Tourist destinations - Maldonado and Rocha

Upper : Red Knot (紅腹濱鷸), Green Sea Turtle (綠蠵龜)
Lower : Greater Rhea (美洲鴕鳥)
Uruguay (2013, 2014)
20th October, 2014. Montevideo

Maldonado is the capital of Maldonado Department of Uruguay. As of the census of 2011, it is the seventh most populated city of the country.

Maldonado is also the name of the municipality to which the city belongs. It includes the following zones: Maldonado, Punta Ballena, Portezuelo, Barrio Hipódromo, Canteras de Marelli, Los Ceibos, Abra de Perdomo, Laguna del Diario.

Rocha is the capital city of the Rocha Department in Uruguay.

The city is located on the intersection of Route 9 with Route 15, about 70 kilometres northeast of San Carlos of Maldonado Department. The stream Arroyo Rocha flows along the west limits of the city. It was founded in 1793 and had acquired the status of "Villa" (town) before the Independence of Uruguay. On 7 July 1880 it was made capital of the Department of Rocha by the Act of Ley Nº 1.474, while its status was elevated to "Ciudad" on 10 January 1894 by the Act of Ley Nº 2.252.

Fairy Pitta

Fairy Pitta (八色鳥)
South Korea (2014)
28th November, 2014. Gwanghwamun

This beautiful pitta qualifies as Vulnerable because its population is suspected to be in rapid decline owing to deforestation in its breeding range, principally for agriculture and timber, locally compounded by trapping for the cagebird trade.

Fairy Pitta breeds in north-east Asia in Japan, South Korea, mainland China and Taiwan, and winters mainly on the island of Borneo, in east Malaysia, Brunei and Kalimantan, Indonesia. It has been recorded on passage in northern Taiwan, North Korea, Vietnam, Hong Kong (China) and, most recently, Thailand. It appears to be localised in its breeding range, but occurs at relatively high densities at some localities. Preliminary estimates based on playback surveys by the Taiwan Endemic Species Research Institute suggest that up to 2,000 individuals may breed in Taiwan. Survey effort in Jiangxi, Guangxi and Hainan Provinces, China, has identified a number of new locations. Overall, its population is unlikely to be more than a few thousand individuals and it is thought to be declining, although the Japanese Ministry of Environment report in 2004 shows that it was recorded in a greater number of survey squares during 1997-2002 distributional surveys of Japanese animals compared with their 1974-1978 figures. The total population is likely to fall between 3,000 and 5,000 individuals.

White-backed Night-heron

Front : White-backed Night-heron (白背夜鷺)
Back : Lesser Flamingo (小紅鸛)
Kenya (1984)
13th October, 2014. Nairobi

This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km² combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size may be moderately small to large, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Front : Superb Starling (栗頭麗椋鳥) ; White-backed Night-heron (白背夜鷺)
Kenya (2014, 1984)
11th November, 2014. Nairobi

50 Years of tourism in Singapore

Little Egret (小白鷺)
Singapore (2014)
31st October, 2014. Toa Payoh

The development of tourism in the last 50 years mirrors the remarkable trajectory that Singapore has taken in these decades. The country has blossomed into a modern cosmopolitan destination with strong local character, one of the truly global hubs in Asia. In the process of doing so, we inspire our guests in both their personal and professional lives and strengthen the pride of residents who call Singapore home.

Parrots of Burundi (II)

L : Fischer's Lovebird (費沙氏情侶鸚鵡) ; R : Congo Grey Parrot (剛果灰鸚鵡)
Burundi (2011)
20th October, 2014. Bujumbura

Fischer's Lovebird has a green back, chest, and wings. Their necks are a golden yellow and as it progresses upward it becomes darker orange. The top of the head is olive green, and the beak is bright red. The upper surface of the tail has some purple or blue feathers. It has a white circle of bare skin (eyering) around its eyes. Young birds are very similar to the adults, except for the fact that they are duller and the base of their mandible has brown markings. They are one of the smaller lovebirds, about 14 cm (5.5 in)[3] in length and 43-58g weight.

While most Fischer's Lovebirds are green, several color variations have been bred. The blue variation is predominant; lacking yellow, it has a bright blue back, tail, and chest, a white neck, a pale grey head and a pale pink beak. This mutation was first bred by R. Horsham in South Africa in 1957, and two years later it was bred by Dr. F. Warford in San Francisco, California. There is a yellow mutation, which first appeared in France. These birds are typically pale yellow with an orange face and a red beak. Lutino (a mutation that is yellow in color), pied, black or dark eyed white, cinnamon, white, and albino mutations have also been bred.

African grey parrot is a medium-sized, predominantly grey, black-billed parrot which weighs 400 g, with a length of 33 cm and an average wingspan of 46–52 cm. The tail and undertail coverts are red, in comparison to the maroon of the smaller Timneh parrot. Both sexes appear similar. The colouration of juveniles similar to that of adults, however the eye is typically dark grey to black, in comparison to the greyish eyes of the adult birds. The undertail coverts are also tinged with grey.