10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2011

Big, bold, beautiful parrots full of character and charm, macaws make us long for some of the world’s wildest places and assure us that, as long as they fly free, those magical wild places are still intact. The Hyacinth Macaw is more than just another pretty face; these birds are social with strong family values.

Protection 182

Protection Brazil Parrots Paraguay 182

10,000 Birds

MAY 31, 2011

This ruled out some excellent species like Cape Eagle Owl, Violet Wood-hoopoe, African Finfoot and Half-collared Kingfisher and I was still left with 36 species. This was tough because this excluded species that occur in two countries within South Africa’s geographical area, Lesotho and Swaziland. This is what came up: 1.

South Africa 220

South Africa Africa Swaziland Parrots 220

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

The species that manage to colonize these islands evolve in competition with relatively few other species, developing survival strategies based on interdependence, co-evolution, and mutualism rather than adapting to deal with a broad range of predators and competitors. A species, wiped off the earth, never to exist again.

Cuba 233

Cuba Columbus Parrots DC 233

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2015

However, there are those species which have a hard time bringing attention to themselves such as Yellow-shouldered Blackbird , Giant Nuthatch , and Vinaceous-breasted Parrot. Regardless of their popularity, these species and the threatened ecosystems they inhabit are equally spectacular. Curassows are such stately birds.

California Condor 201

California Condor Brazil Parrots Texas 201

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2011

They are rock stars in their family (or group of families, depending on what taxonomists have been smoking lately), a family that includes Scarlet Macaws , Crimson Shining-parrots , Golden Parakeets and Rainbow Lorikeets , and that is no mean feat. Kakapo are bird rock stars. Sirocco than Kakapo being handfed.

New Zealand 175

New Zealand Parrots Sanctuary Sheep 175

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2011

We can say with much certainty that the majority of people admire and are fascinated with the resplendent colors of macaws, parrots, toucans and hummingbirds. Many birds around the world in the Robin family ( Turdidae ) are favorites due to their musical songs. What can we do while species disappear from the planet each year?

Honduras 184

Honduras illegal Parrots Pets 184

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2024

Arriving at Surama Eco-lodge at the crack of dawn meant that typical forest-edge species remained at the forest edge, within the clearing of the lodge lurked a group of Smooth-billed Ani while Tropical Kingbirds manned the tops of trees. Getting a view of this Dusky Parrot was nothing short of a miracle – or dumb luck as they say.

Guyana 224

Guyana Parrots Family Groups 224

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2024

Mealy Parrots made their presence known, and we were treated with excellent views of Blue-headed Parrot that flew into a tree we were already examining. Familiar, but beautiful regardless: Blue-headed Parrot Another small parrot species landed on a tree in the distance.

Guyana 193

Guyana Parrots Trinidad Monkeys 193

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2021

Where a birder goes in the Caribbean determines which birds are seen including toy-like todies, Carib hummingbirds, cool pigeons, quail-doves, unique avian families and outrageous woodpeckers. One such special place is the Centro Manu, a small family run reserve that features several star bird species of Costa Rica’s Caribbean lowlands.

Costa Rica 261

Costa Rica Puerto Rico Birds Owls 261

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 28, 2012

But a vast number of species DO exhibit dazzling displays of color. This might explain why many predominantly-white bird species have entirely black or black-tipped feathers in their wings. This pigment group is the rarest of the three pigment groups and is found in only a handful of bird families.

Birds 263

Birds Cooking Groups Parrots 263

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2022

In pastures of the hot lowlands, they tend to be lines of stunted Gumbo-Limbo trees or some other heavily pruned species. In addition to those birds and the Squirrel Cuckoo pictured above, the following are some of the more common hedgerow species of Costa Rica. Rufous-tailed Hummingbird and other hummingbird species.

Costa Rica 245

Costa Rica Birds Sparrows Squirrels 245

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2024

I saw 32 species here in my first 24 hours, some of them exciting ones. My second lifer this trip was a migratory Yellow-throated Warbler , a species I could not hope to see my previous trip, which had occurred in early summer. There is also a family of Barn Owls on the premises, and I have briefly seen the largest of them (enormous!)

