10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2015

India, February 2013. I am camping in the dry-deciduous jungle in eastern Maharashtra, near the geographic heart of India. According to IUCN , because of illegal hunting and habitat degradation across most of Indochina, ungulates occur at levels well below natural. Only in protected areas in southern and central India (e.g.

Tigers 236

Tigers Dogs India Snow Leopard 236

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2020

House-hunting, apparently. Not every bird in India is colorful. Black Kite. These photos were actually taken right from my hotel room. No surcharge for the room despite being perfect for birders. Black-necked Stork. Black-rumped Flameback. Black-winged Kite. Brahminy Starling. Not a great shot, admittedly, but a great-looking bird.

Cattle 199

Cattle India Sanctuary Birds 199

10,000 Birds

APRIL 23, 2014

And responsible hunting practices seldom pose a threat to birders’ quarry. Note, I said responsible hunting practices. Such is the case of the Saudi Arabian prince who, a few months back, took a hunting junket to Pakistan. These bustards are protected by international agreements and hunting them is banned in India.

Pakistan 184

Pakistan Hunters Hunting India 184

Critter News

AUGUST 1, 2009

India is to amend its wildlife crime laws to protect the country's tigers, a government minister said. This will increase the habitat area for tigers, who prefer to live and hunt in thick vegetation. Tags: India tigers wildlife endangered species. But is it enough? From the Press Association.

Tigers 100

Tigers India Protection Endangered Species 100

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2022

I saw it in a park in Delhi, and indeed the HBW remarks that it “has adapted well to human habitation, and is common and widespread in the parks and gardens of cities such as Delhi” (I once had a visitor from India here in Shanghai, and he asked me if/why there are no birds in Shanghai.

South Africa 202

South Africa Africa India China 202

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2023

Another item they feed on is hunting edible bird nest swiftlets, which are quite common in edible swiftlet houses in Sabah, Malaysia ( source ). The first attempt in hunting was made by the male hornbill which was seen snapping at a passing swiftlet, but was unsuccessful.

Rhinoceros 126

Rhinoceros Singapore Transported Hunting 126

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

Sociable Lapwings breed in several areas along the Kazakhstani – Russian border and overwinter in Iraq, Sudan and northwest India. Trips endangered species India lapwings Sociable Lapwing' Sociable Lapwing photos by Chirag Solanki.

Sudan 244

Sudan India Ukraine Camels 244

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2013

Located in the Kutch District of Gujarat, the Naliya Grassland is the smallest reserve of India, covering only 2 square kilometers (yes – 0.77 Once this species inhabited wide steppes of India and Pakistan, but nowadays remain in ever smaller and more isolated habitat fragments. Trips Great Indian Bustard India'

India 239

India Gazelles Pakistan Endangered Species 239

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 26, 2024

Sadly, the HBW states that the species is “almost extinct in some areas in China owing to hunting and trapping for the cagebird trade and taxidermy” The Maroon Oriole looks much more interesting, though my photos do not really do it full justice.

Nepal 159

Nepal Birds Owls Nigeria 159

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 19, 2019

This was only my second time ever to observe this subspecies (the first time was here as well), two other subspecies I have observed in India. On my way back, I passed a group of hunters who, after the hunt, erected folding tables and chairs on the very levee to have a few bites, quick drinks and swap the morning’ stories.

Serbia 244

Serbia Otters Boars Hunters 244

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2014

This species ranges from India to Japan and south down Borneo. They live in forests and along forest edges where they specialise in hunting snakes and lizards. The Spilornis serpent-eagles are represented by a number of insular species and one widespread mainland species, the Crested Serpent-eagle.

Eagles 172

Eagles Japan India Africa 172

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 22, 2015

There’s a Three-striped Palm Squirrel by the side of the track, while Jungle Bush Quails are running across it in front of our Maruti Gypsy, almost the official safari vehicle of India. The Osprey tries another hunt, finally a successful one, while Telia goes deeper into the water and lies down. Some results may already be visible.

Tigers 242

Tigers India Killing 2006 242

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

There are four species in the family, ranging from India to the Solomon Islands. It’s a forest specialist, and hunts from a perch, which isn’t just unusual among the swifts (as in it never happens), it’s also unique within the family. To really get to know a treeswift, you want to get a look at one when its perching.

Solomon Islands 166

Solomon Islands Singapore India Family 166

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2014

The intensity of experience is not the same, but, e.g. focusing on a single bird and trying to solve the puzzle… or finding the rarest owl of India , that was a mind-blowing one. More of a hunt? I haven’t put myself in life threatening situations while birding (unless you count paddling with crocodiles ?). To be… alive?

Serbia 234

Serbia Farming India Europe 234

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2016

This is the usual game viewing routine in reserves of Africa and India. In India, no one goes at mid-day because of the heat and the law. Pity, it is the sleeping hours and not the hunting (morning/evening), but at least they are not forced to socialise with people all day.

India 111

India Birds Africa Serbia 111

10,000 Birds

APRIL 16, 2020

Well, it mostly hunts at night, when it is dark anyway. The Brown Fish Owl is the most common of all Fish Owls. Its ear tufts seem to be almost horizontal rather than vertical. This D usky Eagle Owl is blind on one eye but still seems to be doing ok. This Indian Eagle Owl was relentlessly mobbed by some crows.

