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A special Pied Oystercatcher

10,000 Birds

The breeding season in the north of Australia starts from about July 1st and there are often several attempts if the eggs fail, are lost or the chicks don’t survive. On July 1st 2007 an egg was laid by a Pied Oystercatcher that was known to be an adult in 2002 and had been banded in nearby Roebuck Bay.

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Into the Nest: A Book Review in the Time of Nesting

10,000 Birds

Second, reading about birds courting and parenting brings out the tendency to identify, which leads directly to anthropomorphism, the tendency to assign birds human emotions and thoughts. And of eggs and nests and birds on nests. Cedar Waxwings exchange berries, carry nesting material, eggs. We simply refuse to squee.

Eggs 263
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Bernd Heinrich’s new book “White Feathers” — a review

10,000 Birds

His first surmise seems like a good one – that the feathers are meant to hide the eggs from other female swallows seeking to parasitize the nest, by disrupting the parasite’s timing (if eggs are present, the parasite would know that the nesting mother is ready to incubate – that is, incubate not only her own eggs, but the parasite’s, as well).

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