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Birds and Us: A 12,000 Year History from Cave Art to Conservation–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

They may be about bird eggs ( The Most Perfect Thing: The Inside (and Outside) of a Bird’s Egg , 2016), or a 17th-century ornithologist ( Virtuoso by Nature: The Scientific Worlds of Francis Willughby, 2016), or How Bullfinches learn songs from humans ( The Wisdom of Birds: An Illustrated History of Ornithology.

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Altruism, Albatrosses, and Vicious Young Men

10,000 Birds

Laysan albatrosses are ocean-dwelling seabirds who have 6-foot wingspans, weigh 7-8 pounds, occasionally sleep while flying, and rarely land except to raise their chicks. The oldest Laysan albatross was last seen raising a chick on Midway Atoll in 2016, at age 66. They were simply sent to Family Court. Gutierrez was 18.

Albatross 214
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Birds of Bolivia: Field Guide–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

One of these days, Jeopardy will feature a category called “Field Guides” and the first clue will be: “This landlocked South American country finally got its own bird field guide in 2016, but it wasn’t available in the United State until 2019.” This unfortunately happens with the large Tanager (Thraupidae) family here.

Bolivia 191
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Britain’s Birds: An Identification Guide to the Birds of Britain and Ireland–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

My librarian self is partial to a more strict taxonomic organization, but with no hope that the constant shifting of families will end in the near future, this type of sequence is making more and more sense. WildGuides, Princeton University Press, summer 2016. Is the bird pictured what the caption says it is? 560pages, 6.3

Ireland 158
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Backyard Beneficiaries

10,000 Birds

A brief personal digression: I moved back into the house I grew up in back in 2014, my parents vacated at the end of 2016. Thankfully, they now have a home here where they can court, build their nest, and raise their young. One of my main projects has been our yard here at home. Since then, I began a wholesale rewilding of the yard.

Opossums 264
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What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds: A Book Review

10,000 Birds

The species are taxonomically divided into two families: Tytonidae, Barn-Owls, and Strigidae, Owls, encompassed in one order, Strigiformes. When you look at Clements latest taxonomic spreadsheet, you get a sense of the depth of their relationships to each other and the world. Jennifer Ackerman is one of my favorite bird authors.

Owls 235
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Birding in the UK after twenty two years

10,000 Birds

Another good reason to write in advance is if you are going on a break to see family and you don’t know if time will allow you to write. We were to spend a few days with my sister and family that had travelled from Sydney and my parents, who had not been able to travel to Australia this year. Common Eider. Common Snipe.

Ducks 141