10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2014

When I write about dislike and frustration, I am not talking about the uncertainties of species limits in that particular group, about the different call types and their invasions and what challenges these bring to a birder’s work. Germany is blessed with a single species of crossbill, the Red Crossbill Loxia recurvirostra.

Germany 208

Germany Parrots Bats Europe 208

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2019

Today`s species are just the first 10 by alphabetical order. Barn Swallows are pretty much anywhere in the world (I just saw them back in Germany). I have seen this bird right at the Bund waterfront, possibly the most famous tourist spot in all of Shanghai. So, no, I did not spend time searching for it in Germany.

Germany 181

Germany Cattle Blackbirds Birds 181

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2020

Plus a few truly difficult species. Mandarin Ducks, Munich, Germany. Sure, it is an introduced species in Germany. But the Kentish Plover was sheltering its young under its body, and the Little Ringed Plover was incubating an egg — right in the middle of downtown Madrid! But they were still Mandarin Ducks!

Austria 214

Austria Spain 2019 Germany 214

10,000 Birds

MAY 20, 2014

However, we now understand that birds vary in how they navigate, and many if not all bird species use multiple approaches to navigation. Bird migration is cool and important and a major adaptation right? In other words, bird migration, like so many other bird features, may well have emerged in incipient form before birds.

Humane 270

Humane Compassion Research Cooking 270

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2012

No, I am not referring to a Floridian spin-off of the world’s largest fair in Munich, Germany meant to celebrate everything beer. August continues the theme of low diversity and numbers, with only a smattering of new species in addition to those mentioned above such as Yellow-throated Vireo and Worm-eating Warbler.

Miami 244

Miami Florida 2011 2012 244

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2015

In its natural old-world range, the House Sparrow offers an interesting identification challenge and has vagrant potential since it is a polytypic species with a highly complex taxonomy. The genus Passer has several well-recognized and recognizable species in Europe, and still holds several enigmas.

Sparrows 258

Sparrows Italy Asia Kyrgyzstan 258

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

There was one odd reprint in 2018, when the Subalpine Warbler was split into the Eastern and Western species, but the changes in the guide weren’t sufficient to call it a 3rd edition, so it remained the updated reprint of the 2nd edition. Left – 2nd edition, right – 3rd edition So, not much has changed since the 2nd edition?

Europe 264

Europe Birds Woodpeckers Ireland 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2016

Amongst all the species that were split off the Herring Gull, the Caspian Gull is my favourite one, and its existence alone is our fair reward for the identification crisis we had to endure during the dark ages of the 1990s. Right, the Caspian Gull, sounding (not being) very much out of its comfort zone so far away from its Caspian Sea.

Kazakhstan 167

Kazakhstan Germany Ukraine Asia 167

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2024

On the one hand, they are very easy to see in Germany, swimming in public parks or teaching pensioners how to eat bread. And now we get to the part of the post in which I briefly and unscientifically mention a few research papers on the species to have a reason to post a few more of my photos.

China 246

China Iceland Whales Whaling 246

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2019

The Chestnut Bunting is quite a beauty, particularly when seen from the right angle. Always interesting to see the same species both in Germany (in my parents’ garden) and in Shanghai. Despite not being rare in China, this was the first time for me to see Carrion Crow at Nanhui. But I am not showing you all my bad shots.

2019 244

2019 Japan Owls China 244

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 19, 2012

Europe… with such low herp diversity the locals split any sub-population of a species that occurs on either the Iberian Peninsula or Italy as a new species just to make them feel better out themselves, naturally is the continent that rose to the top of my trip list. Either that or having family friends in Germany.

Salamander 172

Salamander Germany Birds Blackbirds 172

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2015

Germany, like most of Europe and very much unlike North America, is home to only one species of squirrel. The view from my office window towards the squirrel trees on the right. Mammals Germany red squirrels squirrels' And aren’t you glad it is. So to speak.

