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The Cattle Egret Expansion

10,000 Birds

When you think of invasives, you think of the birds that have been helped by human beings to get where they are, such as House Sparrow or European Starling. I’d like to introduce you to a diminutive heron, the Cattle Egret Bubuclus ibis. Cattle Egret has been introduced by humans to Hawaii and the Seychelles.

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Birding Shanghai in June 2023

10,000 Birds

Cattle Egrets are thoroughly modern birds – they were among the first species to ditch mailed letters for faxes, then switched to email early, and now (at least in China) mostly communicate by WeChat. They are also early adopters with regard to their foraging – nowadays mostly following tractors rather than cattle.

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Birding Chongming Island in summer

10,000 Birds

” I can see how this line of thinking leads to all kinds of sci-fi types of thought (“would I mate with an alien if I was the last human on earth”, etc.), It concludes that human activity influences the breeding activity of the lapwing. This Cattle Egret has just read a paper stating that it would be 3.6

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The Domestic Turkey and the First Thanksgiving

10,000 Birds

Thus, the cattle we raise for meat and dairy are sometimes called Bos taurus while the extinct wild form is always called Bos primigenius. Long before that time Mexican domesticated Turkeys had been adopted by Native Americans in the American Southwest as well.

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From Today's New York Times

Animal Ethics

Finishing the cattle on grass is a far “greener” method. If these policies were adopted, small-scale animal agriculture would be a more economical model, and people would eat less meat. This would result in improved human health, decreased environmental destruction and better animal welfare. Jillian Fry Baltimore, Dec.

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I and the Bird: What is a Vulture?

10,000 Birds

As impressive as these birds are, many species, particularly in southern Asia , have seen precipitous population declines having to do somewhat with the old habitat issues that plague animals around the world , but more to do with the widespread use of anti-inflammatory drugs on cattle, who then die and are eaten by vultures who are poisoned.

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From Today's New York Times

Animal Ethics

18): As a microbiologist, I know that study after study has highlighted the human health threat from using antibiotics as feed additives for hogs, chickens and cattle, creating super-bugs—bacteria that no longer can be treated with antibiotics. To the Editor: Re “ Antibiotic Runoff ” (editorial, Sept.