Barn Owls 192

Barn Owls Mexico Parrots ALA 192

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2012

As a guide he was great, we never saw the fairy-wrens (we did hear them), but he found a bunch of species I had not yet seen on the trip, including the Superb Fruit-dove , a Cicadabird (actually a type of cuckoo-shrike) and my personal favourite, a Yellow Boatbill.

Guinea 167

Guinea Parrots Australia Killing 167

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2021

With that logic those trees, if left to grow, should produce something of use to at least one or two species of birds. A Yellow-crowned Parrot digs in. The first sign of any positive effect was the appearance of several species of butterflies I hadn’t previously noticed. Of course, various species of bats as well.

Opossums 263

Opossums Barn Owls Reptiles Hunting 263

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

APRIL 25, 2022

So, the basic idea is to show 15 species of Australian birds in each post and give you the usual trivia about them. This species has also eliminated the need for childcare – the chicks emerge from this pile on their own and never even get to see their parents. Similarly, the Grey Shrikethrush is neither a shrike nor a thrush.

Australia 176

Australia Koalas Parrots Birds 176

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2019

As is typical of urban birding in Costa Rica, we had small flocks of this species fly over and good looks at the White-crowned Parrot , the other most common parrot in the valley. But other species also zip through gardens and other green space, at Villa San Ignacio, we had great looks at a prize Plain-capped Starthroat.

Costa Rica 185

Costa Rica Parrots Birds Blackbirds 185

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2016

Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Northern Central America covers 827 species, including resident, migratory, and common vagrant birds. The end result is that the whole “biographic” area (NCA plus southern Mexico and northern Nicaragua) is home to 41 endemic bird species.

El Salvador 226

El Salvador America Costa Rica Honduras 226

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 6, 2021

For birders who have visited T&T in the past, the livestock station has always been a staple site for several key species that would be fairly difficult elsewhere. Safe to say no species was left behind! Throughout the day, numerous pairs of Orange-winged Parrots would fly over. You can view the full list of species here.

Trinidad 264

Trinidad Livestock Groups Eagles 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2012

Getting intimate with a species over the course of the breeding cycle is one of the more rewarding aspects of birding, and field research too. stuffing the chicks full of delicious seeds, most commonly including seeds from species of Croton and Hyptus. You don’t really know a bird until you’ve studied it on its breeding grounds.

Eggs 266

Eggs Venezuela Porcupines 2008 266

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2014

The second edition of the National Geographic Complete Birds of North America, 2nd Edition has one of the longest book names in bird bookdom: National Geographic Complete Birds of North America, 2nd Edition: Now Covering More Than 1,000 Species With the Most-Detailed Information Found in a Single Volume. This volume is no exception.

North America 176

North America America Family Falcons 176

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2011

Guianan Cock-of-the-rock, Capuchinbird, Red Fan Parrot, Guianan Toucanet, White Bellbird, Grey-winged Trumpeters, Black Currasow. On a trip to Suriname to find and film some of these spectacular species I was blown away by the birding. Suriname has approximately 735 recorded species, with many more to still be added to its total list.

Suriname 200

Suriname Guyana Birds South America 200

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2020

Local guide and birder David Mora Vargas has been spending much of his time at his family’s farm in the Sarapiqui lowlands. With around 400 species recorded for the area, yeah, it’s where we might all like to quarantine for a bit! A Fantastic Day of 200 Plus Species. Fiery-billed Aracari. Trip to Cocos Island.

Costa Rica 197

Costa Rica Birds Thailand Farming 197

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2020

For kids in the Yucatan, Turquoise-browed Motmots and parrots are part of the regular avian scene. In the Amazon, many more species are accepted as normal, everyday birds including potoos with haunting calls, flocks of screeching parakeets, and dozens of other fantastic birds too loud in voice or plumage to be ignored.