Squirrels 162

Squirrels North America Germany Europe 162

10,000 Birds

JUNE 28, 2015

You see, the Great (White) Heron/Egret is a polytypic species with four subspecies: alba in Europe, egretta in the Americas, melanorhynchos in Africa, and modesta in Asia and Oceania. Until a friend sends you pictures of a very small Great Egret in Germany in winter – with bright pink legs, a black bill and a turquoise cere.

Asia 234

Asia Europe Germany Breeding 234

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 21, 2016

I am not entirely sure whether most birders outside Germany know or realize that Germany still has a decent population of one of Europe’s most attractive and desired bird species: the Great Bustard Otis tarda. Now that I might have wetted your appetite, here’s where and how to find them in Germany: 1.

Germany 112

Germany Mongolia Abandon Abandonment 112

10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2022

For once, eBird gives a good description of the Asian Glossy Starling, calling it a “Fierce-looking, large songbird” As are humans, this species is fairly urbanized – it “sometimes enters urban areas to roost, e.g. in Singapore” (HBW). “Odd, me?”

Singapore 264

Singapore Birds Zebras Feral 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2021

Not too many highlights, not too many species … hard to say whether this is just the usual nostalgia for a better but probably nonexistent past or a real phenomenon. This species is listed as vulnerable – similar to the Yellow-breasted Buntings, it is trapped on a large scale. Humans, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves.

Birds 264

Birds Japan Germany Ducks 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

Driving from France or Germany to Greece, you are likely to pass through my hometown of Belgrade and continue south following the E75 through the FYRO Macedonia. To reach Prespa Lakes, from Niki continue through Florina, from there right for Albania and veer right for the lakes. Have you read my blogs on birding Greece ?

Greece 203

Greece Albania Macedonia Europe 203

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 12, 2013

Nearly 70 species of parrots have been recorded flying free at some stage or another in Miami, including Hyacinth Macaws. Dozens of other introduced bird species, largely escapees from pet owners, now call Miami home. A Carolina Parakeet mounted in a museum in Germany Fritz Geller-Grimm. Reluctance.

Miami 191

Miami Parrots Research Alaska 191

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2011

The Common Swifts have left Germany behind as their journey South has begun. The species is quite common within settlements indeed, and the inner cities are a favoured haunt. The theatre of the evening sky that soothes the mind and brings to rest the hot summer days is over. That is early.

Elephants 197

Elephants Neglecting Europe Breeders 197

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2021

In fact, this is probably a species that has substantially expanded its original range through the pet shop route and the resulting escapees. In fact, it seems to be one of the species employed by past ornithologists to establish their own monument in the shape of a subspecies. I grew up in a small town in Northern Germany.

South Africa 264

South Africa Africa Lesotho Nigeria 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2013

It’s either that or the Hindus are right, that our existence is a continuing chain of lives through re-birth, a system of action and reward, and Corey Finger’s former life was that of a panda bear whose biggest mischief was eating bamboo, while I was Pol Pot. What could possibly go wrong?

Germany 145

Germany Pandas Birds Kittens 145

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2016

I am planning to have this post be the first in a (very) small series on Europe’s “large white-headed gulls” It will of course only be a small series since there aren’t that many large white-headed gull species in Europe and particularly because I don’t want to cause too harsh a drop in the blog’s visitor numbers.

Europe 179

Europe Spain Italy Ireland 179

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2014

Now, having the female-thing fly in between two Garganeys made it easy to be sure it was of the exact same size, and there are only two species of dabbling duck the size of a Garganey in Germany: the Teal and – well – the Garganey. I mean, the Gadwall is one of the most common ducks in Germany. ” - 3 species.

Ducks 160

Ducks Germany North America Europe 160

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 19, 2017

Last but not least, there are only two or three conformed sightings of this northern species, rare in Serbia. Southern Europe’s Herring become a full species, the Yellow-legged Gull Larus cachinnans. Yet, they were around, all right, only by then they were called Yellow-legged Gulls. That was an easy life. A large gull?

Serbia 189

Serbia Croatia Costa Rica 2000 189

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2017

In Germany for example, they are breeding in practically every hilly or mountainous region south of the North German Plain and are not really rare if they occur in a certain region. However, dippers here in Germany aren’t too fussy about their habitats and will readily utilize human-made secondary rapids and rocks. Crazy, I know.

