls 181

Owls Arizona Tucson South Africa 181

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

Thus, this study on the feeding ecology of African Harrier-hawk is imperative for understanding the species adaptation to environments and also a crucial factor to be considered while examining their economic status.” I guess blushing is easier if you have a bald face like this species. Thanks for pointing it out though.

South Africa 147

South Africa Mice Niger Nigeria 147

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2013

The smellier the better, particularly as, unusually for birds, many species can boast a robust sense of smell. In any case, our hang-ups with vultures clearly stem from our own issues rather than any inherently bizarre trait of the species themselves. Vultures famously feed on carrion. Dead things. New World Vultures.

California Condor 209

California Condor Turkey North America Jordan 209

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2012

In this epic post, Patrick depicts just how dynamic the pelagic birding is off Cape Point in South Africa. Here one is close to the scenically impressive Cape of Good Hope National Park as well as the Boulder’s Coastal Park, home to hundreds of breeding African Penguins.

Albatross 205

Albatross Penguins Dolphins Whales 205

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2014

Did I dare dip my toe into this catalog of tantalizing species? With a trip to South Africa on the horizon at the time, I thought I could handle it. The Indexes show images of the most common birds of the area against a painted background, with page references to species accounts. Now, I’m not so sure.

Brunei 190

Brunei Asia Birds China 190

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2022

So, it sometimes comes to South Africa to relax and enjoy relative anonymity. Colorful bills and heads seem quite popular among Letaba’s bird species – see the African Jacana (blue and black) … … the Striated Heron (yellow and blue) … … and the Yellow-billed Stork (yellow and red).

Zimbabwe 147

Zimbabwe Benin South Africa Birds 147

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2015

Anyway, while there are many species that I’m always pleased to see (I’m a particular fan of the aquatic kobs, lechwe and pukus) it was only on my last visit that I saw one of the more attractive species for the first time, the Nyala (pronounced Nnya-la, not Nye-al-ah).

Africa 189

Africa Wolves Goats Sheep 189

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2020

Before it joins waters with the Matabele’s iliMphopho, the river of rapid rising and falling, known to the rest of the world as the ‘great, grey, green, greasy Limpopo’ of Rudyard Kipling’s writings, the Ngotwane River marks the boundary line between Botswana and South Africa. Andrew’s laconic answer was ‘No, I don’t think so.

Botswana 225

Botswana Africa 2001 Monkeys 225

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. The African Spoonbill is one of the six global spoonbill species, and the main African one (there are also some Eurasian Spoonbills in Africa).

Ostriches 147

Ostriches Parrots Eggs Africa 147

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2013

My best bird of the year is based on the sighting rather than the species. Obviously my best bird of the year is going to come during this trip, what with several species of endemic pitta and broadbill possible, not to mention 8 species of hornbill and numerous babblers, storks, kingfishers, trogons and even the endemic Bornean Bristlehead.

2013 168

2013 Costa Rica Birds India 168

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

This makes it a particularly exciting time in New Zealand as the Rugby World Cup begins in two days, and the competition is being held right here in New Zealand (I would imagine they might be more excited if they hadn’t just lost two matches to Australia and South Africa, their big rivals in the Tri-Nations).

New Zealand 157

New Zealand Penguins Sanctuary Fur 157

10,000 Birds

APRIL 9, 2013

A Long-tailed Sylph, one of the America’s many long tailed hummingbird species, photographed in Colombia by Adam Riley. A Great Argus in full call, this species’ tail consists of the longest feather in the bird world. The 9 species of whydah are brood-parasitic seedeaters belonging to the Indigobird family.

Papua New Guinea 258

Papua New Guinea South Africa Africa Zimbabwe 258

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 19, 2020

Before that, while you all know what South Africa is, what exactly is Southern Africa? And so, back to political entities, this field guide covers Namibia , Botswana , Zimbabwe , the southern half of Mozambique (south of the Zambezi River), South Africa , Lesotho and Eswatini ( Swaziland ).

Africa 264

Africa South Africa Swaziland Lesotho 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2012

The IOC world birdlist recognizes 90 species that bear the name “weaver” or “malimbe” Not all of these are true weavers as we will discuss below. Of these 90, all occur in Africa bar 5 Asian and 2 Malagasy weavers. Photo taken by Adam Riley in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.

Tanzania 250

Tanzania Buffalo Kenya Namibia 250

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

I got to see a beautiful female and owlet on a trip to a secret nest location near Howard Prairie Lake (human-made nest structures have enhanced local breeding for these huge owls whose nest success is boosted to 83% on artificial platforms vs. 66% at natural sites). The experience, the place, and the bird combine to make this my BBOTY.

2014 216

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Penguins 216