Costa Rica 217

Costa Rica Cleveland Turkey Parrots 217

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2011

This has happened before, Archaeopteryx and the bird family tree have had an often tenuous relationship. The trait must then be identifiable as to whether or not it exists in a certain species. That’s what Archaeopteryx is. Recently, the news came out that beloved Archaeopteryx is not really a bird ancestor.

Mammals 235

Mammals Europe Groups Family 235

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. What follows are the responses that readers offered, a veritable aviary of sought after species. It is a really neat bird that I have not seen before.

Brazil 193

Brazil 2011 Birds Penguins 193

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2019

It would be uber cool to lay eyes on a rare lifer, on species that only seem to live on the pages of a field guide but isn’t that somewhat discriminatory? And why spend time only looking for one or two species when those hours could be used to put binos focused on a few dozen? Yellow-naped Parrot. Buff-fronted Quail-Dove.

Costa Rica 200

Costa Rica Panama Birds Nicaragua 200

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2014

White-bellied Parrot was one of many target species at either of the canopy towers. ” At first light, many of the larger canopy species commute and call from the canopy: parrots, cotingas, guans, and toucans. The high pitched screech of White-bellied Parrot ? 4:30AM: It is time to wake up!

Otters 160

Otters Parrots Birds Brazil 160

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2014

This tree is of the coniferous family and this bird has made its life around the southern temperate forest where this tree has been constantly destroyed to clear for farmland development. It seemed like our luck had run out since the parrots went quiet and we could not locate the exact area of their hiding place.

Argentina 166

Argentina Parrots Birds Groups 166

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 12, 2013

The USA’s only truly indigenous parrot was wiped out by a combination of factors, although direct persecution through hunting seems to have been the major contributor. Today, if you want to see parrots in the USA you need look no further than Miami. But its not just parrots that are doing well in their adopted city.

Miami 128

Miami Parrots Research Alaska 128

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2020

On a quick browse, here are some facts I learned: Melanin helps to resist bacteria that attack feathers; most parrots are left-footed and this is associated with problem-solving; some birds nest in two different places in the same year. Do they have families too and do they take care of them? Is a free digital download possible?)

2020 261

2020 Birds North America Sparrows 261

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2018

Covering 1,261 species with data and taxonomy current up to August 2017, the field guide is an exciting achievement. And, then there are the more familiar birds–Wood-warblers, sandpipers, hawks–some species migrants, some species with a wide range. Can you guess which of the species cited above are endemic?

America 210

America El Salvador Costa Rica Honduras 210

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2015

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). Quality time was spent with a friendly Hamar family at their homestead of grass huts surrounding their cattle corral. Yellow-billed Stork.

Ethiopia 230

Ethiopia Sudan Leopards Cattle 230

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2015

In other words, millions of people got together with family and friends for a cozy day of mashed potatoes, gravy, apple pie, naps, football, and some serious turkeyliciousness. The turkeys I’m talking about up in here are three of the five members of the Cracidae family that occur in Costa Rica. The Near Threatened Black Guan.

Costa Rica 159

Costa Rica Turkey Ecuador Hunting 159

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2013

Parrots and macaws on a clay lick, cotingas, manakins, tanagers, and hummingbirds come to mind when thinking of tropical birds. These are the characteristics that generally elevate a species higher in a birder’s wish list, but often times this is not the case. When thinking of birding overseas, Peru is in almost everyone’s to-do list.

Peru 164

Peru Birds Chile Parrots 164

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). T he Golden-throated Barbet (Baihualing, Yunnan) has an interesting species name, franklinii. Pernice Brothers).

South Africa 191

South Africa Africa India China 191

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2015

Navarro’s exceptional drawings illustrate the species accounts. Forty-eight species. Compare, for example, the species account illustration of the Cuban Trogon with the photo that opens up the introductory chapter. The luxury of space means that each species can be shown from various angles and in distinctive poses.

Cuba 219

Cuba Birds 2000 United States 219