Germany 100

Germany Hamburgers Austria 2016 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

The very first thing we notice about this large member of the Galliformes is that there is a wild version and a domestic version, and although the two are rather different, they are both given the same species name, Meleagris gallopavo. This is the time of year that we rightfully contemplate the noble Turkey. Which would be weird.

Turkey 259

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 259

10,000 Birds

JULY 27, 2024

This seems like a strange – but welcome – turn of events after having failed to see this species several times in the region. Funny how sometimes you search for birds for ages and when you’re in the right area, or by chance, they are almost too easy to see.

New Zealand 246

New Zealand Rabbits Adoptable Family 246

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2016

The European Herring Gull is essentially the rump state of what was once an empire of a species ranging throughout the northern hemisphere. The listing was easy too since the world total of accepted species stood at a little over 8,000, meaning you could become a world birder by just putting up a backyard feeder.

Germany 124

Germany North America Europe Game 124

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2015

In February of 2013, I wrote a piece outlining my thoughts on which exotic bird species should be added to the American Bird Association (ABA) checklist. In 2014, the Florida Ornithological Society Records Committee (FOSRC) voted to add this species to the Florida state list. They were right! They are excellent parents!

Los Angeles 154

Los Angeles Miami San Francisco San Antonio 154

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

This is “the deep cradle of Western ornithology: the birthplace of bird study,” he tells us as he writes about gazing at the 8,000-year old depictions of “flamingos, herons, raptors, avocets and many other species” (p. Great Flamingo tongues & heads: p.

Dissection 264

Dissection Birds Europe Eggs 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2014

With the aid of solar panel and a battery a 5 gram tag can be fitted to a bird and the information gained will enable the researchers to follow the species as it makes its journey through remote areas. There are also many migration routes that would be unknown without modern technology and population density of endangered birds.

Belarus 162

Belarus Cameroon Taiwan China 162

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

So right now I’m feeling pretty good about Eurasian Collared-doves. “Invasive&# is an ugly word, and ugly consequences have come from many of the explosive range expansions we’re most familiar with, whether of exotic species or even of native species with their normal restraints removed. Wicked, right?

Montana 181

Montana 2011 Bahamas Deer 181

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2019

For many grassland species, our vast expanses of tilled and plowed fields, orchards and vineyards, pastures and rangeland offer an abundance of convenient food and shelter – and some bolder birds even wander indoors to find these things in our barns and stables. For most of history, beer has thrived in agrarian settings, too.

Belgium 152

Belgium Vermont Farming Europe 152

Animal Ethics

JANUARY 30, 2012

The legal rights of nonhuman animals might first be achieved in any of three ways. In 2002 the German Parliament amended Article 26 of the Basic Law to give nonhuman animals the right to be “respected as fellow creatures” and to be protected from “avoidable pain.” What is the common law? 7 in The State of the Animals II , ed.

Rights 40

Rights For Animals Animal Legislation 40

4 The Love Of Animals

NOVEMBER 24, 2009

Instead, he simply points at the cup on the right. Understanding a pointed finger may seem easy, but consider this: while humans and canines can do it naturally, no other known species in the animal kingdom can. It’s no coincidence that the two species that pass Hare’s pointing test also share a profound cross-species bond.

Wolves 100

Wolves Fox Dogs Apes 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

The Housemartins were another UK band with good tunes and the heart at the right (left) place – to quote from “Get up off on our knees” : “Don’t shoot someone tomorrow that you can shoot today” Two Asian Housemartins , one in the house (a true housemartin), one outside (Balangshan, China).

South Africa 264

South Africa China Germany Birds 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

Germany is underrated as a birding destination. Nestled right in the middle of Europe, we have a little bit of everything, a nice cross section of Europe’s avifauna. Greater Rheas, a species the Germans call Nandu, are very popular in Germany and frequently kept in zoos as well as private enclosures.

Germany 263

Germany 2000 South America Birds 263