Owls 161

Owls Eagles Fish Hunting 161

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

Jerdon’s Courser , a small nocturnal wader from India, wasn’t seen between 1900 and 1986. It would be hard, however, to beat the record of the Bermuda Petrel , which prior to its rediscovery in 1951 had been thought extinct for 330 years!

New Zealand 188

New Zealand India 2003 Collecting 188

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2012

Originally a hunting term, the Big Five were the most dangerous and prized targets of the great white hunters on safari. However it is now one of the world’s rarest animals after decades of relentless hunting and poaching. The Black Rhino was also a widespread African denizen occurring throughout the continent, even into desert areas.

Buffalo 200

Buffalo Rhinoceros Leopards Elephants 200

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2013

Finally, when our SUV broke down in Gujarat, India, some three years ago, my first two Egyptians were flying above the road! That was not all, a few days later, by one village rubbish dump, not far from Ahmedabad, we had more than 100 Egyptian Vultures (above); plus 20 more at the dead cattle dumping site at the outskirts of the city.

Sudan 223

Sudan Macedonia Botswana Serbia 223

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2014

We worship birds, we hunt birds, we protect birds, and, yes, we eat birds. It includes stunning photographs by Tipling of eagle hunters (as in Kazakhs who hunt with eagles), Stellar Sea Eagles in Hokkaido, Japan, and Black Kites at the dump near New Delhi, India. As they say, the relationship is complicated.

Egypt 211

Egypt Birds Albania Eagles 211

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2013

Nate’s best was also a rarity in India. Second, I was in India, which, had you told me even one month prior that I’d be going to India, I would have said you were crazy. Forest Owlet by Dragan Simic. What are the odds? Sociable Lapwing. For starters, there’s the rarity factor.

2013 167

2013 Costa Rica Birds India 167

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2013

Geladas are the sole survivors of a once abundant branch of primates that historically foraged across the grasslands of Africa, the Mediterranean and India. However the major factor is due to the rapid human population expansion in Ethiopia that has meant that cultivation (even in national parks!)

Ethiopia 160

Ethiopia Primates Mammals Fur 160

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2012

After breeding they also disperse over the rainforests and savannas of West and Central Africa, where they hunt for aerial insects. The eastern form breeds as far away as Kazakhstan, through India and the Middle East into Egypt’s Nile Valley, and migrates southwards to East and South Africa.

Africa 263

Africa Gabon Uganda South Africa 263

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Rubbish dumps are another favorite, and just like the most reliable stake-out for the endangered Greater Adjutant is Guwahati’s stenching rubbish-dump in Assam, India; so can Marabous be found at many rubbish dumps in Africa, slowly picking their way through the rotten mess looking for anything edible.

Africa 238

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 238

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 9, 2023

Apparently, she supported the research of a Romanian team on ectoparasites of birds from Meghalaya (India) – and for her troubles, the team thanked her by naming a species of feather mite newly discovered on Large Niltava after her. ” Unfortunately, this makes it much less likely this hunting will stop once people get richer.

China 147

China Hunting Birds illegal 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2023

Shockingly, the Ashy-throated Parrotbill apparently is a species heavily hunted for bird fighting in Guizhou Province, China ( source ). If being hunted by evil humans was not enough, Ashy-throated Parrotbills are also hosts of the parasitic Common Cuckoo. Shame on the researchers. Maybe they just want to deter some birders.

Eggs 166

Eggs China Mammals Birds 166

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2024

The species is also hunted for local consumption in Meghalaya (India), according to the HBW. More genetic research and thorough phenotypic examination on populations in these areas are required.” ” Or better stick to your current job as a door-to-door salesperson for vacuum cleaners.

Burma 187

Burma Vietnam Birds Laos 187

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 30, 2020

The Black Kite ( Milvus migrans ) is ubiquitous as a scavenger across the whole of India, often seen by the hundred wheeling over towns. As a bittersweet afterthought, it was also the last bird I photographed in India before losing my sponsored travel opportunities.

2020 228

2020 Birds Costa Rica Germany 228

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2013

My post last week where I defended game hunting as a conservation tool has, unaccountably, encountered a certain amount of push back. Who would have thought that a post defending hunting game in general would have not been universally acclaimed? I will address two of them in the new year, namely, “Is hunting moral at all?”

Tigers 171

Tigers Hunting Game Iraq 171

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2023

I have a strong hunting instinct, and digiscoping gave me the satisfaction of bagging my quarry. Small birds in flight are impossible This digiscoped Kingfisher in India was happy to pose It was on a trip to western Sicily that I was introduced for the first time to the solution.

Cyprus 229

Cyprus Portugal Birds Poland 229

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 30, 2023

Apparently, the Greater Coucal is associated with some superstitions – in India, seeing one is believed to be auspicious, and in some areas, eating the flesh was regarded to help with illnesses such as tuberculosis.

Woodpeckers 205

Woodpeckers Birds Eggs India 205

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 29, 2024

” Blue-bearded Bee-eaters seem to have a pretty clever hunting strategy. Atherton (1797-1827), a naturalist (whatever that means exactly) and a member of the British Army in India. They provoke honeybee colonies, which then fly out and attack the bird. Of course, the same applies to pizza services for humans.

Squirrels 137

Squirrels Birds China Bears 137

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

It describes how, when a veterinary drug used in India killed the vast majority of Indian vultures, the human death rate in affected locations increased by about 4% as the vultures were no longer around to feed on animal carcasses and the sanitation thus worsened substantially.

Los Angeles 183

Los Angeles Woodpeckers Birds Wounded 183