10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2024

Parrots are among the most threatened of all birds – of the 202 parrot species of the Old World and Africa, only a bit more than half (54%) are listed as Least Concern. Furthermore, Indonesia is the country with the highest priority for parrot conservation given the number of species and threats there.

Parrots 244

Parrots Indonesia Africa Groups 244

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 The goal of Around the World For Penguins is simple: Describe the 18 species of penguin and their breeding grounds “from the perspective of a traveller.”

Penguins 279

Penguins Georgia Albatross New Zealand 279

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 27, 2021

The islands and surrounding islets of Trinidad and Tobago boast an astounding list of almost 500 species of birds. There is a recurring theme of threes within the multitude of bird species in T&T, you can see for yourself in some previous posts I made. There are of course a few more which I intend to get to in due course.

Trinidad 264

Trinidad Groups Family Species 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2019

Of course, the California Condor is listed as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and it has been famously subject to some of the most ambitious conservation efforts (including litigation ) ever undertaken for a bird. But this potential population of California Condors will be a “nonessential experimental” group.

California Condor 247

California Condor California Endangered Species Oregon 247

10,000 Birds

APRIL 14, 2021

These magical forests hide isolated treasures like the critically endangered Golden Tree Frog – not to mention several species of birds not found anywhere else in the country. Last weekend I accompanied a small group of intrepid birders to El Cerro del Aripo, the tallest peak on the island at about 940m.

Trinidad 264

Trinidad Groups Parrots Eagles 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 6, 2021

The very last Sunday of the decade heralded our final CBC – with group sizes limited to five persons. 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!

Trinidad 264

Trinidad Livestock Groups Eagles 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 9, 2024

Now that this bird has seemingly moved on, I had to find other species to distract me, but fortunately that was not too hard. Fortunately, I did not only see the standard species, but was also rewarded with less regular species. Perhaps the scaups are bad luck for me, but I’m sure I’ll get my bittern one day.

Birds 241

Birds Ducks Groups Species 241

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2020

With 18 species of native Psittacids to choose from, birding in Costa Rica is always a thrill, especially for someone who grew up in parrotless Niagara Falls, New York! At least one of these species has adapted to nesting on buildings and a few others can nest in large parks. The other regular parrot around here is this species.

Parrots 278

Parrots Costa Rica San Jose Endangered Species 278

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 8, 2020

The authors wrote: [Species] “are the currency of field guides and of birding, but deciding what to treat as ‘species’ is inevitably a subjective endeavour. … We have tended to a liberal (= realistic) direction when recognising species.” There are no species distribution maps, only textual descriptions.

Chile 243

Chile Birds South America Albatross 243

10,000 Birds

JULY 15, 2024

Somewhat strangely, the HBW calls it a “small grey to yellow babbler” – while the species indeed has some grey parts, that is not the color that sticks to mind when seeing or remembering the bird. Plus the sibia apparently plays an important role in the pollination of one endangered rhododendron species ( source ).

Eggs 246

Eggs Birds Japan Myanmar 246

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 26, 2019

That honor goes to the Gray-crowned Crane , a very sexy species in its own right. Our group, led by world-renowned guide Herbert Byaruhanga, piled into canoes ostensibly to search for a variety of papyrus and wetland specialties, but really we were just looking for the shoebill. Nor is the Shoebill the national bird of Uganda.

Uganda 295

Uganda Africa Penguins 2019 295

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 11, 2020

We saw several species of this challenging family, after some time I managed to graduate with the ability to classify them as “streaked” or “unstreaked” When it came down to the actual species, however, I left it to the expert! I learned that Stout Cisticolas often stick together in small groups.

Kenya 226

Kenya Washington Groups Game 226

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 25, 2021

We are too far into the year for many FOY sightings, but not quite far enough for most migratory species to make their return appearances. Still, in any given three-week period (which is the period I have dedicated to this latest group of thematic posts), dedicated birding will produce some sort of news. Does one ever?)

