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Flock to Marion

10,000 Birds

Birdlife South Africa has previously done two of these types of trips before, previously called Flock to Sea – Namibia in 2013 and Flock to Nowhere in 2017, in partnership with MSC Cruises. These have been used by meteorologists, technicians, and researchers who spend about 13 months on the island at a time researching a variety of sciences.

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Not enough Woodpeckers

10,000 Birds

The Bearded Woodpecker (Mkuze, South Africa) does not really look any more bearded than many other woodpeckers. The name of the Cardinal Woodpecker (Letaba, South Africa) is misleading, as not all of them are Catholic or even cardinals. It is the most widespread woodpecker in Africa, claims the HBW.

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Vultures, Human Evolution, Global Warming, and Windmills

10,000 Birds

The topic was the concept of humans as predators, or hunters, or really, eaters of meat, and I was discussing the many ways in which people misconceived this notion. Buffalo, even the big giant extinct ones that previously roamed Africa, are in some ways easier, though with drawbacks. Eland are pretty darn hard to hunt.

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

10,000 Birds

The six chapters that follow explore bird communication in mating; defending territory; rearing children; responding to predators; interacting with neighbors and functioning in large groups; and communicating successfully in a noisy human world. I do wish there was more about research on female bird song. There is so much here!

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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. Beagle , pt.

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Birding Shanghai in June 2023

10,000 Birds

Some researchers did an experiment that among humans is only done rarely and only via mistakes made in maternity hospitals. Similar to the rare human experiment, the results were generally acceptable, though of course that does not account for any potential psychological damage caused by the switch in parents.

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Feed me or I’ll die, and possibly take you with me!

10,000 Birds

More recently a study of Babblers in South Africa may have demonstrated a similar kind of extortion. We are speaking of the Pied Babbler ( Turdoides bicolor ) of the Kalahari in South Africa. . “If you don’t feed me right way, I’m taking off this wing and your reproductive success is done!”