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 225

Solomon Islands Ecuador Colombia Brazil 225

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2024

It often refers to common, non-native, or sometimes invasive bird species that are perceived as less desirable or interesting compared to other birds. Common and Ubiquitous Species : In some contexts, “trash bird” might refer to very common species that are often overlooked by birders seeking rarer sightings.

Lions 214

Lions Birds Namibia Portugal 214

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 19, 2024

Quite a few bird species have crests. Their main use is to display – either to communicate with other members of the species or to scare other species, as a raised crest makes the bird appear larger. In fact, crests occur in at least 20 of the 30 orders of extant birds, and in all major groups of passerines.

South Africa 211

South Africa China Germany Africa 211

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 14, 2023

Even better, just a few meters away from the food vendors, it is not too crowded, and the palm trees attract a number of birds, including two species of parrots. That is mainly the Philippines, as indicated by the species name lucionensis (Luzon is the Philippines’ biggest island). The first one is the Blue-naped Parrot.

Malaysia 250

Malaysia Philippines Parrots illegal 250

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2015

Each year, I hope to identify at least 600 species. That 600th species was a Streaked Xenops , an especially uncommon bird in Costa Rica usually seen at Tapanti National Park. That 600th species was a Streaked Xenops , an especially uncommon bird in Costa Rica usually seen at Tapanti National Park. Streaked Xenops.

Costa Rica 154

Costa Rica Species 2015 West Virginia 154

10,000 Birds

JULY 12, 2022

A Trip Report is a way to separate out a group of checklists within certain dates to obtain a comprehensive single-page summary, including the number of checklists submitted, number of species observed, number of lifers, and a map. For example, in terms of lifers, my most productive trip was to the U.S. were new to me.

District of Columbia 162

District of Columbia Virgin Islands Maryland Delaware 162

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2024

Here are a few of the examples I showed these students: Many indicated they had seen Red Warbler s. Green-striped Brushfinch And here are a couple of photos of pleasant surprises that turned up while the festival participants birded: Red Crossbills , like this early-morning example, are always a nice find.

Lamb 211

Lamb Abandon Abandoning Abandonment 211

10,000 Birds

APRIL 1, 2024

Any place that used to be good for an interesting species last year is likely to have been turned into another construction site this year. A few changes happen in March – for example, many European countries and the USA switch to daylight savings time. One is the continuing destruction of much of its environment.

Chicago 147

Chicago Birds Asia China 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2024

The Ochraceous Bulbul looks similar to the Puff-throated Bulbul, with which it shares a genus – the similarity made one of my travel companions doubt the whole framework of species distinctions. Paul Conrad (1836-1885), a German naturalist in the East Indies, after which the species is named ( Pycnonotus conradi ).

Vietnam 203

Vietnam Fowl Birds Iran 203

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2022

Or would be, had I encountered more of them – so far, I have seen only a very small share of the approximately 233 woodpecker species, and got decent photos of an even smaller number – not much more than 10% of all of them. So, writing a post about them is easy.

Woodpeckers 240

Woodpeckers South Africa China Singapore 240

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2023

Nearby western Turkey may have some extra, more exotic species …, but the birding in Greece is much more enjoyable because of the far greater numbers of raptors, warblers, buntings, shrikes and, especially, waterbirds. Here is an example from Bulgaria guide: [link]. Yes, all this in mere 45 pages, half of them depicting maps!

Greece 203

Greece Macedonia Bulgaria Gambia 203

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

Penguins are cartoons, emoticons, animated films, children’s books (though owls really take first place here), sports teams, a book publisher, and a Batman villain (a rare example of penguin negativity, though Burgess Meredith did bring an endearing attitude to his 1960’s TV portrayal). © Otto Plantema, used with permission.

Penguins 278

Penguins Georgia Albatross New Zealand 278

10,000 Birds

JUNE 13, 2024

If you have birded very long, you are probably aware that members of closely related bird species, when their ranges overlap, sometimes love each other very much, and have babies. When this happens particularly often, such hybridization processes can result in entirely new species.

Mexico 221

Mexico United States 2019 Research 221

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2024

But, as most of our readers know, the phrase “trash birds” usually refers to those species that one sees so often that they become tiresome. For example, my classic trash bird in open habitats here is the Vermilion Flycatcher. Central Mexico has, of course, its own trash birds. But it is a true Mexican native. (In

Portland 228

Portland Mexico Humane Sparrows 228

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 14, 2021

As of mid-November 2021, the Collaborative had submitted more than 4,200 checklists (up from 1,700 in 2018) and has observed 691 species in the United States (up from 618). Thus, there are now seven states with 200+ observed species. The state with the largest increase was Arizona , with 139 species added.

West Virginia 206

West Virginia United States Puerto Rico Minnesota 206

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2023

I mean that in a good way: By automatically showing one’s new year list each January 1st, and comparing it to one’s last several year lists, they always make me want to hit the ground running with as many species in my first week as I can manage. For example, of the 9 duck species we saw, 7 are winter-only.

Blackbirds 147

Blackbirds Ducks Mexico 2020 147

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2023

Belgrade, the capital city of Serbia, offers several great birding spots and here are some recommendations for areas to go birding in and around the city, how to get there by public transport, and some of the bird species you might expect to see. It is home to almost a hundred bird species, including woodpeckers and songbirds.

Transported 264

Transported Woodpeckers Serbia Birds 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2023

Seychelles’ small landmass combined with geographic isolation results in few species. For example, the main islands are the world’s only granitic ocean islands and at 750M years of age are also the world’s oldest ocean islands. That antiquity produces a high level of endemism, e.g. 19% of 62 breeding birds are endemic to the islands!