Louisiana 264

Louisiana 2000 Mexico Hunting 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2021

There was a time when I thought each bird species had its own individual song. Then I found out that there was this vocalization called a ‘call,’ so I thought each bird species had its own individual song (but just the males) and individual call. There is so much here! How do they know?

North America 279

North America Birds Research America 279

10,000 Birds

MARCH 28, 2024

This time, they counted 3,000 Northern Shovelers , 1,000 Green-winged Teals , 2,800 American Avocets , 2,150 Stilt Sandpipers , 820 Long-billed Dowitchers , 1,000 Least Sandpipers , 500 Western Sandpipers , and 150 American White Pelicans , along with lesser numbers for 30 other species. Flamingos !”

Mexico 235

Mexico Cuba Chile South America 235

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2021

Many species seemed to come in threes, and today I shall continue my examination of these. Three species of antshrikes are resident in T&T. These endearing birds are almost always found in pairs or small family groups, and I often have difficulty deciding which bird to photograph as both males and females are equally beautiful.

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Trinidad Bears Family Groups 257

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2021

But when I felt familiar with perhaps half of the species around my town, I started to feel that my field guide is now too bulky and too hefty to carry, and that was the era before smartphones and phone apps. of January 2019, which resulted in 10,711 species, 40 orders, 246 families and 2,313 genera. Subspecies are not included.

Botswana 264

Botswana Africa Birds Ecuador 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 26, 2023

Yet, there is one group of birds where even I prefer photographs: gulls. That is why I am so pleased to see the new “Gulls of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East: An Identification Guide” being illustrated with nearly 1400 colour photographs of the 45 species of gulls found in the Western Palearctic.

Europe 262

Europe Africa Greece Groups 262

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 23, 2019

The official bird list is well over 900 species and literally hundreds of fantastic tropical birds are accessible but when to go? According to eBird bar charts, most of the resident species are also seen at other times of the year. The high and dry season just also happens to be when most folks would rather escape the winter blues.

Costa Rica 340

Costa Rica Thailand Hawaii Species 340

10,000 Birds

JULY 28, 2024

Wilson’s Storm Petrel Heading to the shelf seems to be the preferred option as it is here that you will find some of the key species. Wilson’s Storm Petrel Oceanodroma oceani cus seems to be everyone’s target species. It just needs a little patience. I have even seen storm petrels within sight of the coast.

Portugal 286

Portugal Breeding Hunting Species 286

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2024

David Tomlinson wrote this week about how many and which species he has seen so far this year, and I can do the same. Especially since, to my surprise, it turns out that I am somehow picking up species faster this year, here in Michoacán, than in any other year. Fortunately, I have other 10,000 Birds writers from whom to steal ideas.

Virginia 243

Virginia Mexico California Species 243

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2022

The exploration of triads within the avifauna of Trinidad and Tobago has taken me through various families and species groups on this blog. On the smaller island of Tobago there are three species of woodpeckers and three species of woodcreepers – one of each is found on Tobago but not Trinidad.

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Woodpeckers Trinidad South America Hunting 263

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2022

Torresian Crows Corvus orru are the most common of the Crow family in the northern part of Australia and are the most likely of the Crow species that you will encounter. In Broome it is the only Crow species and we do not have Ravens , so it makes identification easy.

Australia 256

Australia Eggs Family Species 256

10,000 Birds

APRIL 27, 2023

The Latin species name alphonsiana refers to Prof. Of course, the Red-billed Leiothrix is a species native to Sichuan – in Britain, it is now discussed whether to regard it as an invasive species ( source ). While the Buffy Laughingthrush is a nice-looking bird, its Latin species name berthemyi is quite unfortunate.

Italy 230

Italy China France Eggs 230

10,000 Birds

APRIL 23, 2020

Having more than 1300 bird species, including over 75 endemics, it is hard to resist the lure of India – something I know from personal experience. The 100 Best Birdwatching Sites in India allows you to focus on species (Index at pg. India is a huge and logistically frightening country. 295), reserves and states (starting from pg.

