MEDAN, Indonesia — Smugglers managed to ship more than 7,000 birds, including wild-caught songbirds, by air from Sumatra to Java in Indonesia, highlighting the country’s weak enforcement against the deeply entrenched bird trade. Indonesian authorities said the birds were transported in several batches on flights on June 11 and 12 from Medan in North Sumatra […]
Tag: wild birds

Just Kingfishers in Suffolk
Whilst visiting a local nature reserve in Norfolk we met another visitor who recommended a visit to Lackford Lakes. This is a reserve run by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust that has a good record of Kingfisher sightings. It is just across the border in Suffolk so not too far from our home. With the prospect of clear […]

POLL: Should the wild bird trade in Southeast Asia be banned?
A cacophony of birdsong rings out from hundreds of wire and bamboo cages strung along awnings and crisscrossing the ceilings of cramped open-air stalls at Pramuka, Indonesia’s biggest bird market, in the capital, Jakarta. Thousands of wild birds—ranging from tiny brown finches and brilliant rainbow lorikeets to small-bodied, large-eyed owls—will be sold as pets to […]

Siloy – Cebu’s Endangered Black Shama
“SILOY,” that is what this Philippine Cebu Endemic is locally called. I have thought that photographing this bird would be a walk in the park, but it was quite difficult for us. Our local guide Pedro Villarta, who is one of the wardens of Nug-as forest in Alcoy, said that the bird is territorial and […]

Kissing Tarictic Hornbills of Mindoro
For the last four hours of stay in Sablayan, our single wish was just to have photos of the MINDORO TARICTIC HORNBILLS which we have a quick glimpse the previous day. We have climbed a stiff ascent early that day in Siburan Subprison without having photograph a single bird, and we were beginning to get […]

Scarlet-collared Flowerpecker of Mindoro
After crossing the river for four times and after walking above grasses and shrubs wet with dew drops under the golden rays of a rising sun for many minutes at the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm Colony, we came to the forest edge of Pasugui Subprison and first saw the Mindoro Tarictic Hornbills before the […]

Shout out to my peeps!
If you happen to be a small bird living in the city, you’re facing a big dilemma. Online dating and electronic security systems aren’t an option—you’re responsible for finding a mate and protecting your own territory. You do this by singing. But the metroplex is loud; sometimes Gotham’s growl of traffic, heavy machinery, and other […]