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Birding Yibin, Sichuan

10,000 Birds

Unfortunately, the folk myth associating male nose size with the size of certain reproductive organs seems to be less well-known in China. In one group, they added a blue egg to their nests. In the other, they added both such an egg and a peanut half-shell. What a pity.) Keep that in mind when somebody (Marie Kondo?)

Italy 186
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The Secret Perfume of Birds: Uncovering the Science of Avian Scent–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

Whittaker’s adventures in olfactory research take unexpected turns into genetics, chemistry, and the halls of academia. One of Whittaker’s first experiments was to place other birds’ preen oil on the nests and eggs of Dark-eyed Juncos. Whittaker’s research road is more serpentine than most academics.

Science 219
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How Birds Evolve: What Science Reveals about Their Origin, Lives, and Diversity: A Book Review by a Non-Science Person

10,000 Birds

He also believes that we are living in an era of incredible scientific research, one in which new genetic technology and findings from diverse scientific disciplines have turned assumptions upside down, opened up new lines of thought, and provided answers, or at least probable answers, to many of our questions about why birds do the things they do.

Science 213
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Bird Talk: An Exploration of Avian Communication–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

And summary and discussion of recent research on how birds have changed the frequency and pitch of their songs in response to human noise and the possible consequences of those changes (again, we know that we don’t know). I do wish there was more about research on female bird song. And, that’s it.

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Bird of Prey: The Story of the Rarest Eagle on Earth – A Film Review

10,000 Birds

Foremost, there is the story of the recent expedition to the Philippine rainforest led by Rettig, whose participants include expedition coordinator Dr. Laura Johnson (also Rettig’s spouse, a fact that is only gently alluded to; I think the expedition could not have happened without her organizing skills), and nature cinematographer Skip Hobbie.

Eagles 203
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Baby Bird Identification: A North American Guide–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

An impressive combination of research and artwork, combined with a pragmatic organization aimed towards quick identification, and education, Baby Bird Identification extends the frontiers of bird identification guides and is an important contribution to wildlife rehabilitation literature. These books are concerned with behavior.

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Review: Saving the Spoon-billed Sandpiper

10,000 Birds

With populations plunging dramatically over the last decade, researchers from the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Birds Russia, and a number of other conservation organizations made the always-controversial call to pluck eggs from the imperiled wild population and establish a captive breeding program as a final hedge against extinction.

Eggs 163