India 264

India Lions 2020 Groups 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 8, 2019

Species with small ranges ( e.g. , single island endemics) or tiny populations ( e.g. , endangered species) are especially vulnerable. Nevertheless, the 2017 CBC tallied 1,934 birds of 82 species, both of which were low counts for past CBCs ( e.g., the 2016 CBC had 2,579 birds, 97 species).

Puerto Rico 255

Puerto Rico 2017 2018 Virgin Islands 255

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2021

Fortunately, China itself has a large number of bird species and habitats. According to a Wikipedia entry, China has 1413 bird species – though strangely, another list found online, purportedly based on Birdlife International, claims only 1288 species. One of my target species for the trip was Indian Blue Robin.

China 264

China Pandas Birds Zoos 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2019

As a result, the bird has a long history with the Endangered Species Act. If it was not, there would be no listing, as the overall species was not in peril. If it was not, there would be no listing, as the overall species was not in peril. FWS released a 5-year review of the species in 2010.

California 209

California District of Columbia Los Angeles San Diego 209

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 19, 2024

Quite a few bird species have crests. In fact, crests occur in at least 20 of the 30 orders of extant birds, and in all major groups of passerines. 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.

South Africa 240

South Africa China Germany Africa 240

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 21, 2020

But hey, I saw 64 species in that time and distance. Just in case those numbers sound like great fun, I should mention the downside to our fall hummer season: around 4 out of every 10 were almost-identical females or immature males of 4 Selasphorus species. (Or, Five simultaneous species, and every one was a prize!

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Suffering Species Groups Birds 290

10,000 Birds

APRIL 22, 2021

Still, how many birders visit this region and could be seen as the target group for this, already a second edition? 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. The rest of the region remains fairly undervisited.

Indonesia 264

Indonesia Timor Brunei Guinea 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 26, 2021

And apart from local people, primate researchers sometimes spot it, but it is a species seen by fewer than ten living birders. A few years ago, in the American Birding Association FB group I posted a question: Where would you go if funds weren’t a problem? Some are incredibly rare and hard to find.

Congo 264

Congo Africa Madagascar Kenya 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2022

Both Trinidad and Tobago share over a hundred species but within the mix are many that are found on one island and not the other. The disparity in species could be stark, for example if one were to bird on different sides of the planet. I don’t keep lists but one of my guests did and the final tally was 166 species.

Trinidad 278

Trinidad Turkey Squirrels Cows 278

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 22, 2020

Despite depicting 540 species/56 families, it is a lightweight book of 173 pages, easy to pack and carry. Mammals of South Asia follows the latest taxonomy, describes all the species recorded within the region and provides a range map for each species. Larger species, that is, excluding dolphins and whales.

Mammals 199

Mammals Asia Sri Lanka Bhutan 199

10,000 Birds

APRIL 24, 2021

Earlier in the day, as we ventured out towards the deep waters off of Malpais, Costa Rica at 6 in the morning, another Galapagos Shearwater was the first real pelagic species we encountered. A world birder who has seen literally thousands of species, Pirjo had hoped to connect with this small striking gull.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Dolphins Sea Turtles Turtles 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2022

As a birder, I’ve found this place to be a complete treasure trove for many species difficult to see elsewhere. Personally I’ve seen over a hundred species over several birding trips there, the overall species list for the location is approximately 160 – a tally that will only increase.

Trinidad 263

Trinidad Squirrels Birds Parrots 263

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2024

These species are not only beautiful or charming, but have a personal resonance for me. Around 2011 or 2012, I discovered an online forum of a rather select group of Mexican birders. In May of 2018, I included some rather sad photos of what I had identified as a group of 6 Long-billed Dowitchers in my eBird report for Lake Cuitzeo.

Squirrels 246

Squirrels Mexico Kansas South America 246