Seychelles 241

Seychelles Wildlife Tortoises Reptiles 241

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 21, 2022

The book covers all of China, which given the large number of species (1484 are covered in the guide), the relatively low level of bird knowledge and also the limited market for such a book in English language (MacKinnon claims in one interview that the Chinese edition sold ten times more than the English one) is quite an achievement.

China 209

China Brazil 2000 Birds 209

10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2022

Being an island, Mauritius has its share of endemics, extinct endemics (the dodo again), and introduced species. The Red Fody is an introduced species, though from nearby, sort of (Madagascar). Of course, the Common Myna is not a native species either. I saw a few of each group, with the obvious exception of the second one.

Mauritius 233

Mauritius 2000 Birds Madagascar 233

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

The text goes far beyond just those two birds, however, as Doug works his way through the puzzles presented by the incredibly wide diversity of bird behavior, even within species, citing current research and new and old theories, reasoning out the most likely and unlikely answers. The six middle chapters are my favorite reading. ” (p.

Science 222

Science Albatross Research Owls 222

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2020

The species was named after John P. I suspect there is little opposition to changing the names of species with particularly sordid namesakes. For example, the standard QWERTY keyboard is arguably inefficient and there are likely better alternatives. After much ado , the name was ultimately changed to Thick-billed Longspur.

Birds 245

Birds Laws 2020 Jordan 245

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2021

A good example is a Little Curlew in Brolga Park. Now, either of these bird species could be heard or seen in the park and there are a pair of Masked Lapwings currently residing there, but they never sit in trees! We soon discovered the source of the sounds and it was neither of the species I just mentioned.

Dogs 261

Dogs Species Birds Australia 261

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2021

Here are some prime examples. Two Green Bee-eaters , though the species name fails to mention the beautiful orange heads and the light blue parts under the black eye stripe. Birds can be wonderfully colorful. Two Black-rumped Flamebacks with their distinct red crown and crest.

Birds 258

Birds Species 258

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 12, 2020

And while this poisonous species is usually red and spotted, older examples can lose their spots and take on an orange hue. So I’m glad I didn’t taste my first examples. But I also discovered that they have a close relative, the Fly Agaric ( Amanita muscaria), that is deadly. The deadly Fly Agaric.

Turkey 262

Turkey Birds Elephants Eggs 262

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

An associated issue is that the Belize and Costa Rica guides share many of the same descriptions of species, written by Howell. Similarly, descriptions of species repeated across volumes do not lose their accuracy with each publication. Other species are splits and lumped and have had their names changed. Why are these issues?

Costa Rica 222

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 222

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2021

Insects and a host of other invertebrate life have evolved with these plant species, and thus depend on them. Of interest to birders, Tallamy also presents data demonstrating that the breeding success of chickadees, for example, numbers of surviving chicks, correlates positively with the number of native trees in the immediate vicinity.

North America 264

North America Wildlife Mammals Breeding 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2024

The species is listed as Vulnerable – the estimated number of individuals is 4600-5100 (HBW), of which about 2000 winter on Hokkaido. There is a book on the species, but it is out of print and seems impossible to find even in online secondhand bookstores. Where is the movie about his life then? Back to the eagle.

Eagles 131

Eagles Sea Lions Russia Bears 131

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 3, 2023

Among the reasons: We saw 51 species… in less than three hours… on 1/20 of a square mile… on the edge of Morelia’s urban area! Females of the two species are much more difficult to distinguish. For example, yellow, orange, and black Western Tanagers were especially abundant (as well as two Summer Tanagers ).

Family 240

Family Species Birds Mexico 240

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2020

For, in birder lingo, a split occurs when subspecies are determined to be, in fact, entirely separate species. If you happen to have seen both species, your life list can increase without you even leaving the house. Two former species can also be joined into one, the same way. And there was great rejoicing thoughout the land!)

San Diego 181

San Diego San Francisco Baltimore Mexico 181

10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2021

The header above is of several species of shorebirds on Reddell Beach. The Pacific Golden Plover are a good example of this. There are a number of shorebird species here for you to identify! It is that time of year again when we start to see the shorebirds around Broome change into their beautiful breeding plumage.

Australia 255

Australia Breeding Species Birds 255

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

MAY 5, 2022

pounds) heavy Colombia field guide with its 1900+ species. And that became heavier with each passing day… On the other hand, Europe’s Birds cover less than half of that number – 900+ species and a softback weighs 1.4 For example, many photos are shot in poor light, obscuring the true colours.

Europe 257

Europe Colombia Birds Ducks 257

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2021

Similarly, the Alpine Leaf Warbler is one of the more attractive species in an otherwise almost indistinguishable family of identical leaf warblers. (“But the difference in wing bars, Kai!”). For some reason, the HBW specifically mentions that this species also breeds in a city park in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea.

North Korea 246

North Korea China Birds Woodpeckers 246

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2024

Given that according to the HBW, the species prefers dense primary and secondary montane forests, the note that the bird also forages among kitchen waste (in the same HBW entry) seems somewhat incongruous. Fish & Wildlife Service has a web page for this species – but it contains absolutely no information.

Burma 208

Burma India Thailand Indonesia 208

10,000 Birds

APRIL 22, 2024

The proximity to the Myanmar border is reflected in the presence of Burmese Shrikes here – on the wrong side of the border, but it is well known that this species has never been particularly good at geography. This photo explains the scientific species name haemacephalus (bloodheaded).

Myanmar 185

Myanmar Sri Lanka Nepal Niger 185

10,000 Birds

MARCH 22, 2023

It seems almost insulting, sure it allows some insight into the abundance of the particular species in a particular area at a point in time, but all birds are rare and exotic somewhere. The irony is most apparent when a bird so named is a legitimate rarity – I get excited whenever I see a Common Ground Dove , for example.

Trinidad 187

Trinidad Litter Bears Species 187